Italian Republic

Italy (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 temperate seasonal 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 classical times, Greeks, Etruscans and Celts have inhabited the south, centre and north of the Italian Peninsula respectively. The Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually spread throughout Italy, assimilating and conquering other nearby civilizations and forming the Roman Republic. 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.

During the Dark Ages, Italy suffered sociopolitical collapse amid calamitous barbarian invasions, but by the 11th century, numerous rival city-states and maritime republics rose to great prosperity through shipping, commerce, and banking, and even laid the groundwork for capitalism. These independent city-states and regional republics, acting as Europe's main port of entry for Asian and Near Eastern imported goods, often enjoyed a greater degree of democracy in comparison to the monarchies and feudal states found throughout Europe at the time, though much of central Italy remained under the control of the theocratic Papal States, while Southern Italy remained largely feudal, partially as a result of a succession of Byzantine, Arab and Norman conquests of the region.

France reached its territorial height during the 19th and early 20th centuries, when it ultimately possessed the second-largest colonial empire in the world. In World War I, France was one of the main winners as part of the Triple Entente alliance fighting against the Central Powers. France was also one of the Allied Powers in World War II, but came under occupation by the Axis Powers in 1940. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War. The Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Following World War II, most of the French colonial empire became decolonized.

During the Renaissance, a period of renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration and art, Italy and the rest of Europe entered the modern era. The Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists, and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. Italian explorers such as Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci, and Giovanni da Verrazzano discovered new routes to the Far East and the New World, helping to usher in the European Age of Discovery. Nevertheless, the Italian city-states constantly engaged one another in bloody warfare, with this tension and violent rivalry culminating in the Italian Wars of the 15th and 16th centuries, a series of wars and foreign invasions that left the Italian states vulnerable to annexation by neighboring European powers. Italy would remain politically fragmented and fall prey to occupation, colonization, conquest, and general foreign domination by European powers such as France, Spain, and later Austria, subsequently entering a long period of decline.

By the mid-19th century, a rising movement in support of Italian nationalism and Italian independence from foreign control lead to a period of revolutionary political upheaval known as the Risorgimento, which sought to bring about a rebirth of Italian cultural and economic prominence by liberating and consolidating the Italian peninsula and insular Italy into an independent and unified nation-state. After various unsuccessful attempts, the Italian Wars of Independence, the Expedition of the Thousand and the capture of Rome resulted in the eventual unification of the country, now a great power after centuries of foreign domination and political division. From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, the new Kingdom of Italy rapidly industrialized, especially in the so-called Industrial Triangle of Milan, Turin and Genoa in the North , and soon acquired a colonial empire. However, the southern areas of the country remained largely excluded from industrialization, fueling a large and influential diaspora. Despite being one of the main victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil, leading the way to the rise of a Fascist dictatorship in 1922. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in military defeat, economic destruction and civil war. In the years that followed, Italy abolished the Italian monarchy, reinstated democracy, and enjoyed a prolonged economic boom, thus becoming one of the world's most developed nations.

Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and the eighth largest economy in the world. It has a very high level of human development and enjoys the highest life expectancy in the EU. Italy plays a prominent role in regional and global military, cultural and diplomatic affairs. Italy is a founding and leading member of the European Union and the member of numerous international institutions, including the UN, NATO, the OECD, the OSCE, the WTO, the G7/G8, G20, the Union for the Mediterranean, the Council of Europe, Uniting for Consensus, and many more. As a reflection of its vast cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is one of the most visited countries.

Geography

Italy is located in Southern Europe, between latitudes 35° and 47° N, and longitudes 6° and 19° E. To the north, Italy borders France, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia, and is roughly delimited by the Alpine watershed, enclosing the Po Valley and the Venetian Plain. To the south, it consists of the entirety of the Italian Peninsula and the two Mediterranean islands of Sicily and Sardinia, in addition to many smaller islands. The sovereign states of San Marino and the Vatican City are enclaves within Italy, while Campione d'Italia is an Italian exclave in Switzerland.

The country's total area is 301,230 square kilometres (116,306 sq mi), of which 294,020 km2 (113,522 sq mi) is land and 7,210 km2 (2,784 sq mi) is water. Including the islands, Italy has a coastline and border of 7,600 kilometres (4,722 miles) on the Adriatic, Ionian, Tyrrhenian seas (740 km (460 mi)), and borders shared with France (488 km (303 mi)), Austria (430 km (267 mi)), Slovenia (232 km (144 mi)) and Switzerland (740 km (460 mi)). San Marino (39 km (24 mi)) and Vatican City (3.2 km (2.0 mi)), both enclaves, account for the remainder.

The Apennine Mountains form the peninsula's backbone and the Alps form most of its northern boundary, where Italy's highest point is located on Mont Blanc (4,810 m/15,782 ft). The Po, Italy's longest river (652 km/405 mi), flows from the Alps on the western border with France and crosses the Padan plain on its way to the Adriatic Sea. The five largest lakes are, in order of diminishing size: Garda (367.94 km2 or 142 sq mi), Maggiore (212.51 km2 or 82 sq mi, shared with Switzerland), Como (145.9 km2 or 56 sq mi), Trasimeno (124.29 km2 or 48 sq mi) and Bolsena (113.55 km2 or 44 sq mi).

The country is situated at the meeting point of the Eurasian Plate and the African Plate, leading to considerable seismic and volcanic activity. There are 14 volcanoes in Italy, four of which are active: Etna (the traditional site of Vulcan’s smithy), Stromboli, Vulcano and Vesuvius. Vesuvius is the only active volcano in mainland Europe and is most famous for the destruction of Pompeii and Herculanum. Several islands and hills have been created by volcanic activity, and there is still a large active caldera, the Campi Flegrei north-west of Naples.

Although the country comprises the Italian peninsula and most of the southern Alpine basin, some of Italy's territory extends beyond the Alpine basin and some islands are located outside the Eurasian continental shelf. These territories are the comuni of: Livigno, Sexten, Innichen, Toblach (in part), Chiusaforte, Tarvisio, Graun im Vinschgau (in part), which are all part of the Danube's drainage basin, while the Val di Lei constitutes part of the Rhine's basin and the islands of Lampedusa and Lampione are on the African continental shelf.

Info:

Anthem: Il Canto degli Italiani (Italian) | The Song of the Italians
Capital: Rome
Official Language: Italian
Religion: Roman Catholic
Demonym: Italian
Legislature: Parliament
Area: 301,338 km2
Currency: Euro (€)b (EUR)
Time Zone: CET (UTC+1)
Summer (DST): CEST (UTC+2)
Date Format: dd-mm-yyyy
Drives on the: right
Calling code: +39
ISO 3166 Code: IT
International TLD: .it

Largest Cities/Towns/Districts of Italy

1. Rome
2. Milan
3. Naples
4. Turin
5. Palermo
6. Genoa
7. Bologna
8. Florence
9. Bari
10. Catania
11. Venice
12. Verona
13. Messina
14. Padua
15. Trieste
16. Taranto
17. Brescia
18. Prato
19. Parma
20. Modena

Flag of Italy

The flag of Italy is a tricolour featuring three equally sized vertical pales of green, white, and red, with the green at the hoist side. Its current form has been in use since 19 June 1946 and was formally adopted on 1 January 1948.

Official Website: Italia.it

Did You Know?

• With 61 million inhabitants, Italy is the 5th most populous country in Europe.
• Italy has the eighth-largest economy in the world.
• Italy is home to the largest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites with 50.
• The Italian mafia accounts for 7% of Italy's GDP.
• Italy is the largest producer of wine in the world.
• Located within Italy, San Marino is the world's oldest republic (301 A.D.) and holds the world's oldest continuous constitution.
• One-third of Italians have never used the Internet.
• More than a third of single Italian men between the ages of 30 and 35 live with their parents.
• 51% of Italians can't afford a vacation.
• Italian Traffic Police has two Lamborghini Gallado in service.
• 500,000 Italians visit an exorcist every year.
• Whatsapp is cited in nearly half of all Italian divorce proceedings.
• In Italy, there is a submerged bronze statue of Jesus Christ of 2.5 metres tall.
• Galileo's middle finger is on display at a museum in Florence, Italy.
• At age 10, Mussolini was expelled from a religious boarding school in Italy for stabbing a classmate in the hand.
• In Venice, Italy, all gondolas are required to be painted in black by law.
• Poveglia is an island in Italy that is so dangerously "haunted" that public access is not permitted.
• In Milan, Italy, it's a legal requirement to smile at all times, except during funerals or hospital visits.
• "Ferrari" as a last name is the Italian equivalent of "Smith".
• In 2013, an Italian man under house arrest asked to go to prison to escape his wife.
• Italian artist Piero Manzoni filled 90 tin cans with his feces, called it "Artist's sh*t" and sold them for up to €124,000 a tin.
• A cat inherited a fortune of US$13 million from its owner in Italy.
• Italian serial killer Leonarda Cianciulli was famous for turning victims into tea cakes and serving them to guests.
• Italy's PM Benito Mussolini tortured his enemies by forcing them to swallow massive doses of castor oil.
• It's illegal to die in Falciano del Massico, a town in Italy, because the cemetery is full.
• In 2012, a court in Italy ruled that telling a man he has "no balls" is a crime, punishable with a fine.
• In Italy, "pepperoni" refers to bell peppers. There's no Italian salami by that name.
• Tomatoes came from America and weren't introduced in Italy until the 1540s.
• The world's oldest university in continuous operation is the University of Bologna, in Italy, founded in 1088.
• Rastafarians are legally allowed to possess marijuana in Italy due to it being a 'sacrament' to the religion.
• In 2008, wine started flowing through taps in dozens of homes during a grape festival in Italy due to a technical error.
• A man can be arrested in Italy for wearing a skirt in public.
• A 14th-century medieval tower rises out of Lake Reschensee, in Italy. It's the only visible building of a submerged village.
• There's a restaurant built into a grotto in Italy.
• Soccer fans in Italy are called "tifosi", meaning "carriers of typhus", because their fanatism is like a fever.
• In 1968, a man built a platform off the coast of Italy and declared himself the President of his micronation. The Italian government seized control and blew it up with explosives.
• In Italy, the same voice actor will follow an American actor throughout their filmography and career.
• There is a 180-foot (55-meter) long stuffed pink bunny on top of a hill in Italy.
• The fork came to Italy before any other European country because of pasta.
• About 3,000 Euros are thrown into the Trevi fountain, in Italy, each day.
• 37% of the Argentine population are of Italian descent, about 12,8 million people.

References

• Wikipedia
• Wikimedia
• Fact Slides