Italy

Coordinates: 43°N 12°E / 43°N 12°E / 43; 12

Italy (ⁱ/ˈɪtəli/; Italian: Italia [iˈtaːlja]), officially the Italian Republic (Italian: Repubblica Italiana), is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Italy covers an area of 301,338 km² (116,347 sq mi) and has a largely Mediterranean and temperate climate; due to its shape, it is often referred to in Italy as lo Stivale (the Boot). With 61 million inhabitants, it is the 4th most populous EU member state. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino and Vatican City.

Since ancient times, Greeks, Etruscans and Celts have inhabited the south, centre and north of the Italian Peninsula respectively. Rome ultimately emerged as the dominant power, conquering much of the ancient world and becoming the leading cultural, political, and religious centre of Western civilisation. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the global distribution of civilian law, Republican governments, Christianity and the latin script.

Roman Italy

Roman Italy was created officially by the Roman Emperor Augustus with the Latin name Italia. It was the first time in history that the Italian peninsula (from the Alps to the Ionian Sea) was united under the same name. In the year 292, the three islands of Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily were added to Roman Italy by Emperor Diocletianus.

Characteristics

Italy (Italia in Latin and Italian) was the name of the administrative division of the Italian peninsula during the Roman era. It was not a province, but became the territory of the city of Rome, thus having a special status. Following the end of the Social War (91–88 BC), Rome had allowed its Italian allies (socii) full rights in Roman society and granted the Roman citizenship to all the Italic peoples.

After having been for centuries the heart of the Empire, from the 3rd century the government and the cultural center began to move eastward: first the Edict of Caracalla in 212 AD extended Roman citizenship to all free men within the imperial boundaries, then during Constantine's reign (306–337) the seat of the Empire was moved to Constantinople in 330 AD.

Italia (yacht)

Italia is a 12-metre class yacht that competed in the 1987 Louis Vuitton Cup.

References

Lotto

Lotto may refer to:

Lotto Sport Italia

Lotto Sport Italia is an Italian sportswear manufacturer. Its products are now distributed in more than 60 countries.

History

Lotto was established in 1973 by the Caberlotto family (who were the owners of the football team F.C. Treviso) in Montebelluna, northern Italy, the world centre of footwear manufacturing. In June 1973, Lotto made its debut as a sports footwear manufacturer. Tennis shoes signaled the beginning of production, followed by models for basketball, volleyball, athletics and football.

Sports clothing was the company's next venture. In the first ten years, Lotto focused on the Italian market. During its first decade, corporate strategy concentrated on making tennis footwear and clothing, and early on sponsored big names from the professional tennis circuit (Martina Navratilova, Boris Becker, Thomas Muster, Andrea Gaudenzi).

In the 1980s, Lotto moved on to broaden its business base by competing among the then-small group of manufacturers of football boots and clothing. Lotto began to create its first football boot models and signed major collaboration agreements with internationally renowned players and teams. Tennis players John Newcombe, Andrés Gómez and José Luis Clerc wore the brand's tennis products.

Norsk Tipping

Norsk Tipping AS is the national lottery in Norway, located in Hamar. The company offers a wide range of lottery, sports and instant games in the Norwegian market. Norsk Tipping is owned by the Norwegian government and administered by Norwegian Ministry of Culture and Church Affairs . Ever since Norsk Tipping started in 1948, the idea has been that the profit from company’s operations would be channelled back to the Norwegian sport and cultural sector. During 60 years of activity, Norsk Tipping have given its profits to such purposes.

History

Football pools were the only game when the Norsk Tipping AS was founded in 1948. At that time organisation was run as a limited company with the Norwegian State holding 40%, the Norwegian Sports Federation 40% and the Norwegian Football Association 20%. The profit was at first shared between sports and research projects. Today the company also raises money for culture causes, and the surplus is divided 50/50 between sports and culture.