Gym

A gym, short for gymnasium, is an open air or covered location for gymnastics and athletics and gymnastic services such as in schools and colleges, from the ancient Greek gymnasium.

Gymnasia apparatus such as bar-bells, parallel bars, jumping board, running path, tennis-balls, cricket field, fencing area, and so forth are used as exercises. In safe weather, outdoor locations are the most conductive to health. Gyms were popular in ancient Greece. Their curricula included Gymnastica militaria or self-defense, gymnastica medica, or physical therapy to help the sick and injured, and gymnastica athletica for physical fitness and sports, from boxing to dance.

These gymnasia also had teachers of wisdom and philosophy. Community gymnastic events were done as part of the celebrations during various village festivals. In ancient Greece there was a phrase of contempt, "He can neither swim nor write." After a while, however, Olympic athletes began training in buildings just for them. Community sports never became as popular among ancient Romans as it had among the ancient Greeks. Gyms were used more as a preparation for military service or spectator sports. During the Roman Empire, the gymnastic art was forgotten. In the Dark Ages there were sword fighting tournaments and of chivalry; and after gunpowder was invented sword fighting began to be replaced by the sport of fencing. There were schools of dagger fighting and wrestling and boxing.

List of Peep Show episodes

Peep Show is a British sitcom starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb. It is broadcast on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom. Written by Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain, the series explores the lives of Mark Corrigan (Mitchell) and Jeremy "Jez" Usbourne (Webb). It is filmed almost entirely from the physical points-of-view of the characters, and viewers can hear the interior monologues of Mark and Jez.

At the beginning of the series, Mark has a crush on his colleague Sophie (Olivia Colman), and Jez hopes to break through into the music business. As the series progresses, it becomes clear that Jez is unlikely to be successful. Jez falls in love with Nancy (Rachel Blanchard), an American Christian, and they get married, but mainly to get Nancy a visa. Mark begins to question his love for Sophie. They also marry, though Mark does not want to, and Sophie leaves Mark right after the wedding ceremony.

The first series began on 19 September 2003, and the ninth and last series started on 11 November 2015. The first series was directed by Jeremy Wooding, the second and third by Tristram Shapeero and the fourth through eighth by Becky Martin. Channel 4 was planning to cancel the show after the third series because of poor viewing figures. However, high sales of DVDs encouraged Channel 4 to allow the series to continue, with the fifth series commissioned before the fourth was broadcast. A sixth series was commissioned during the fifth series, and the seventh series before the sixth was broadcast.

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