Italy

Italy /ˈɪtəli/ (help·info) (Italian: Italia), officially the Italian Republic (Italian: Repubblica Italiana), is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia. The independent states of San Marino and the Vatican City are enclaves within the Italian Peninsula, and Campione d'Italia is an Italian exclave in Switzerland.

The land known as Italy today has been the cradle of many European cultures and peoples, such as the Etruscans and the Romans, and later was the birthplace of the University, the Renaissance that began in Tuscany and spread all over Europe, Vitruvian Man, modern science and astronomy, heliocentrism and Opera. Italy's capital, Rome, was for centuries the center of Western civilization. Italy possessed a colonial empire from the second half of the nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century.

Today, Italy is a democratic republic and a developed country with the eighth-highest quality of life index rating in the world.^[5] It is a founding member of what is now the European Union, having signed the Treaty of Rome in 1957, and it is a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It is a member of the G8, having the world's seventh-largest nominal GDP, and is also a member state of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Council of Europe, the Western European Union, and the Central European Initiative. Italy is a Schengen state. It has the world's seventh-largest defence budget and shares NATO's nuclear weapons. On 1 January 2007, Italy began a two-year term as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.

Contents

• 1 Etymology
• 2 History
  • 2.1 Prehistory to Roman Empire
  • 2.2 Middle Ages
  • 2.3 Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
  • 2.4 The Italian Republic (1946-)
• 3 Geography
  • 3.1 Topography
  • 3.2 Climate
• 4 Government and politics
• 5 Foreign relations
• 6 Military
  • 6.1 Army
  • 6.2 Navy
  • 6.3 Air Force
  • 6.4 Gendarmerie
• 7 Administrative divisions
• 8 Demographics
  • 8.1 Population
  • 8.2 Cities and metropolitan areas
  • 8.3 Recognised ethnic minorities
  • 8.4 Immigrants
  • 8.5 The Italian Diaspora
  • 8.6 Religion
• 9 Economy
  • 9.1 Transport
• 10 Culture
  • 10.1 Visual Art
  • 10.2 Literature
  • 10.3 Science
  • 10.4 Music
  • 10.5 Cinema
  • 10.6 Sport
  • 10.7 Cuisine
• 11 See also
• 12 Notes
• 13 References
• 14 External links

Italian Republic Repubblica Italiana
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: Il Canto degli Italiani (also known as Inno di Mameli) The Song of the Italians
Location of Italy (dark green) – on the European continent (light green & dark grey) – in the European Union (light green) — [Legend]
Capital (and largest city)		Rome 41°54′N 12°29′E / 41.9°N 12.483°E / 41.9; 12.483
Official languages		Italian1
Ethnic groups ([1])		94.2% Italian 1.94% Romanian, Albanian, Ukrainian 1.34% African 0.92% Asian 0.46% South American 1.14% Other
Demonym		Italian
Government		Parliamentary republic
-	President	Giorgio Napolitano
-	Prime Minister	Silvio Berlusconi
Legislature		Parliament
-	Upper House	Senate
-	Lower House	Chamber of Deputies
Formation
-	Unification	17 March 1861
-	Republic	2 June 1946
EU accession		25 March 1957 (founding member)
Area
-	Total	301,338 km2 (71st) 116,346 sq mi
-	Water (%)	2.4
Population
-	2008 estimate	60,045,068[2] (23rd)
-	2001 census	57,110,144
-	Density	199.2/km2 (54th) 515.8/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2008 estimate
-	Total	$1,815 billion[3] (10th)
-	Per capita	$30,581[3] (27th)
GDP (nominal)		2008 estimate
-	Total	$2.314 billion[3] (7th)
-	Per capita	$38,996[3] (21th)
Gini (2000)		36 (medium)
HDI (2008)		▲ 0.945 (high) (19th)
Currency		Euro (€)2 (EUR)
Time zone		CET (UTC+1)
-	Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Drives on the		right
Internet TLD		.it3
Calling code		39