With a national population of just over 61 million, Italy is the 24th most populous nation on earth, and the

4th in the EU behind Germany (81 million), France (65 million) and the UK (62 million).

geography Italy is located in southern Europe and comprises the long, boot-shaped Italian Peninsula, the land between the peninsula and the Alps, and a number of islands including Sicily and Sardinia. Corsica, although belonging to the Italian geographical region, has been a part of France since 1769. Its total area is 301,230 km2 (116,310 sq mi), of which 294,020 km2 (113,520 sq mi) is land and 7,210 km2 is water (2,784 sq mi). It lies between latitudes 35 and 48 N, and longitudes 6 and 19 E. Italy borders with Switzerland (740 km/460 mi), France (488 km/303 mi), Austria (430 km/270 mi) and Slovenia (232 km/144 mi). San Marino (39 km/24 mi) and Vatican city (0.44 km/0.27 mi) are enclaves. Including islands, Italy has a coastline of 7,600 kilometres (4,700 mi) on the Adriatic, Ionian, Tyrrhenian and Ligurian Sea.

[edit] Mountains and plains

Mont Blanc seen from Aosta Valley.

Topographic map of Italy Almost 40% of the Italian territory is mountainous,[1] with the Alps as the northern boundary and the Apennine Mountains forming the backbone of the peninsula and extending for 1,350 km (840 mi).[1] In between the two lies a large plain in the valley of the Po, the largest river in Italy, which flows 652 km (405 mi) eastward from the Cottian Alps to the Adriatic. The Po Valley is the largest plain in Italy, with 46,000 km2 (18,000 sq mi), and it represents over 70% of the total plain area in the country.[1] The Alpine mountain range is linked with the Apennines with the Colle di Cadibona pass in the Ligurian Alps. Worldwide-known mountains in Italy are Matterhorn (Cervino), Monte Rosa, Gran Paradiso in the West Alps, and Bernina, Stelvio and Dolomites along the eastern side of the Alps. The highest peak in Italy is Mont Blanc, at 4,810 metres (15,780 ft) above sea level. Mont Blanc is also the highest mountain in Europe.

[edit] Volcanoes
Many elements of the Italian territory are of volcanic origin. Most of the small islands and archipelagos in the south, like Capraia, Ponza, Ischia, Eolie, Ustica and Pantelleria are volcanic islands. There are also active volcanoes: Etna, in Sicily, the largest active volcano in Europe; Vulcano, Stromboli, and Vesuvius, near Naples, the only active volcano on mainland Europe.

[edit] Rivers and seas

Most of Italy's rivers drain either into the Adriatic Sea (like Po, Piave, Adige, Reno) or into the Thyrrenian (like Arno, Tiber and Volturno), though the waters from some border municipalities (Livigno in Lombardy, Innichen and Sexten in Trentino-Alto

Adige/Sdtirol) drain into the Black Sea through the basin of the Drava, a tributary of the Danube, and the waters from the Lago di Lei in Lombardy drain into the North Sea through the basin of the Rhine.

[edit] Maritime claims

Contiguous zone: 24 nmi (44.4 km; 27.6 mi)[citation needed] Continental shelf: 200-metre depth (660 ft) or to the depth of exploitation[citation
needed]

Territorial sea: 12 nmi (22.2 km; 13.8 mi)[citation needed]

[edit] Lakes
In the north of the country are a number of subalpine moraine-dammed lakes, the largest of which is Garda (370 km2/143 sq mi). Other well known of these subalpine lakes are Lake Maggiore (212.5 km2/82 sq mi), whose most northerly section is part of Switzerland, Como (146 km2/56 sq mi), Orta, Lugano, Iseo, Idro. Other notable lakes in the Italian peninsula are Trasimeno, Bolsena, Bracciano, Vico, Varano and Lesina in Gargano and Omodeo in Sardinia.

[edit] Islands
Italy comprises several islands. The largest are Sicily 25,708 km2 (9,926 sq mi) and Sardinia 24,090 km2 (9,300 sq mi). The third largest island is Elba, the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago (224 km2/86 sq mi).

[edit] Extreme points

[edit] Latitude and longitude

Northernmost point Westliches Zwillingskpfl, Prettau (Predoi), South Tyrol at 475N 1211E Southernmost point Punta Pesce Spada, Lampedusa, Sicily at 3529N 1236E (whole territory); Capo Spartivento, Calabria at 3755N 1559E (mainland) Westernmost point Rocca Bernauda, Bardonecchia, Piedmont at 456N 637E Easternmost point Capo d'Otranto, Otranto, Apulia at 406N 1831E

[edit] Elevation

Highest: Mont Blanc, Courmayeur (4807.5 m) at

4550N 651E

Lowest: Le Contane, Jolanda di Savoia (-3.44m) at Highest settlement: Trepalle, Livigno (2,209 m) at

4453N 1159E 4632N 1011E

[edit] Land use

[2][Note 1]

Artificial (urban, industrial etc.): 4.9% Agricultural: 52.2% o Arable land: 27.9% o Permanent: 7.1% o Other: 17.2% Wood: 41.6% Wetlands: 0.2% Water (lakes etc.): 1.1% Historical landmarks The Castel Sant'Angelo

The Castel Sant'Angelo is a huge fortress in Rome Italy that was built in 139 AD as a mausoleum for Emperor Hadrian. The Sant'Angelo castle has been used for different purposes over its long lifetime. It was once a prison, a refuge for the pope from his enemies and is now a museum. A tunnel connects Castel Sant'Angelo to the Vatican

The Piazza Navona

The Piazza Navona is Rome's most beloved square and is one of the world's most beautiful piazzas. Two of Bernini's fountains (the Fontana dei Quatro Fiumi and the Fontana del Moro) can be found in the square. Piazza Navona also features some great sidewalk cafes and restaurants. It is a popular location for artists trying to sell their paintings to tourists.

The Palazzo di Giustizia

The Palazzo di Giustizia is a gorgeous structure located on the south side of the Tiber River just west of Castel Sant'Angelo and the Vatican.

The Piazza del Campidoglio

The Piazza del Campidoglio was designed by Michelangelo in the 16th century and is situated on Capital Hill (Capitoline Hill) in Rome Italy. The Capitoline Museums are located on this picturesque piazza. They contain some fine paintings and sculpture. Great views of the city of Rome and the Roman Forum can be enjoyed from viewpoints near Piazza del Campidoglio.

The Trevi Fountain

The Trevi Fountain is one of the most famous landmarks in Rome Italy. The fountain features a statue of Neptune which was completed in 1762. It is beautiful by both day and by night. Trevi Fountain was featured in the 1954 movie 1954 entitled "Three Coins in the Fountain" starring Dorothy McGuire and Rossano Brazzi. The theme song for the film won the Academy Award for best original song that year. The Colosseum

The Colosseum is one of Rome's most distinctive landmarks. The building was designed to feature fight-to-the-death combats between gladiators and between gladiators and wild animals. Construction of this famous amphitheatre began in 72 AD. Visitors to Rome can tour this wonderfully preserved 2000 year old structure and learn about life in the Roman Empire

The Pantheon

The Pantheon in Rome Italy, was constructed in 125 AD as a Greek temple. This beautifully architected building was ingeniously designed to support the weight of its huge dome. A hole in the centre of the dome (the oculus) provides filtered light into the building. The Pantheon is called the "temple of all the gods" The Leaning Tower of Pisa

The Leaning Tower of Pisa (Italian: Torre pendente di Pisa) or simply the Tower of Pisa (Torre di Pisa) is the campanile, or freestanding bell tower, of the cathedral of the Italian city of Pisa. It is situated behind the Cathedral and is the third oldest structure in Pisa's Cathedral Square (Piazza del Duomo) after the Cathedral and the Baptistry. The height of the tower is 55.86 m. a popular tourist
activity is to pose for photographs pretending to "hold up" the leaning tower and preventing it from falling.[6] The illusion is created through the principle of forced perspective.

Vatican City

Vatican City is an independent state located entirely within the city of Rome. It is situated across the Tiber River (Fiume Tevere) from the centre of Rome. The distinctive dome of St. Paul's Cathedral can be seen from many locations in Rome Italy.
The Vatican City is the world's smallest state, being only around 44 ha (110 acres).

culture
[edit] Weddings
It is good luck for Italians to be married on a Sunday, and it is even better luck if it is raining. It is also good luck to release white doves during the ceremony and some couples choose to have the dove cage built into the cake and released when they cut the cake. The bride is to wear something old, new, borrowed, and blue but also something she has received as a gift which reminds her of the people she loves. As the newlyweds go to their car, they are showered with "confetti". The confetti is both paper confetti as well as bags of five or seven candy-coated almonds which symbolize the union of bitter and sweet in life. Throwing nuts and grain was an ancient Roman custom. The bags of almonds also are used as favors to the guests. The brides bouquet is given to her by the groom and his family.

[edit] Baptisms

The actual ceremony is rather short but the celebration lasts all day. Religion plays a big role when a child is born. Most babies are baptized in a Roman Catholic ceremony. The godparents of the baby play a huge role in the family and the godmother buys the outfit of the child and dresses him/her before the ceremony. The godparents are those who make sure the child is being raised in a proper religious manner. If the baby is a girl, she is held in the left arm, and boys are held in the right.

Religion
Roman Catholicism is by far the largest religion in the country. Although the Roman Catholic Church has been separated from the state, it still plays a role in the nation's political affairs partly due to Holy See's location in Vatican City, within Rome itself. Some 98% of Italians are Roman Catholic[49] of which one-third are active members. Most baptisms, weddings, and funeral services are held in church. An agreement called a concordat governs the relationship between Italy and the Roman Catholic Church. For instance, the agreement exempts priests and other members of religious orders from military service and gives tax exemptions to Catholic organizations. Even though the main Christian denomination in Italy is Roman Catholicism, there are some minorities of Protestant, Waldensian, Eastern Orthodox and other Christian churches. In the past two decades, Italy has received several waves of immigrants and as a result, some 825,000 Muslims (1.4%) live in Italy,[50] although other estimates indicate that there are up to one million Muslims[51] as well as, 75,000 Hindus,[52] 50,000 Buddhists,[53] and a historical community of 30,000 Jewish members.

Language
Main article: Italian language

Italian is a Romance language spoken by about 60 million people in Italy, and by a total of around 70 million in the world.[45] In Switzerland, Italian is one of four official languages. It is also the official language of San Marino, as well as the primary language of Vatican City.[46] Standard Italian, adopted by the state after the unification of Italy, is based on Tuscan and is somewhat intermediate between the Italo-Dalmatian languages of the South and the Gallo-Italic languages of the North. Its development was also influenced by the other Italian dialects and by the Germanic language of post-Roman invaders. Italian is also spoken in parts of Slovenia, Malta, Monaco, Luxembourg, Croatia and Corsica. The language is also used in Eritrea, Libya and Somalia, all ex-Italian colonies, and is also spoken in some emigrants' communities, especially in the United States, Canada, Argentina, Brazil and the United Kingdom. Italian derives diachronically from Latin and is one of the closest languages to Latin. Unlike most other Romance languages, Italian has retained the contrast between short and long consonants which existed in Latin. As in most Romance languages, stress is

distinctive. In particular, among the Romance languages, Italian is considered to be the closest to Latin in terms of vocabulary.[47] Lexical similarity is 89% with French, 87% with Catalan, 85% with Sardinian, 82% with Spanish, 78% with Rhaeto-Romance and 77% with Romanian.[4

Italian Food and Wine

Italy is famous for its food as much as for its huge artistic and historical assets and for the fashion industry. To check our recipes please check also our Italian food recipes database.

Actually food is one of the cornerstones of Italian culture and even if times are changing and life is more and more frenetic, Italians still find a great pleasure in sitting at a table, in an home or restaurant and sharing a good meal together. Italians love discovering new foods and new way of preparing familiar dishes. Every year there's more and more interest in the traditional cuisine of the various regions and in biological, environment friendly foods. Italian food for Italians is a reason of pride. You can recognize Italians abroad for their longing of typical dishes, pasta over every other. And you can see how dishearten they are when they try pasta outside Italy. Some upper class foreign restaurants have managed to master almost all the typical Italian dishes, but pasta still eludes them. Italians enjoy a good meal whenever they can, and, their traditional agricultural roots now forgotten, they don't care if the required ingredients are off season, like summer vegetables or fruits in the middle of winter, something that just a few decades ago was impossible. Our Food and Wine section has everything you need to dine Italian style: modern and traditional recipes, regional dishes and articles about the culture and history of Italian food.

Italian food in Italy is very healthy , Mediterranean diet, rich of fruit and vegetable is one of the best diet Commercial Activities. Most of Italy's commercial centers are in the developed northern region. Milan is the most important economic center of Italy. It is located in the midst of rich farmland and great industrial development. It has extensive road and rail connections, aiding its industrial power. Milan is predominant in the production of automobiles, airplanes, motorcycles, major electric appliances, railroad materials, and other metalworking. It is also important for its textiles and fashion industry. Chemical production, medicinal products, dyes, soaps, and acids are also important. Additionally, Milan is noted for its graphic arts and publishing, food, wood, paper, and rubber products. It has kept pace with the world of electronics and cybernetic products. Genoa remains Italy's major shipbuilding center. However, it also produces petroleum, textiles, iron and steel, locomotives, paper, sugar, cement, chemicals, fertilizers, and electrical, railway, and marine equipment. It is also a center for finance and commerce. Genoa is Italy's major port for both passengers and freight. Florence, located about 145 miles (230 kilometers) northwest of Rome, is renowned for its magnificent past. Tourists flock to Florence to see its unparalleled art treasures. Turin, in contrast, is noted for automobile manufacturing and its modern pace of life. It is located just east of the Alps. In addition to Fiats and Lancias, Turin manufactures airplanes, ballbearings, rubber, paper, leather-work, metallurgical, chemical, and plastic products, and chocolates and wines.

Marriage, Family, and Kinship

Marriage. In the past, marriages were arranged and women brought a dowry to the marriage. However, there were ways to help one's parents arrange marriage with the right person. The poorer classes, in fact, had more freedom to do so than did the wealthier ones. Dowries could be waived and often were. Currently, marriage is as free as anywhere else in the world. Except for those who enter the clergy, almost all Italians marry. But there is a custom in many families for a child to remain unmarried to care for aged parents. Divorce was forbidden until recently. Domestic Unit. The family is the basic household unit. It may vary in size through having other relatives live with the nuclear family or through taking in boarders. Often two or more nuclear families may live together. It is common for newly married couples to live for a time with the bride's parents. Traditionally the husband was the ruler of the family, in theory, while the wife took care of the daytoday operations. The reality may have been quite different. Tasks have traditionally been assigned according to age and sex. There is evidence that there is some change in this system as more and more often both parents work outside the home.

Inheritance. By law, all members of the family inherit equally. Special personal items may be given to loved ones before death to assure their being received by the designated heir. Kin Groups. Italians are famous for their family lives. They are often tied to one another by relationships on both sides of the family. They can and do expand or contract their extended kin groups by emphasizing or de-emphasizing various kinship ties. Usually, children of the same mother feel a necessity to cooperate against the outside world. Other ties may be egocentric. Generally, a male feels closest for many reasons to his mother's sisters and their kin. These kin traditionally protected him from the father's side, traditionally the side of "justice" as opposed to "mercy" and unmitigated love.

Clothing. In 1994 U.S. garment workers, already concerned about the competitive impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which went into effect on Jan. 1, 1994, were confronted with the news of the signing in April of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), a global pact that could have even more far-reaching effects on job security. The International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union, which boasted more than 1.2 million members at its peak in 1973, had its membership shrink to only 800,000 by June 1994. Though apparel sales were stronger in 1994 than in 1993, they did not meet the expectation of retailers, who had overstocked inventories and were offering deeply discounted merchandise at year's end. Simint, the Italian sportswear company that manufactured jeans for Italian designer Giorgio Armani, reported losses in 1994 of 226.5 billion lira. Armani, who held a 22.5% major stake in the concern, infused it with 120 billion lira and placed his firm's financial director, Giorgio Gabbiani, at the helm of the troubled firm. As chairman, Gabbiani orchestrated the sale of the firm's U.S. subsidiary, Simint U.S.A., and its network A/X Armani Exchange stores. The Singaporean group of Ong Beng Seng purchased A/X Armani Exchange for $20 million in October but agreed to license the line under Armani's name. Fruit of the Loom Inc., the largest supplier of blank T-shirts in the U.S., bought financially bankrupt jeans manufacturer Gitano Group Inc. Fruit of the Loom paid $100 million for the firm, which reportedly owed creditors $130 million. Particularly attractive to Fruit of the Loom was Gitano's high-profile, 96% name-recognition rate among consumers of jeans and the opportunity to offer Fruit of the Loom knit tops and other apparel to the Gitano line. U.S. designer Liz Claiborne expanded her clothing empire by establishing operations in Dubayy, United Arab Emirates. Cross Colours, one of the hottest U.S. manufacturers of hip-hop clothing--apparel with a black

urban attitude--nearly vanished from sight in 1994. Its parent company, Threads 4 Life Corp., had reported revenues of $89 million in 1992, up from $15 million in 1990. The Cross Colours factory on the edge of south-central Los Angeles was sold, and clothing production was farmed out to manufacturers through joint ventures and licensing agreements, after the Merry-Go-Round retail chain, which had accounted for some 60% of Cross Colours' revenues, filed for bankruptcy protection. During the year some environmentally conscious manufacturers created recycled fabric by melting down clear plastic soft-drink bottles into raw polyester. The polyester was formed into fibres and spun into yarn to produce clothes or heavy-duty material suitable for jackets, hiking boots, backpacks, and shoes. This "green gear" carried the universal recycling symbol and cost a little more than its virgin counterpart. (KAREN J. SPARKS)