Southern Europe: Spain, Italy, and Greece

SPAIN

• Population:40.4 million

• More than ¾ of population lives in cities & towns

• Life expectancy: Men – 78 yearsWomen – 84 years

• Ethnicity is historically Mediterranean . . . BUT . . . recently an influx of immigrants has occurred. From where???

Languages in Spain

• Almost all speak Castilian Spanish.

• Regional languages include:– Catalan 17%– Galician 7%– Basque 2% (in

Pyrenees)

Brief History of Spain

• As many as 17 different regions were united by the monarchs, Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon, in the 15th century to create the Spanish nation.

• Spain was once a great empire thanks to the help of financing from these monarchs and the courage of explorers like Christopher Columbus.

Spanish Empire• By colonizing the Americas, Spain became one of the richest and most

powerful countries of the 16th century. At the height of its power in 1588, the Spanish Empire included the West Indies, Cuba, Florida, Mexico, Central America, much of South America, and the Philippines.

• What happened in 1588?

Regionalism

• Spain is a “country of different countries.”

• Some regions (Catalonia & Basque, in particular) still want independence & threaten to secede!

Basque leaders are troublemakers!

In the village of Axpe, Basque Country, where you can see some of the highest peaks of the Pyrenees

Valley Fog, Guipuzcoa, Basque Country

Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Basque Country

Basque protests

Montserrat, Catalonia, w/ natural rock formations rising to 4,000 ft.

A rural farmhouse in Catalonia

Hotels in Barcelona, Catalonia

Catalonian countryside

The dictatorship of Generalissimo Francisco Franco

was in place from 1939 to 1975.

Remind you of anyone?

Franco

Spain’s government is now a

Constitutional Monarchy• Hereditary monarch, King

Juan Carlos I (since 1975), is head of state but elected officials run the government

• Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy since 2011

Parliament = Cortes

94% of Spain is Roman Catholic

• When La Sagrada Familia (the Sacred Family) is finished, it will be over 500 feet tall, or 40% of the height of the Sears Tower in Chicago.  The central dome will be 50% taller than these spires, and will be egg-shaped.  It was started in 1882, and at one point, the estimated completion date was to be around 2200. 

More views ofLa Sagrada Familia

Barcelona

Spain’s leading seaport & industrial center

Madrid, capital of Spain

• has nearly 5 million people

• one of Europe’s leading cultural centers; faces challenges of heavy traffic & air pollution

Plaza de Toros de las Ventas

Madrid

Templo de Debod Church of Santa Monica

Madrid at night

Spain was a Founding Member of the EU

Spain’s Economy

• Manufacturing, mining of iron ore, gas & oil

• Depends on Tourist Industry, employing 11%

• World’s leading producer of olive oil

• Dry Farming,

irrigation not used

Dry farming field in summer

Culture & Tourism• Running of the Bulls• Parade of Giants• World’s Largest

Tomato Fight• Castellers (Human

Towers)

Arts• Spanish dances, such

as the bolero and flamenco have become popular throughout the world.

• Joaquin Cortes, flamenco dancer

Famous Spanish Actors

• Antonio Banderas • Penelope Cruz

References

• www.3dphoto.net • www.googlemaps.com• www.iom.int • www.learnnc.org• www.islamicaweb.com• www.encarta.msn.com• www.claremontmckenna.edu• www.images.google.com• www.picturehistory.com• www.img.timeinc.net• www.brittanica.com• www.webpages.csus.edu