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Italy

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Countries; European
Countries

                            Repubblica Italiana
   Italian Republic

   Flag of Italy Coat of arms of Italy
   Flag          Coat of arms
   Anthem: Il Canto degli Italiani
   (also known as "Fratelli d'Italia")
   Location of Italy
   Capital
   (and largest city)     Rome
                          41°54′N 12°29′E
     Official languages   Italian^1
   Government             Republic
    - President           Giorgio Napolitano
    - Prime Minister      Romano Prodi
         Formation
    - Unification         17 March 1861
    - Republic            2 June 1946
      Accession to EU     March 25, 1957 (founding member)
                                   Area
    - Total               301,318 km² ( 71st)
                          116,346.5 sq mi
    - Water (%)           2.4
                                Population
    - 2006 estimate       58,751,711 ( 22nd)
    - October 2001 census 57,110,144
    - Density             195/km² ( 54th)
                          499.4/sq mi
         GDP ( PPP)       2005 estimate
    - Total               $1.668 trillion ( 8th)
    - Per capita          $28,760 ( 21st)
        HDI  (2004)       0.940 (high) ( 17th)
          Currency        Euro ( €)^2 ( EUR)
         Time zone        CET ( UTC+1)
    - Summer ( DST)       CEST ( UTC+2)
        Internet TLD      .it^3
        Calling code      +39
   ^1 French is co-official in the Aosta Valley; German is co-official in
   Trentino-South Tyrol.
   ^2 Prior to 2002: Italian Lira.
   ^3 The .eu domain is also used, as it is shared with other European
   Union member states.

   The Italian Republic ( Italian: Repubblica Italiana; IPA: [ɾe ˌpubblika
   ita 'ljaːna]) or Italy (Italia; IPA: [i'taːlja]) is a country located
   in Southern Europe, that comprises the Po River valley, the Italian
   Peninsula and the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily
   and Sardinia. It is also called by Italians lo Stivale ("the Boot," due
   to its boot-like shape), or la Penisola ("the Peninsula" as an
   antonomasia). Italy shares its northern alpine boundary with France,
   Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia. The independent countries of San
   Marino and the Vatican City are enclaves within Italian territory,
   while Campione d'Italia is an Italian exclave in Switzerland.

   Italy was home to many well-known and influential European cultures,
   including the Etruscans, Greeks, and the Romans. Its capital Rome has
   been a historically important world city, especially as the core of
   ancient Rome and the Roman Catholic Church. For more than 3,000 years
   Italy experienced migrations and invasions from Germanic, Celtic,
   Frankish, Lombard, Byzantine Greek, Saracen, Norman, and Angevin
   peoples during the Middle Ages, followed by the Italian Renaissance
   period, in which the Italian Wars took place and various city-states
   were noted for their cultural achievements. Italy divided into many
   independent states and often experienced foreign domination before
   Italian unification took place, creating Italy as an independent
   nation-state for the first time in its history. During the period under
   the Italian monarchy and during the world wars Italy experienced much
   conflict, but stability was restored after the creation of the Italian
   Republic.

   Today, Italy is a highly-developed country with the 7th-highest GDP and
   the 17th-highest Human Development Index rating. It is a member of the
   G8 and a founding member of what is now the European Union, having
   signed the Treaty of Rome in 1957. Inhabitants of Italy are referred to
   as Italians (Italiani, or poetically Italici).

Origin of the name

   The word "Italy" possibly derives from the Homeric ( Aeolic) word
   ἱταλός, which means " calf" ( see Liddell-Scott dictonary). The first
   Greek settlers, who arrived in Southern Italy ( Calabria) from Euboea
   island in the 8th century BC, named their new land Vitulia ("land of
   calves"). The area indicated by this name spread later to the north,
   but it was only under Augustus that this denomination was applied to
   the whole peninsula.

History

   Excavations throughout Italy have found proof of people in Italy dating
   back to the Palaeolithic period (the "Old Stone Age") some 200,000
   years ago.

   Italy has influenced the cultural and social development of the whole
   Mediterranean area, deeply influencing European culture as well. As a
   result, it has also influenced other important cultures. Such cultures
   and civilisations have existed there since prehistoric times. After
   Magna Graecia, the Etruscan civilisation and especially the Roman
   Republic and Empire that dominated this part of the world for many
   centuries, Italy was central to European science and art during the
   Renaissance.
   The Colosseum in Rome, perhaps the most enduring symbol of Italy
   Enlarge
   The Colosseum in Rome, perhaps the most enduring symbol of Italy

Roman and Medieval Italy

   Centre of the Roman civilization for centuries, Italy lost its unity
   after the collapse of the Roman Empire and subsequent barbaric
   invasions. Conquered by the Ostrogoths and briefly regained by the
   Eastern Empire (552), it was partially occupied by the Longobards in
   568, resulting in the peninsula becoming irreparably divided. For
   centuries the country was the prey of different populations, resulting
   in its ultimate decadence and misery. Most of the population fled from
   cities to take refuge in the countryside under the protection of
   powerful feudal lords. After the Longobards came the Franks (774).
   Italy became part of the Holy Roman Empire. Pippin the Short created
   the first nucleus of the State of the Church, which later became a
   strong countervailing force against any unification of the country.

   Population and economy started slowly to pick up after 1000, with the
   resurgence of cities (which organised themselves politically in
   Comuni), trade, arts and literature. During the later Middle Ages the
   partially democratic Comuni, which could not face the challenges of
   that period, were substituted by monarchic-absolutistic governments (
   Signorie), but the fragmentation of the peninsula, especially in the
   northern and central parts of the country, continued, while the
   southern part, with Naples, Apulia and Sicily, remained under a single
   domination. Venice and Genoa created powerful commercial empires in the
   Eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea.

Italy during the Renaissance and Baroque

   The Black Death in 1348 inflicted a terrible blow to Italy, resulting
   in one third of the population killed by the disease. The recovery from
   the disaster led to a new resurgence of cities, trade and economy which
   greatly stimulated the successive phase of the Humanism and Renaissance
   (15th-16th centuries) when Italy again returned to be the centre of
   Western civilisation, strongly influencing the other European
   countries. During this period the many Signorie gathered in a small
   number of regional states, but none of them had enough power to unify
   the peninsula.

   After a century where the fragmented system of Italian states and
   principalities were able to maintain a relative independence and a
   balance of power in the peninsula, in 1494 the French king Charles VIII
   opened the first of a series of invasions, lasting half of the 16th
   century, and a competition between France and Spain for the possession
   of the country. Ultimately Spain prevailed (the Treaty of
   Cateau-Cambresis in 1559 recognized the Spanish possession of the Duchy
   of Milan and the Kingdom of Naples) and for almost two centuries became
   the hegemon in Italy. The holy alliance between reactionary Catholic
   Spain and the Holy See resulted in the systematic persecution of any
   Protestant movement, with the result that Italy remained a Catholic
   country with marginal Protestant presence. The Spanish domination and
   the control of the Church resulted in intellectual stagnation and
   economic decadence, also attributable to the shifting of the main
   commercial routes from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic.

Napoleonic Italy and struggle for unification

   Austria succeeded Spain as hegemon in Italy after the Peace of Utrecht
   (1713), having acquired the State of Milan and the Kingdom of Naples.
   The Austrian domination, thanks also to the Enlightenment embraced by
   Habsburgic emperors, was a considerable improvement upon the Spanish
   one. The northern part of Italy, under the direct control of Vienna,
   again recovered economic dynamism and intellectual fervor, had improved
   its situation.

   The French Revolution and the Napoleonic War (1796-1815) introduced the
   modern ideas of equality, democracy, law and nation. The peninsula was
   not a main battle field as in the past but Napoleon (born in Corsica in
   1769, one year after the cession of the island from Genoa to France)
   changed completely its political map, destroying in 1799 the Republic
   of Venice, which never recovered its independence. The states founded
   by Napoleon with the support of minority groups of Italian patriots
   were short-lived and did not survive the defeat of the French Emperor
   in 1815.

   The Restoration had all the pre-Revolution states restored with the
   exception of the Republic of Venice (forthwith under Austrian control)
   and the Republic of Genoa (under Savoy domination). Napoleon had
   nevertheless the merit to give birth to the first national movement for
   unity and independence. Albeit formed by small groups with almost no
   contact with the masses, the Italian patriots and liberals staged
   several uprisings in the decades up to 1860. Mazzini and Garibaldi were
   the most economical reformists for the impoverished masses. From 1848
   onwards the Italian patriots were more or less openly supported by
   Vittorio Emanuele II, the king of Sardinia, who put his arms in the
   Italian tricolor dedicating the House of Savoy to the Italian unity.

Unification

   The unification of Italy was obtained on March 17 1861, after a
   successful war (the Second War of Independence) against Austria with
   the support of France, and the successive invasion of the Kingdom of
   the Two Sicilies (Naples and Sicily), led in 1860 by Giuseppe
   Garibaldi. Vittorio Emanuele II became the first king of the united
   Italy.

   The national territory was enlarged to Veneto with Venice in 1866 after
   the Third War of Independence, fought by allied Italy and Prussia
   against Austria. Rome with Lazio, thanks to French protection remained
   for a little less than a decade under the Papacy and became part of the
   Kingdom of Italy on September 20 1870, after Italian troops stormed the
   city.

   The first unified state was plagued by a gruesome rebellion of the
   Southern populations opposed to the new domination, by economic
   stagnation, misery, illiteracy and a weak national consciousness.
   Italian was spoken by a small part of the population while the rest
   spoke local dialects.

   In 1878 Umberto I succeeded his father Vittorio Emanuele II as King of
   Italy. He was killed by an anarchist in 1900 and succeeded by his son
   Vittorio Emanuele III.

Industrialisation, World Wars and Fascism

   Industrialisation and modernisation, at least in the northern portion
   of the country, started in the last part of the 19th century under a
   protectionist regime. The south, in the meanwhile, stagnated under
   overpopulation and underdevelopment, so forcing millions of people to
   search for employment and better conditions of life abroad. This lasted
   until 1970. It is calculated that more than 26 million Italians
   migrated to France, Germany, Switzerland, United States, Argentina,
   Brazil and Australia.

   Democracy moved its first steps at the beginning of the 20th century.
   The Statuto Albertino of 1848 provided for basic freedoms, but the
   electoral laws excluded the disposed and the uneducated from voting.
   Only in 1913 male universal suffrage was allowed. The Socialist Party
   resulted the main political party, outclassing the traditional liberal
   and conservative organizations. The path to a modern liberal democracy
   was interrupted by the tragedy of the First World War (1915-1918),
   which Italy fought along with France and Great Britain. Italy was able
   to beat the Austrian-Hungarian Empire in November 1918. It obtained
   Trentino, South Tyrol, Trieste and Istria, besides Fiume and few
   territories on the Dalmatian coast ( Zara), gaining respect as an
   international power, but the population had to pay a heavy human and
   social price. The war produced more than 600,000 dead, inflation and
   unemployment, economic and political instability, which in the end
   favoured the Fascist movement to seize power in 1922 with the tacit
   support of King Vittorio Emanuele III, who feared civil war and
   revolution.

   The fascist dictatorship of Benito Mussolini lasted from 1922 to 1943
   but in the first years Mussolini maintained the appearance of a liberal
   democracy. After rigged elections in 1924 gave to Fascism and its
   conservative allies an absolute majority in Parliament, Mussolini
   cancelled all democratic liberties on January 3 1925. He then proceeded
   to establish a totalitarian state, imposing the control of the state
   upon all single social and political activity. Political parties were
   banned, independent trade unions were closed. The only permitted party
   was the National Fascist Party. A secret police ( OVRA) and a system of
   quasi-legal repression (Tribunale Speciale) ensured the total control
   of the regime upon Italians who, in their majority, either resigned or
   welcomed the dictatorship, many considering it a last resort to stop
   the spread of communism. While relatively benign in comparison with
   Nazi Germany or Stalinist Russia, several thousands people were
   incarcerated or exiled for their opposition and several dozens were
   killed by fascist thugs (Carlo Rosselli) or died in prison ( Antonio
   Gramsci). Mussolini tried to spread his authoritarian ideology to other
   European countries and dictators such as Salazar in Portugal, Franco in
   Spain and Hitler in Germany were heavily influenced by the Italian
   examples. Conservative but democratic leaders in Great Britain and
   United States were at the beginning favourable to Mussolini. Mussolini
   tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to spread fascism amongst the millions on
   Italians living abroad.

   In 1929 Mussolini realised a pact with the Holy See, resulting in the
   rebirth of an independent state of the Vatican for the Catholic Church
   in the heart of Rome. In 1935 he declared war on Ethiopia on a pretext.
   Ethiopia was subjugated in few months. This resulted in the alienation
   of Italy from its traditional allies, France and Great Britain, and its
   nearing to Nazi Germany. A first pact with Germany was concluded in
   1936 and then in 1938 (the Pact of Steel). Italy supported Franco's
   revolution in Spanish civil war and Hitler's pretensions in central
   Europe, accepting the annexation of Austria to Germany in 1938,
   although the disappearance of a buffer state between mighty Germany and
   Italy was unfavourable for the country. In October 1938 Mussolini
   managed to avoid the eruption of another war in Europe, bringing
   together Great Britain, France and Germany at the expense of
   Czechoslovakia's integrity.

   In April 1939 Italy occupied Albania, a de-facto protectorate for
   decades, but in September 1939, after the invasion of Poland, Mussolini
   wisely decided not to intervene on Germany's side, due to the poor
   preparation of the armed forces. Italy entered in war in June 1940 when
   France was almost defeated. Mussolini hoped for a quick victory but
   Italy showed from the very beginning the poor nature of its army and
   the scarce ability of its generals. Italy invaded Greece in October
   1940 via Albania but after a few days was forced to withdraw. After
   conquering British Somalia in 1940, a counter-attack by the Allies led
   to the loss of the whole Italian empire in the Horn of Africa. Italy
   was also defeated in Northern Africa and saved only by the German armed
   forces led by Rommel.

   After several defeats, Italy was invaded in May 1943. In July 1943 King
   Vittorio Emanuele III staged a coup d'etat against Mussolini, having
   him arrested. In September 1943 Italy surrendered. It was immediately
   invaded by Germany and for nearly two years the country was divided and
   became a battlefield. The Nazi-occupied part of the country, where a
   puppet fascist state under Mussolini was reconstituted, was the theatre
   of a savage civil war between freedom fighters (" partigiani") and Nazi
   and fascist troops. The country was liberated by a national uprising on
   25 April, 1945 (the Liberazione).

   Particularly in the north agitation against the king ran high, left
   wing and communist armed partisans wanting to depose him as being
   responsible for the fascist regime. Vittorio Emanuele gave up the
   throne to his son Umberto II who again faced the possibility of civil
   war. Italy became a Republic after the result of a popular referendum
   held on 2 June 1946, a day since then celebrated as Republic Day. The
   republic won with a 9% margin; the north of Italy voted prevalently for
   a republic, the south for the monarchy. The Republican Constitution was
   approved and entered into force on 1 January 1948, including a
   provisional measure banning all male members of the house of Savoy from
   Italy. This stipulation was redressed in 2002.

Italian Republic

   Since then Italy has experienced a strong economic growth, particularly
   in the 50s and 60s, while lifted the country among the most
   industrialized nations in the world, with a perennial political
   instability. The Christian Democratic Parliament cabinet led by
   Lamberto Dini, supported by the left-wing parties and the Northern
   League, lasted until Romano Prodi's new centre-left coalition won the
   1996 general election. In 2001 the centre-right took the government and
   Berlusconi was able to remain in power for a complete five year
   mandate. The last elections in 2006 returned Prodi in the government
   with a slim majority.

   Italy is a founding member of the European Community, European Union
   and NATO.

Politics

   The Quirinal Palace, house of the President of the Republic.
   Enlarge
   The Quirinal Palace, house of the President of the Republic.

   The 1948 Constitution of Italy established a bicameral parliament (
   Parlamento), consisting of a Chamber of Deputies (Camera dei Deputati)
   and a Senate (Senato della Repubblica), a separate judiciary, and an
   executive branch composed of a Council of Ministers ( cabinet)
   (Consiglio dei ministri), headed by the prime minister (Presidente del
   consiglio dei ministri).

   The President of the Republic (Presidente della Repubblica) is elected
   for seven years by the parliament sitting jointly with a small number
   of regional delegates. The president nominates the prime minister, who
   proposes the other ministers (formally named by the president). The
   Council of Ministers must retain the support (fiducia) of both houses.

   The houses of parliament are popularly and directly elected through a
   complex electoral system (latest amendment in 2005) which combines
   proportional representation with a majority prize for the largest
   coalition (Chamber). The electoral system in the Senate is based upon
   regional representation. In fact in 2006 elections the two competing
   coalitions were separated by few thousand votes, and in the Chamber the
   center-left coalition (L'Ulivo) got 345 Deputies against 277 for the
   centre-right one (Casa delle Libertà), while in the Senate l'Ulivo got
   only two Senators more than absolute majority. The Chamber of Deputies
   has 630 members, the Senate 315 elected senators; in addition, the
   Senate includes former presidents and other persons (no more than five)
   appointed senators for life by the President of the Republic according
   to special constitutional provisions. As of 15 May 2006, there are
   seven life senators (of which three are former Presidents). Both houses
   are elected for a maximum of five years, but both may be dissolved by
   the President of the Republic before the expiration of their normal
   term if the Parliament is unable to elect a stable government.

   In the post war history, that happened in 1972, 1976, 1979, 1983, 1994
   and 1996. A peculiarity of the Italian Parliament is the representation
   given to Italians permanently living abroad (more than 2 million).
   Among the 630 Deputies and the 315 Senators there are respectively 12
   and 6 elected in four distinct foreign constituencies. Those members of
   Parliament were elected for the first time in April 2006 and they enjoy
   the same rights as members elected in Italy. Legislative bills may
   originate in either house and must be passed by a majority in both. The
   Italian judicial system is based on Roman law modified by the
   Napoleonic code and later statutes. A constitutional court, the Corte
   Costituzionale, passes on the constitutionality of laws, and is a
   post-World War II innovation.

   All Italian citizens older than 18 can vote. However, to vote for the
   senate, the voter must be at least 25 or older.

Administrative divisions

   Administrative divisions.
   Enlarge
   Administrative divisions.

   Italy is subdivided into 20 regions (regioni, singular regione). Five
   of these regions enjoy a special autonomous status that enables them to
   enact legislation on some of their specific local matters, and are
   marked by an *:
    1. Abruzzo ( L'Aquila)
    2. Basilicata ( Potenza)
    3. Calabria ( Catanzaro)
    4. Campania ( Naples, Napoli)
    5. Emilia-Romagna (Bologna)
    6. Friuli-Venezia Giulia* ( Trieste)
    7. Lazio, Latium (Rome, Roma)
    8. Liguria (Genoa, Genova)
    9. Lombardy, Lombardia (Milan, Milano)
   10. Marche, Marches ( Ancona)
   11. Molise, ( Campobasso)
   12. Piedmont, Piemonte (Turin, Torino)
   13. Apulia, Puglia ( Bari)
   14. Sardinia*, Sardegna ( Cagliari)
   15. Aosta Valley*, Valle d'Aosta ( Aosta)
   16. Tuscany, Toscana ( Florence, Firenze)
   17. Trentino-South Tyrol*, Trentino-Alto Adige, ( Trento)
   18. Umbria ( Perugia)
   19. Sicily*, Sicilia ( Palermo)
   20. Veneto ( Venice, Venezia)

   All regions except the Aosta Valley are further subdivided into two or
   more provinces.

Geography

   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. For a complete list of the islands of Italy, see this
   comprehensive list.
   Satellite image of Italy
   Enlarge
   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.

Climate

   The Italian climate is uniquely diverse and can be far from the
   stereotype of a "land of sun", depending on the region. The north of
   Italy (Turin, Milan, and Bologna) has a true continental climate, while
   below Florence it becomes more and more Mediterranean. The climate of
   the coastal areas of the Peninsula is very different from that of the
   interior, particularly during the winter months. The higher areas are
   cold, wet, and often snowy. The coastal regions, where most of the
   large towns are located, have a typical Mediterranean climate with mild
   winters and hot and generally dry summers. The length and intensity of
   the summer dry season increases southwards (compare the tables for
   Rome, Naples, and Brindisi).
   Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Italy and Western Europe.
   Enlarge
   Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Italy and Western Europe.

   Between the north and south there is a quite remarkable difference in
   the temperatures, above all during the winter: in some days of December
   or January it can be -2°C and snowing in Milan while it is +17°C in
   Palermo or Naples. Temperature differences are less extreme in the
   summer. (See how Po valley can be frosty in winter )

   The east coast of the peninsula is not as wet as the west coast, but is
   usually colder in the winter. The east coast north of Pescara is
   occasionally affected by the cold bora winds in winter and spring, but
   the wind is less strong here than around Trieste. During these frosty
   spells from E-NE cities like Rimini, Ancona, Pescara and the entire
   eastern hillside of the Apennines can be affected by true "blizzards".
   The town of Fabriano, located just around 300 mt a.s.l., can often see
   0.50-0.60 m of fresh snow fall in 24 hours during these episodes.

   Italy is subject to highly diverse weather conditions in autumn,
   winter, and spring, while summer is usually more stable, although the
   northern regions often experience thunderstorms in the afternoon/night
   hours. So, while south of Florence the summer is typically dry and
   sunny, the north is tends to be more humid and cloudy.

   The least number of rainy days and the highest number of hours of
   sunshine occur in the extreme south of the mainland and in Sicily and
   Sardinia. Here sunshine averages from four to five hours a day in
   winter and up to ten or eleven hours in summer. In the north
   precipitation is more evenly distributed during the year, although the
   summer is usually slightly wetter. Between November and March the Po
   valley is often covered by fog, especially in the central zone (Pavia,
   Cremona, and Mantua). Snow is quite common between early December and
   mid-February in cities like Turin, Milan and Bologna. In the winter of
   2005-2006, Milan received around 0.75-0.80 m of fresh snow, Como around
   1.00 m, Brescia 0.50 m, Trento 1.60 m, Vicenza around 0.45 m, Bologna
   around 0.30 m, and Piacenza around 0.80 m. (see the late January 2006
   snowfall of Bergamo )

   Generally, the hottest month is August in the south and July in the
   north; during these months the thermometer can reach 38-42°C in the
   south and 33-35°C in the north. The coldest month is January; The Po
   valley's average temperature is around 0°C, Florence 5-6°C, Rome 7-8°C,
   Naples 9°C, Palermo 13°C. Winter morning lows can occasionally reach
   -14°C in Po valley, -6°C in Florence, -4°C in Rome, -2°C in Naples and
   1°C in Palermo.

   The absolute record low was near -45°C in the Alps, and the record low
   near the sea level was -28.8°C (recorded during January 1985 near
   Bologna), while in the south cities like Catania, Lecce or Alghero have
   experienced highs of 48°C in some hot summers.

Demographics

   Italy is largely homogeneous in language and religion but is diverse
   culturally, economically, and politically. The country has the
   fifth-highest population density in Europe at 193 persons per square
   kilometre (499/ sq. mi). However, like Germany, Italy's main population
   centers fall among several cities, mainly Turin, Rome, Milan, and
   Naples, with no single large city to rival the size of cities such as
   London, Paris or Moscow. As with many other nations in Europe, Italy is
   currently facing a natural population decline, supplemented only by
   immigration. Italy receives roughly 300,000 immigrants a year, second
   only to the United States. Population estimates place Italy's
   population at roughly 41 million in 2050 if the current population
   trend continues.

   Since the beginning of Roman civilisation, important influences have
   been exerted by ethnic groups like Greek settlers, Germanic and Celtic
   invaders and plunderers, and Norman colonisers.

   The number of immigrants or foreign residents in Italy has steadily
   increased to reach 2,402,157, according to the latest figures (1/2005)
   of ISTAT. They currently make up a little more than 4% of the official
   total population. The majority of immigrants in Italy come from other
   surrounding European nations, and they number 1,122,276, and chiefly
   come from Albania, Romania, Ukraine, and Poland. French nationals
   living in Italy, according to ISTAT figures, are more commonly women
   than men. The next largest group consists of North African Arab groups,
   and they number some 447,310 chiefly from Morocco, and Tunisia. Smaller
   groups consists of Asians, South Americans, and sub-saharan Africans.
   Top 5 largest foreign minorities ^1 are Albanian (316,659), Moroccan
   (294,945), Romanian (248,849), Chinese (111,712), and Ukrainian
   (93,441).

Religion

   Saint Peter's Basilica, Rome
   Enlarge
   Saint Peter's Basilica, Rome

   Roman Catholicism is by far the largest religion in the country.
   Although the Catholic Church has never been the state religion, it
   still plays a role in the nation's political affairs, partly due to the
   Holy See's location in Rome. 87.8% of Italians identified as Roman
   Catholic , although only about one-third of these described themselves
   as active members (36.8%).

   Other Christian groups in Italy include 500,000 Jehovah's Witnesses
   (0.9%)^[ citations needed], more than 700,000 Eastern Orthodox
   Christians (1.2%) , including 470,000 newcomers and some 180,000 Greek
   Orthodoxes, 450,000 Pentecotalists and Evangelicals (0.8%), of which
   300,000 members of the Assemblies of God, 30,000 Waldensians , 25,000
   Seventh-day Adventists, 22,000 Mormons, 15,000 Baptists (plus some
   5,000 Free Baptists), 7,000 Lutherans, 5,000 Methodists (affiliated to
   the Waldensian Church) .

   However the most historical religious minority is the Jewish community,
   comprising roughly 45,000 Jews. It is no longer the strongest
   non-Christian group. Indeed, in the past two decades, Italy has been
   receiving many waves of immigrants from all over the world, especially
   eastern Europe and North Africa. As a result some 825,000 Muslims
   (1.4%), of which only 50,000 are Italian citizens, live in Italy, as
   well as 110,000 Buddhists (0.2%) , and , 70,000 Sikhs , 70,000 Hindus
   (0.1%).

Economy

   According to GDP calculations, as measured by purchasing power parity
   (PPP), Italy is ranked as the 8th largest economy in the world in 2006,
   behind the United States, Japan, Germany, China, India, UK, and France,
   and the fourth largest in Europe. According to the OECD, in 2004 Italy
   was the world's sixth-largest exporter of manufactured goods. This
   capitalistic economy remains divided into a developed industrial north,
   dominated by private companies, and a less developed agricultural
   south. Italy's economy has deceptive strength because it is supported
   by a substantial "underground" economy that functions outside
   government controls.

   Most new materials needed by industry and more than 75% of energy
   requirements are imported. Over the past decade, Italy has pursued a
   tight fiscal policy in order to meet the requirements of the Economic
   and Monetary Union and has benefited from lower interest and inflation
   rates. Italy joined the Euro from its conception in 1999.

   Italy's economic performance has at times lagged behind that of its EU
   partners, and the current government has enacted numerous short-term
   reforms aimed at improving competitiveness and long-term growth. It has
   moved slowly, however, on implementing certain structural reforms
   favoured by economists, such as lightening the high tax burden and
   overhauling Italy's rigid labour market and expensive pension system,
   because of the current economic slowdown and opposition from labour
   unions.

   Italy has a smaller number of world class multinational corporations
   than other economies of comparable size. Instead, the country's main
   economic strength has been its large base of small and medium size
   companies. Many of these companies manufacture products that are
   technologically moderately advanced and therefore face increasing
   competition from China and other emerging Asian economies which are
   able to undercut them on labor costs. Italian companies are responding
   to this by concentrating on products with a higher technological
   content, while moving lower-tech manifacturing to plants in countries
   where labor is less expensive. The small average size of Italian
   companies remains a limiting factor, and the government has been
   working to encourage integration and mergers and to reform the rigid
   regulations that have traditionally been an obstacle to the development
   of larger corporations in the country.

Languages

   The official language of Italy is Standard Italian, descendant of
   Tuscan dialect and a direct descendant of Latin. (Some 75% of Italian
   words are of Latin origin.) However, when Italy was unified, in 1861,
   Italian existed mainly as a literary language, and was spoken by less
   than 3% of the population. Different languages were spoken throughout
   Italian peninsula, many of which were Romance languages which had
   developed in every region, due to political fragmentation of Italy^2.
   Indeed, each historical region of Italy had its own so-called
   ‘dialetto’ (with ‘ dialect’ usually meaning, improperly, a non-Italian
   Romance language), with variants existing at the township-level.
   Venice
   Enlarge
   Venice

   Massimo d'Azeglio, one of Cavour's ministers, is said to have stated,
   following Italian unification, that having created Italy, all that
   remained was to create Italians. Given the high number of languages
   spoken throughout the peninsula, it was quickly established that
   'proper' or 'standard' Italian would be based on the Florentine dialect
   spoken in most of Tuscany (given that it was the first region to
   produce authors such as Dante Alighieri, who between 1308 and 1321
   wrote the Divina Commedia). A national education system was established
   - leading to a decrease in variation in the languages spoken throughout
   the country over time. But it was not until the 1960s, when economic
   growth enabled widespread access to the television programmes of the
   state television broadcaster, RAI, that Italian truly became
   broadly-known and quite standardised.

   Today, despite regional variations in the form of accents and vowel
   emphasis, Italian is fully comprehensible to most throughout the
   country. Nevertheless certain local idioms have become cherished
   beacons of regional variation—the Neapolitan which is extensively used
   for the singing of popular folk-songs, for instance—and in recent years
   many people have developed a particular pride in their local dialects.

   In addition to the various regional linguistic varieties and dialects
   of standard Italian, a number of languages enjoying some form of
   official recognition are spoken:
     * In the north, the province of Bolzano has a majority
       German-speaking population; the area was awarded to Italy following
       the First World War and her defeat of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
       Pockets of German speakers also persist in other north Italian
       regions: the Cimbrians in Veneto ( Asiago, Luserna, etc.) and the
       Walsers in Val'Aosta ( Gressoney). In total some 300,000 or so
       Italians speak German as their first language and indeed many
       identify themselves as ethnic Austrians.
     * Some 120,000 or so people live in the Aosta Valley region, where a
       dialect of Franco-Provençal is spoken that is similar to dialects
       spoken in France. About 1,400 people living in two isolated towns
       in Foggia speak another dialect of Franco-Provençal.
     * About 80,000 Slovene-speakers live in the north-eastern region of
       Friuli-Venezia Giulia near the border with Slovenia.
     * In the Dolomite mountains of Trentino-South Tyrol and Veneto there
       are some 40,000 speakers of the Rhaetian language Ladin.
     * A very large community of some 700,000 people in Friuli speak
       Friulian—another Rhaetian language.
     * In the Molise region of central-south Italy some 4,000 people speak
       Molise Croatian. These are the Molise Croats, descendants of a
       group of people who migrated from the Balkans in the Middle Ages.
     * Scattered across southern Italy ( Salento and Calabria) are a
       number of some 30,000 Greek-speakers—considered to be the last
       surviving traces of the region's Greek heritage. (Ancient Greek
       colonists reached southern Italy and Sicily about 1500 BC.) They
       speak a Greek dialect, Griko.
     * Some 15,000 Catalan speakers reside around the area of Alghero in
       the north-west corner of Sardinia—believed to be the result of a
       migration of a large group of Catalans from Barcelona in ages past.
     * The Arbëreshë, of whom there are around 100,000 in southern Italy
       and in central Sicily—the result of past migrations—are speakers of
       the Arbëresh dialect of Albanian.
     * Sicilianu is spoken in Sicily by 4,832,520 people, nearly the
       entire population of the island. Again, it is commonly assumed to
       be a dialect, though it is distinct enough from Italian to be
       classified separately by Ethnologue.
     * Finally, the largest group of non-Italian speakers, some 1.6
       million people, are those who speak Sardinian, a Romance language
       which retains many pre-Latin words.

Neighbouring countries

   Flag of Switzerland  Switzerland
   Flag of France  France Flag of Austria  Austria
   Flag of Slovenia  Slovenia
   Flag of France  France  Image:Template CanadianCityGeoLocation West.png
     Ligurian Sea North Adriatic Sea  Image:Template
   CanadianCityGeoLocation East.png   Flag of Croatia  Croatia
   Adriatic Sea  Image:Template CanadianCityGeoLocation East.png   Flag of
   Bosnia and Herzegovina  Bosnia and Herzegovina
   Adriatic Sea  Image:Template CanadianCityGeoLocation East.png   Flag of
   Montenegro  Montenegro
   Adriatic Sea  Image:Template CanadianCityGeoLocation East.png   Flag of
   Albania  Albania
   West    Flag of Italy  Italy     East
   South
   Mediterranean Sea
   Image:Template CanadianCityGeoLocation South.png
   Flag of Algeria  Algeria Tyrrhenian Sea
   Mediterranean Sea
   Image:Template CanadianCityGeoLocation South.png
   Flag of Tunisia  Tunisia •  Flag of Libya  Libya Ionian Sea
   Image:Template CanadianCityGeoLocation East.png   Flag of Greece
   Greece
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy"
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