BASIC
INFORMATION
Full
Name: ITALY
Capital
Rome
Largest city Rome
Official language
Italian
Government
Republic
Area 301,318 km²
Population
58,751,711
Currency Euro
Time
zone (UTC +1)
Internet
TLD .it
Calling
code +39
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GEOGRAPHY
& BACKGROUND
Italy,
officially the Italian Republic (Italian:
Italia] or Repubblica Italiana, IPA is a
Southern European country. It comprises
the Po River valley, the Italian Peninsula
and two large islands in the Mediterranean
Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. It is shaped like
a boot and for this reason Italians commonly
call it "lo stivale" ("the
boot").
The
Italian Republic shares its northern alpine
boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria
and Slovenia. The country also shares a
sea border with Croatia, Slovenia and France.
The independent countries of San Marino
and the Vatican City are enclaves within
Italian territory. Also belonging to the
republic is the commune of Campione d'Italia,
an enclave in the territory of the Italian
Switzerland. The Republic includes only
the 93% of Italian physical region, delimited
conventionanlly by the alpine watershed;
besides the above-mentioned enclaves, the
following territories do not belong to the
country: the Principality of Monaco, Nice
with Briga and Tenda, some strips of the
Alps near the French border (Monginevro,
Moncenisio and Piccolo San Bernardo), the
Italian Switzerland (Canton Ticino and some
valleys of Grigioni), the peninsula of Istria
and a piece of Venezia Giulia, the island
of Corsica and the archipelago of Malta.
Italy
was home to many well-known and influential
European civilizations, including the Etruscans,
Greeks and the Romans. For more than 3,000
years Italy experienced migrations and invasions
from Germanic, Celtic, Frankish, Lombard,
Byzantine Greek, Saracen, Norman, and Angevin
peoples, and was divided into many independent
states until 1861 when Italy became a nation-state.
Italy
is called "il Belpaese" (Italian
for beautiful country) by its inhabitants,
due to the beauty and variety of its landscapes
and for having the world's largest artistic
patrimony; the country is home to the greatest
number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites (41
as of July 13, 2006).
Today,
Italy is a highly developed country with
the 7th highest GDP in 2006, a member of
the G8 and a founding member of what is
now the European Union, having signed the
Treaty of Rome in 1957.
Italy
consists predominantly of a large peninsula
(the Italian Peninsula) with a distinctive
boot shape that extends into the Mediterranean
Sea, where together with its two main islands
Sicily and Sardinia it creates distinct
bodies of water, such as the Adriatic Sea
to the north-east, the Ionian Sea to the
south-east, the Tyrrhenian Sea to the south-west
and finally the Ligurian Sea to the north-west.
Satellite image of Italy.The Apennine mountains
form the backbone of this peninsula, leading
north-west to where they join the Alps,
the mountain range that then forms an arc
enclosing Italy from the north. Here is
also found a large alluvial plain, the Po-Venetian
plain, drained by the Po River — which
is Italy's biggest river with 652 km —
and its many tributaries flowing down from
the Alps (Dora Baltea, 160 km, Sesia, 138
km, Ticino, 248 km, Adda, 313 km, Oglio,
280 km, Mincio), 194 km, and Apennines (Tanaro,
276 km, Trebbia, 115 km, Taro, 115 km, Secchia,
172 km, Panaro, 148 km).
Other
well-known or importants rivers include
the Tiber (Tevere) (405 km), Adige (410
km), Arno (241 km), Piave (220 km), Reno
(212 km), Volturno (175 km), Tagliamento
(170 km), Liri-Garigliano (158 km), Isonzo
(136 km).
Its
highest point is Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco)
at 4,810 metres (15,781 feet)3. Italy is
more typically associated with two famous
volcanoes: the currently dormant Vesuvius
near Naples and the very active Etna on
Sicily.
For
more information please visit
http://www.fco.gov.uk/
