Roman Empire: all the lands surrounding the Mediterranean

The charm in the coloration of an antique map
Originally uploaded by trudeau.

From about 500 BC to 500 AD the Roman Empire grew to encompass control of the Mediterranean basin. In the process the organization and men of the Roman Legion became the world's most awesome force.

The month of March owes its name to Mars, the Roman god of war (martial).

At the peak of the empire was a golden era, a period of peace and prosperity called the Pax Romana ("peace of the Romans"). The Pax Romana began with the emperor Augustus Caesar, 27 BC, and continued to about 180 AD, acc to A History of the World (Perry).

Italian cuchina . . .
* Pasta shapes almost all have Italian names, such as tortellini and linguine. Try some canneloni!
* Calamari is fried squid, a popular appetizer.
* Alfredo was a chef in Rome who wowed diners when he mixed a rich, cream & cheese sauce at tableside. Poured over pasta, the classic dish became famous as Fettucini Alfredo.
* Napoli claims to be home to the original pizza pie.
* Modena is home to 2 great Italian products: balsamic vinegar and the Ferrari.
* Piper nigrum, black pepper, was worth its weight in gold when it had to be brought to Europe from the Spice islands (region encompassing India, Indonesia, etc).
* Scylla and Charybdis, the twin dangers of a 6-headed monster and a ship-eating whirlpool, was located in the Straits of Messina.

The lira is no longer the currency of Italy. They use the Euro (today a Euro is worth more than a USD). Why did the nations of Western Europe band together in the European Union? The better to compete with the US and China in business ventures. An example is the successful passenger airplane manufacturing company called Airbus. While headquartered in France, Airbus is a partnership comprising several Euro nations. To see their technology, find the Airbus 380, an 800-seat airliner planned for 2008.


Independent work:

Research the Yellow Pages to compare the number of local restaurants under the categories of Tex-Mex, Italian and Chinese. Which seems to be the most popular with local diners?