LIVING in Italy is like living in paradise on earth. It may not be the Holy Land for Christians but this is where the current seat of Roman Catholicism is located – the Vatican City in Rome, the only sovereign nation on earth located within the confines of a city. Roman Catholics are proud for Rome to be the seat of their religion because it used to be a pagan city associated with power and architectural fame such as the Colloseum and with ferocious people such as Julius Caesar. But it was ultimately conquered by the Roman Catholics in the end and Rome has vastly extended its Roman Catholic-secular empire into most of Europe. In fact, most of the languages used in modern Europe have Roman influences – languages such as French, German, Italian and even English, Scottish and Irish in the Islands of Great Britain and Man.

One of the advantages for being an Italian is the bullishness of its tourism. Because it is the seat of the most far-reaching Christian religion in the world, a lot of visitors from Tonga to Malaysia, from Congo to Angola come here to pray. This is especially true during the Holy Week where Pope Benedict XVI himself presides the mass at his balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square as well as on New Year’s Eve and Christmas Eve.

It’s not just the Vatican City that is an attraction in itself. There are many structures in Rome that have historical significance and are even considered as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. One example is the Colloseum. The Colloseum has been built for gladiators to be pitted against lions and wild beasts. The Colloseum was epitomized in Hollywood with a movie by Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe called Gladiator. In 2006, Vatican City in Rome was one of the settings in the Tom Cruise vehicle megged by maverick Hollywood producer J.J. Abrams Mission Impossible 3. By 2008, heartthrob Hayden Christensen will pit his talent against veteran Samuel Jackson in the superhero movie Jumper. Jumper is the only Hollywood movie production being permitted to film interior scenes at the Colloseum.

Yet again, there are other modern sceneries in Italy that attract tourists and ultimately let them stay here if they have retired already. Maybe you are one of them. There are people I know who have already retired by the time they go 40. If you are pressured with what you eat in the United States, then in here in Italy you will love to have the Mediterranean diet which to me is more promising than an Atkins. Mediterranean diet consists of lots of fruits and vegetables and red wine in between. Italians love wine whether they reside in Tuscany or in Sicily. But seriously enough, Italian cuisine doesn’t just consist of tiramisu and lasagna which you always see in a typical Italian restaurant at the Bronx. Real Italian cusine is what people at the fishing villages eat as their daily meals.