ITALY

Location: Italy is a country in southern Europe.

It is a boot-shaped peninsula that extends into
the Mediterranean Sea. Italy is bordered by
France, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia.
Capital: Rome is the capital of Italy.
Size: Italy covers 116,306 square miles (301,230
sq km), including the islands of Sicily and
Sardinia.
Population: The population of Italy is about
57,634,300 (as of July 2000).
Other Countries Located Within Italy: San Marino is
located within Italy near the eastern coast. The
independent Vatican City (Holy See) is located within
Rome.
 Mountain Ranges: The Alps are a mountain range
located along the north of Italy. The Apennines are
another mountain range that runs through the center of
Italy.
Highest Point: The highest point in Italy is Mont
Blanc, in the Alps on the border of Italy and France.
Mont Blanc (Monte Bianca) is 15,770 feet (4,807 m) tall.
Lowest Point: The lowest points in Italy are at sea level
(the level of the Mediterranean Sea).
 Flag
Italy's flag is made of three
equal-sized rectangles of red,
white and green. The green is by
the flagpole.
Major Rivers: The major rivers in Italy are: the Po
River (which flows from the Alps near the French
border, through Turin, and eastward into the Adriatic
Sea), the Arno River (which flows from the north-
central Apennines, through Florence, and into the
Tyrrhenian Sea), and the Tiber River (which flows from
the north-central Apennines, south through Rome,
and into the Tyrrhenian Sea).
 Italy mostly has a mild, Mediterranean climate. The far
Climate

north is cold and mountainous; the south is rugged, hot

and dry. The climate of Italy is mainly temperate, though
it varies slightly according to region. The north of Italy is
warm in summer, with occasional rain; the central area of
the country is very humid; and the south is hot and dry.
The northern cities of Milan, Turin and Venice experience
cold, damp foggy winter weather, and in Tuscany the
mercury drops close to freezing. Winter weather in the
south of Italy is more pleasant. The recommended
months for travel to Italy is during April and May (spring)
or September and October (autumn), when the weather
is favorable and resorts and tourist sites are less crowded
 Background
Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the city-

states of the peninsula, along with Sardinia and
Sicily, were united under King Victor EMMANUEL II.
An era of parliamentary government came to a

close in the early 1920s when Benito MUSSOLINI
established a Fascist dictatorship. His disastrous
alliance with Nazi Germany led to Italy's defeat in
World War II. A democratic republic replaced the
monarchy in 1946 and economic revival followed.
It has been at the forefront of European
economic and political unification, joining the
Economic and Monetary Union in 1999.
Persistent problems include illegal
immigration, organized crime, corruption, high
unemployment, sluggish economic growth,
and the low incomes and technical standards
of southern Italy compared with the
prosperous north.
Terrain:
Definition: This entry contains a brief description of
the topography.

It is mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains,

coastal lowlands
Country facts
President: Giorgio Napolitano (2006)
Prime Minister: Silvio Berlusconi (2008)
Land area: 113,521 sq mi (294,019 sq km);
 total area: 116,305 sq mi (301,230 sq km)
Population (2010 est.): 58,090,681 (growth rate: –0.07%); birth
rate: 8.0/1000; infant mortality rate: 5.4/1000; life expectancy: 80.3;
density per sq km: 197
Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Rome, 3,550,900 (metro.
area), 2,455,600 (city proper)
Other large cities: Milan, 1,180,700; Naples, 991,700; Turin,
856,000; Palermo, 651,500; Genoa, 602,500; Bologna, 369,300;
Florence, 351,600; Bari, 311,900; Catania, 305,900; Venice, 265,700
Monetary unit: Euro (formerly lira)
Transportation:
Railways: total: 19,460 km (2006).
 Highways: total: 484,688 km; paved: 479,688 km
(including 6,621 km of expressways); unpaved: 0 km (2004).
Waterways: 2,400 km; note: used for commercial traffic; of
limited overall value compared to road and rail (2004).
Ports and harbors: Augusta, Genoa, Livorno, Melilli Oil
Terminal, Ravenna, Taranto, Trieste, Venice.
 Airports: 132 (2007).
International disputes: Italy's long coastline and
developed economy entices tens of thousands of illegal
immigrants from southeastern Europe and northern Africa.
 Passport and Visa in Italy
Passports:
Passport valid for at least three months beyond length
of stay required by all nationals referred to in the chart
above except:
(a) 1. EU nationals holding a valid national ID card.
Visas:
Not required by all nationals referred for the following
durations:
(a) nationals of EU countries for an unlimited period;
(b) nationals of Australia, Canada and the USA for
stays of up to 90 days.
VISA
It must be noted that the grant or refusal of the Italian visa is at
the sole discretion of the Consulate General of ItalyA visa
application must be filed no sooner than three months prior to the
date of departure. Please also note that the laws prescribe that the
Consular Authority makes its decision on the application in a
period of time that must not exceed 15 days (that can be further
extended in case of necessity). Therefore applicants are strongly
encouraged to file their application at least 15 days prior to the
date of departure and never, in any case, more than 90 days before
departure. This will allow an orderly examination of the
applications and limit the chances that decisions on visa
applications be taken after the applicant's scheduled date of
departure.
Schengen Visa
Countries that have joined the Schengen treaty
making it a total of 25. The list of Schengen countries
are as follows: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic,
Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece,
Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania,
Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland,
Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain , Sweden and
Switzerland.
Tourist Attractions in Italy
Italy has some of the most beautiful and lively cities and tourist attractions
in the world. These sites not only play host to descending tourists and
curious travelers, they also shield the raw beauty of unexplored regions
and unique fests from the rest of the world. With TSI Holidays outbound
tourist packages, you can explore the famous with the lesser known
attractions and events on your tour to Italy and its cities.
Tourist Attractions
St. Peters Basilica and St. Peter's Square, The Leaning Tower of Pisa,
Coliseum, Pantheon, Squares, Churches and Buildings designed by
the famous renaissance and baroque artists and architects (Michelangelo
and Raphael), islands and lagoons of Venice, winter sports at Veneto,
the villas in Riviera, tours of the islands of Sicily and Mt. Etna, and the
Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper at the convent of Santa Maria della
Grazie, Milan are just some of the attractions that draw tourists to Italy
still reeling under its past cultural and historical heritage.
Events
Events in Italy showcase its religious and cultural past as well as its progressive
cosmopolite culture.
Carnivals
Ivrea, Viareggio, Venice, Baroque, and Putignano Carnivals and the Carnival in
Acireale capture the festive spirit and eccentricities of the Italians.
Religious Fests
The nationwide Epiphany Celebrations that follow the colorful Christmas markets,
Mass and feast of St. Nicholas, Holy Week celebrations are not to be missed on your
tour to Italy.
Art, Culture and Seasonal Festivals
The Ravel Evening in Milan, Heineken Jamin festival of rock, the parades,
processions and fireworks in Festino di Santa Rosalia, the International Urban
Theater Festival in Rome, and Venice's San Rocco Music Festival for Baroque music
suffice for the Italian cultural experience. Attend the spring and the autumn festivals
to get a taste of the beautiful seasonal changes in Italy.
Sports Events
Boat race in Venice (Vogalonga), Rome Marathon, Milan motor racing, Giro d'Italia
cycling race, golf tournaments and football matches will surely excite the spectator
within you.
 Beach of Italy

Italy Beaches count to more than 200 offering clean

water and secured bathing spots. Lakes from various
origins flood in Italy and so are the beaches along their
coast. Visitors can tan their skin and have sunbaths
along the Italy beaches marked for cleanliness.
The Mediterranean Sea helps in the big number of
beaches in Italy . The healthy pure air across the Italian
beaches rejuvenates the tourists mostly during the
season of summer. Without a miss of the luxurious life
the tourists are accompanied with an eco-friendly
escape and a relief from the urban life by the sea air.
Some Famous Beaches
Veneto Tuscany

Sicily Sardinia

Molise Marches

Abruzzo Lombardy

Liguria Friuli Venezia Giulia

 
Emilia-Romagn Campania
 
Calabria Apulia
Attraction of Italy
Littered with more than 3,000 years of history, Italy is a
sightseer’s paradise. Spend some time in Rome taking in
everything from the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain and the
Spanish Steps to Michaelangelo’s Sistine Chapel and the
Pantheon. With artworks on display from the likes of da
Vinci, Carvaggio and Botticelli, it’s a visual buffet to all
visitors Head north to explore the canals of Venice by
gondola, or indulge in the wonderful shopping in the fashion
capital of Milan. A little further is the magical city of
Florence, teeming with culture and Italian flair or one can
continue south past Rome to Naples and explore the ruins of
Pompeii and Herculaneum, destroyed by Mount Vesuvius,
which can be seen standing sentinel over the city.
The Roman Colosseum Rome, Italy
 This great amphitheater in the centre of Rome was built
to give favors to successful legionnaires and to celebrate
the glory of the Roman Empire. Its design concept still
stands to this very day, and virtually every modern sports
stadium some 2,000 years later still bears the irresistible
imprint of the Colosseum's original design. Today,
through films and history books, we are even more
aware of the cruel fights and games that took place in
this arena, all for the joy of the spectators.
 Pantheon

The stately Pantheon is one of the world's most

inspiring architectural designs. Fittingly built as a
temple to the Gods by Hadrian in 120AD, its perfectly
proportioned floating dome rests seductively on sturdy
marble column.
The Spanish Steps and Piazza di Spagna

The graceful steps built in 1725, elegantly curve their

way from the Piazza di Spagna to the Church of Santa
Trinit dei Monti, a pastel tinted neoclassical building.
The shopper's paradise of Via Condotti leads back
from the Spanish steps to Via del Corso, and during
spring the steps are decorated with pink azaleas. At
the foot of the steps lies Bernini's boat-shaped
Barcaccia fountain and to the right is the unassuming
Keats-Shelley Memorial House.
 
 Chianti Region
A circular route from Siena through the Chianti hills is
a scenic and sensory experience. The route covers the
villages of the Chianti Classico wine region garnished
with ancient castles and rambling farmhouses.
 Ustica

An underwater city and a landscape of petrified black

lava are the characteristics of the unusual little island
of Ustica in the Tyrrhenian Sea just a short ferry ride
36 miles (57km) north west of Palermo.
 Mount Etna

Sicily's greatest natural attraction is the very active

volcano, Mount Etna, which has been spewing lava
and shaking the earth for centuries, most recently in
2002. About 20 miles (32km) from Catania the craters
below the summit can be reached from the town .
 Capri

Capri's beauty captured the imagination of the Roman

Emperor Augustus in 29 BC and continues to draw
admiring crowds to its picturesque banks. Ferries and
hydrofoils transport travelers from Sorrento, Positano,
Amalfi and Naples to its embarkation point at Marina
Grande.
Orto Botanico di Brera

The Orto Botanico di Brera is a botanical garden

located behind the Pinacoteca di Brera in the centre of
Milan, and is operated by the Istituto di Fisica
Generale Applicata of the University of Milan.
Leaning Tower of Pisa

The world-famous Leaning Tower of Pisa was built as a

freestanding bell tower (campanile) behind the city
cathedral. Constructed during the 11th and 12th
centuries, the tower is the third oldest building in
Pisa's Cathedral Square. Originally intended to stand
vertically.
Main Cities of Italy
Town/City Population
 1 Rome 2,743,796
2 Milan 1,307,495
3 Naples 962,940
 4 Turin 909,538
5 Palermo 656,081
6 Genoa 609,746
 7 Bologna 377,220
8 Florence 368,901
9 Bari 320,150
10Catania 295,591
11 Venice 270,801 "City of Water", "City of
Bridges", and "The City of Light". “undoubtedly the
most beautiful city built by man".
12 Verona 264,475
 13 Messina 242,864
 14 Padova 212,989
 15 Trieste 205,523
 16 Taranto 193,136
 17 Brescia 191,618
 18 Prato 186,798
 19 Reggio Calabria 185,854
 20 Parma 184,467
21 Modena 183,114
 22 Reggio Emilia 167,678
 23 Perugia 166,667
24 Livorno 160,742
 25 Ravenna 157,459
 26 Cagliari 156,951
 27 Foggia 152,959
 28 Rimini 141,505
29 Salerno 139,704
30 Ferrara 134,967
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest
and most populated municipality (central area), with
over 2.8 million residents in 1,285.3 km2 (496.3
sq mi), the largest city in continental Europe (for
example, Paris has an area of only 105,7 km2, and
Berlin 892 km2)
The metropolitan area of Rome is estimated by DMA
to have a population of 5 million. It is located in the
central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on
the Tiber river. Rome's history as a city spans over
two and a half thousand years, as one of the
founding and most powerful cities of
Western Civilization.
 It was the centre of the Roman Empire, which
dominated Europe, North Africa and the
Middle East for over four hundred years from
the 1st Century BC until the 4th century AD,
and during the Ancient Roman era, the city was
the most powerful in Europe. Besides being
Italy's administrative capital, Rome is a major
European centre for politics, religion, culture
and finance, home of worldwide organizations
such as FAO.
The city itself is Italy's richest by purchasing power,
with a GDP of €94.376 billion ($121.5 billion), and is
the world's 18th most expensive city (in 2009). Home
of the Vatican City, where the pope, the head of the
Roman Catholic Church, resides, Rome is a global
centre for pilgrimage, and is one of the world's most
visited cities, containing numerous priceless works of
art, archaeological sites, palaces, museums, churches
, parks and villas.
Milan
 Milan is the capital of the region of Lombardia and of the
province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3
million, while the urban area is the fifth largest in the E.U. with an
estimated population of 4.3 million. Milan is, along with Rome,
Italy's capital of business, design, finance, media and industry.
The city proper is Italy's second richest, that were Milan a country,
it would be the world's 28th richest, near in size to that of the
economy of Austria. Milan is also a major international
fashion capital, annually competing with other centers such as
Paris, New York City, London, Los Angeles and Tokyo. The city
also hosted the World Exposition in 1906 and will host the
Universal Expo in 2015, and currently the FieraMilano fair is
considered the largest in Europe.
Naples
Napule is the capital of the region of Campania and
of the province of Naples. Naples is ranked fourth in
Italy, for economic strength, after Milan, Rome and
Turin. Naples is a thriving and cosmopolitan
metropolis. The port of Naples is also one of the most
important in Europe. Even though the city has had a
remarkable economic growth, and unemployment
levels in Campania and the city have decreased since
1999.
 Founded in the 8th century BC, as a Greek colony,
under the name of Parthenope, and later Neápolis
(New City), Naples is one of the oldest cities. When
the city became part of the Roman Republic in the
central province of the Empire, was a major cultural
centre. The historic city centre of Naples is the
largest in Europe (1,700 hectares). Naples was
preeminently the capital city of a kingdom which
bore its name from 1282 until 1816 in the form of the
Kingdom of Naples, then in union with Sicily it was
the capital of the Two Sicilies until the
Italian unification. Naples was the promoter city
about Italian unification, through its Neapolitan
War.
Turin
 (Italian: Torino pronounced [tyˈɾiŋ]) is a major city as
well as a business and cultural centre in northern Italy,
capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the
left bank of the Po River surrounded by the Alpine arch
. Turin is well known as the home of the
Shroud of Turin, the football teams Juventus F.C. and
Torino F.C., the headquarters of automobile
manufacturers Fiat, Lancia and Alfa Romeo, and as
host of the 2006 Winter Olympics. Several
International Space Station modules, such as Harmony
and Columbus, were also manufactured in the city.
It was the capital of the Duchy of Savoy from 1563,
then of the Kingdom of Sardinia ruled by the
Royal House of Savoy and finally the first capital of
a unified Italy. Turin ranks third, after Milan and
Rome, for economic strength, It is often referred
to as "the Capital of the Alps". Turin is also known
as "the Automobile Capital of Italy" or the Detroit
of Italy; in Italy it is also called "[La] capitale
Sabauda".
Palermo
 (Italian pronunciation: [paˈlɛrmo]; Sicilian:
Palermu,is a historic city in Southern Italy, the capital
of the autonomous region Sicily and the
Province of Palermo. Its metropolitan area is the fifth
most populated in Italy with around 1.2 million people.
In the central area, the city itself has a population of
around 670 thousand people, the inhabitants are
known as Palermitans or poetically panormiti, the
languages spoken by its inhabitants are the
Italian language and the Sicilian language.
The city is noted for its rich history, culture,
architecture and gastronomy, playing an important
role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700
years old. Palermo is located in the northwest of the
island of Sicily, right by the Gulf of Palermo in the
Tyrrhenian Sea. It is Sicily's cultural, economic and
touristic capital, and Palermo's main industrial sectors
include tourism, services, commerce and agriculture.
VENICE
MAP OF ITALY
NAPLES
VERONA
MILAN- CITY OF FASHION
Tourist attractions in Milan
The Teatro alla Scala opera house is a particularly
notable place of interest in the city, as are the many
palaces of Milan, such as the Palazzo Borromeo, the
Palazzo Marino and the Palazzo Real, amongst many
others. Further tourist attractions within the city
include the Meazza (San Siro) Stadium, the Rotonda
della Besana, and the Giuseppe Verdi Music
Conservatory (Conservatorio di Musica Giuseppe
Verdi). There may also be a show or event of some
description taking place at the enormous Fiera di
Milano (Trade Fair) complex
Venice
Venice Gondola Ride
Dolomite Mountains Small Group Day Trip from
Venice
Murano, Burano and Torcello.