Repubblica Italiana (Italia) (it)
Italian Republic (Italy) (en)
( Flag of Italy ) ( Coat of arms of Italy )
Official language	Italian 1
Capital	Rome 41 53'N 12 29'E / 41,883, 12,483
More cities	Rome , Milan , Naples , Turin , Genoa , Palermo , Bologna and Florence
Form of State	Republic
- President of the Republic - Chairman of the Board	Giorgio Napolitano Silvio Berlusconi
Area - Total - Water (%)	Ranked 69 th 301 336 km 2 2,4
Population - Total ( 2009 ) - Density	Ranked 23 th 60157214 ( 10th )
GDP (nominal) ( 2008 )	2 313 milliards ( 7th )
HDI ( 2006 )	0.951 (high) ( 18th )
Currency	Euro 2 ( EUR )
Time Zone	UTC +1 ( CET ); Summer time: UTC +2: ( EST )
National anthem	Fratelli d'Italia
Internet domain	. It
Indicative Telephone	+39
1 The French is the official language in Val d'Aosta , the German and Ladin are official in Trentino-Alto Adige , the Slovenian is official in the provinces of Trieste and Gorizia. Under the provisions of Article 6 of the Italian Constitution , confirmed by an Act of 15 December 1999 , language and culture of peoples Albanian , Catalan , German, Greek , Slovenian and Croatian as well as speaking French, Franco-Provencal , the Friulian , Ladin, the Occitan and Sardinian are protected. The Sardinian and Piedmont have protected status respectively in Sardinia and Piedmont . 2 Before 2002 : Read

Italy, in long form, the Italian Republic, Italian is a country in Southeastern Europe physically corresponding to a mainland portion and a peninsular located in the center of the Mediterranean Sea and two islands This sea, Sicily and Sardinia. It is attached to the mainland by the massif of the Alps.

Italy's contribution to Western civilization is immense: it is especially the cradle of the Roman Empire and the Renaissance. Existing as that state since the Kingdom of Sardinia , Italy is a Republic since its abolition by referendum of the Italian monarchy in 1946. She is a founding member of the European Union (EU). Italy remains a major player in the international arena, with its sixty million inhabitants, the strength of its economy because it is the sixth largest economy and its role within many international organizations ( Treaty Organization North Atlantic (NATO), EU, G8 , Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)).

Etymology

The oldest inscription with the word ITALIA Italy as appears for the first time on a coin dating from the ^first century BC. BC , found at Corfinio in Abruzzo , the former Corfinium, capital of the Confederacy italics. She had been struck by the confederation of the Italic peoples in war against Rome for Roman citizenship ( Social War ).

The very term 'Italia evolves during antiquity. For Greeks, it was only the neighboring kingdom of Italos. A source close to the popular etymology in an episode of the Greek mythology of the work of Hercules. Indeed, after flying the 115 cattle of Geryon, the hero led the flock along the Italian coast, when a bull escaped until Sicily. Heracles found him there and called the country Italia (Italos of local Greek dialect which means "bull" ^{Italy before and during Rome}

Before the development of Rome , Italy was composed of several cultures and civilizations, mostly Indo-European ( Italians or italics), on a substrate Ligurian the Neolithic. Of those classified as indigenous cultures, overlapped:

• south the flourishing Greek colonies of Magna Graecia , from the ^eighth century BC. AD ;
• the center of peoples italics , came from Central Europe to the Bronze Age , near the Celts Oscans , Sabines , Samnites , Latins , Umbrians etc.. ;
• civilization Etruscan , non-Indo-European, which, according to sources, is indigenous or come from Asia Minor ;
• north, the Veneti , the Ligurian and Celts , they arrived later in Bohemia , occupy the plain of Po , then called Gaul Cisalpine.

Under the Roman Republic , the northern boundary of Italy to stop the Cisalpine Gaul , at the level of rivers Aesis - then -59 the Rubicon - and the Magra. In -42 , the Cisalpine is held in Italy, which now stops the Alps. The latter limit is set to award the Alps but was then moved. Rome attributes the Roman citizenship to all Italians as -89 , it extends to the whole Empire three centuries later ( edict of Caracalla , 211 - 212 )

Rome and its empire

Romulus and Remus fed by the wolf, founding myth of the Roman civilization.

Originally the wolf was shown alone, it is only during the Renaissance that the twins Romulus and Remus were added

The founding of Rome is due, according to legend, Romulus and Remus in the middle of ^the eighth century BC. AD. The civilization of Rome underwent a first phase of expansion under the rule of the kings of Rome , which are also the founders of symbolic many Roman institutions. The unification of the peninsula is conducted at the time of the Republic. After the victory of Rome against Carthage during the first Punic War , the main islands of the Mediterranean West also went under the control of Rome. The second and third Punic wars assured him control of the entire periphery of the western basin of the Mediterranean.

In the ^first century , Rome dominated the Mediterranean basin, but after the death of Julius Caesar , 15 March 1944, the republic fell into civil war. His successor, Octavian (the future emperor Augustus) after defeating Mark Antony and Cleopatra in Egypt will change in the Roman Republic and Empire and put an end to long years of political instability. The government-controlled territory by Rome was characterized by respect for local cultures and economic development, facilitated by the implementation of major infrastructure.

The empire consisted of Italy (city of the empire) and the Roman provinces (territories outside of the peninsula). Legally the territory of Italy was likened to that of the city of Rome, its inhabitants were all free Roman citizens with the right soil (jus soli). Roman citizens could serve in the legions, but also had many social privileges over non-citizens. The political program of the emperors was to integrate more and more provinces to the Roman civilization , this, over the centuries has resulted in a progressive loss of hegemony of Italy to the provinces. In the third and ^fourth century the Roman Empire becomes de facto a colonial empire to a world empire in which all free men were citizens of one nation. At that time the legionnaires are mainly recruited from Roman citizens from the provinces, including Illyria and Thrace. In March 293 , the first Tetrarchy is formally established, the empire is divided in half to be better governed ( Western Roman Empire and Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire). Milan became the capital of the Western Roman Empire.

In 313 the Emperor Constantine promulgates the Edict of Milan which ended the persecutions against Christians and guarantees all citizens freedom of worship. The Christianity is spreading in Italy, especially from the city of Rome, cosmopolitan city in which lived many immigrants from the provinces of East, where Christianity was more widespread. The Roman church gets a number of pagan traditions and assimilate them in its liturgy. The polytheistic religions are thus transformed into veneration of saints and the Virgin Mary. For example, many temples dedicated to Venus is transformed into churches dedicated to the mother of Jesus and in small towns ceremonies dedicated to a patron god become Festivities in honor of a saint that popular imagination associates the god above: protecting patients, agriculture, hunting, soldiers, sailors, etc. ... Through this policy the Roman church is better able to sell to Italian, very attached to their traditions, the transition to Christianity, the same process takes place in the provinces. In 380 the Emperor Theodosius Christianity elevates the status of state religion.

In ^the fifth century , the city of Ravenna (north-east of Italy) became the capital of the empire of the West, it will be the last. At that time, the empire was facing a long series of barbarian invasions : the Visigoths , the Huns, the Ostrogoths, the Vandals, the Franks. Within the scope of these invasions, the Western Roman Empire collapsed quickly. The barbarians who had been welcomed as federated within the files , form kingdoms that are becoming more autonomous in relation to imperial power. In 476 Odoacer , a patrician of Germanic origin, refused to assume the title of Emperor and rule the provinces, he proclaimed himself king of Italy simply, this date marks the end of the Western Roman Empire. The Eastern Roman Empire, still stand a thousand years.

Towards the Unification

The Italian states in 1843.

From the ^fourteenth to the ^eighteenth century , is the Renaissance in Italy with artists such as Michelangelo or Raphael , and scientists like Galileo (the illuminatus) that literally "rebirth" of art and science of first in the Peninsula and in Europe as a whole. At the time of Leonardo da Vinci , Italy remains highly fragmented politically. It consists of a mosaic of principalities (duchies, city-states, ...). The Italian princes each organize their own backyard and often engage in bloody wars with multiple external interventions, particularly in France and of Spain ( the Italian Wars ). The incessant wars of the ^sixteenth century due to interference by the major European states and the rise of Austria and the German principalities partly explain the decline of the Italian principalities of the ^seventeenth to the ^nineteenth century.

Facade of the cathedral of Siena.

Campaigns Napoleonic have the effect of upsetting the established order. The desire to unify the peninsula is then based on the Risorgimento , leading to proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy , from the kingdom of Sardinia , under the leadership of King Victor Emmanuel II of Savoy , completed in 1870 by annexation of Rome becomes the capital of the united kingdom.

After the Napoleonic campaigns, outbreaks nationalists supported by the Savoy , who see an opportunity to expand the Kingdom of Sardinia , led to a series of wars of independence against the Austro-Hungarian Empire , two of them with support outside of France. The major protagonists of the Risorgimento are Victor Emmanuel II of Savoy , Giuseppe Garibaldi , Giuseppe Mazzini and Camillo Benso, Count Cavour.

Following the War of Independence , which, with the Expedition of the Thousand south and the subsequent descent of the northern Piedmont, managed to unite under the banner of states of Savoy, a large part of the peninsula (with the excluding Rome and Venice ) and provoke the proclamation of the kingdom of Italy in 1861 , with capital Turin and Florence from 1865.

In 1866 , Venice was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy, followed by Rome in 1870. This causes the beginning of a rift between the Italian State and the Church which will last until the Lateran Pacts in 1929. The form of government is proclaimed a constitutional monarchy with a parliament elected by limited suffrage. Rome officially becomes capital of Italy in 1870.

At the same time, in the northern peninsula, developed a powerful industrial-related capital of a modernized agriculture in the Po Valley, the hydropower resources of the Alps and the relocation of industries including textile south to north . This industrialization focuses primarily on the "Golden Triangle", Turin , Milan and Genoa. The South is still dominated by agricultural production but also by quasi-feudal agrarian structure: it is the system of large estates, large farms with absentee owners and routine, farm workers are underpaid and microfundia, tiny properties primarily for the self-consumption. This situation leads to economic development brigantaggio (it) , political and social insurgency in southern Italy, violently repressed and give birth at the beginning of the migration south.

From the First and the Second World War

• World War I , one thousand nine hundred and fourteen - 1918 : While being theoretically part of the Triple Alliance , Italy remained neutral at the beginning of the war, and even ends up teaming up with the Triple Entente. 24 May 1915 Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary. The war proved more difficult than expected and the Italian and Austrian armies were unable to prevail upon one another. In 1917, after the Russian defeat, the Germans concentrated 7 divisions on the Italian front to help their Austrian allies. In the ensuing battle to Caporetto the Italians suffered a very severe defeat and retreated more than 100 km along the line of the Piave. In 1918 , entered the Battle of Piave in which the Austrians have tried unsuccessfully to break the Italian resistance. On 24 October the Italian army launched an offensive victorious Vittorio Veneto and Austria-Hungary forced to surrender. The armistice is signed on November 4 at Villa Giusti in northern Italy. By the Treaty of Versailles, the Italian borders were corrected for it. However, Italy did not get all the territories it claimed ( irredentism ), and the theme of the "mutilated victory" favored nationalist agitation and the rise of Mussolini.

• Benito Mussolini in the 1900s was a young socialist activist close to syndicalism, a group that does not believe in bourgeois parliamentarism and supported a violent revolution. However, upon entry into the war in Italy in 1915, Mussolini had also matured a strong nationalist leanings. He believed that war was anti-capitalist as it extolled the value of the peasantry and working class struggle. However, he believes that a socialist revolution can only be achieved through the collaboration of all classes, popular and bourgeois, for the salvation of the nation. It is therefore contrary to the class struggle. From 1919 to 1922 , Italy was rocked by a serious social, economic and political. Mussolini's exploits in breaking strikes and unions by violence: it is well know and well see for the business community and employers ( Confindustria and Confagricoltura). It uses both squadra (squads), a kind of militia, largely from the ranks of Arditi (from elite troops demobilized in 1918) nationalists , whose uniform is black shirt - which became a symbol of fascism. After the march on Rome in October 1922 , the Italian king, Victor Emmanuel III , assigned by the government. In 1924 the fascist party won parliamentary elections. The Socialist deputy Matteotti denounced the violence and intimidation of political opponents. He was assassinated a few days later. Playing cleverly leniency and threats, Mussolini gradually installs the device in the fascist countries. Its military alliance with Nazi Germany will cause the entry of Italy into the war alongside the forces of the Axis.

The Italian colonial empire in 1940.

• Mussolini declares war on England and France June 10, 1940 just before the Germans entered Paris. At the signing of the Pact of Steel with Germany in 1939, Italy had not felt able to participate in a war of vast scale before 1943, because of wear and obsolescence of its armament. The lightning victories of the Germans drove Mussolini into war in 1940 in the hope that it lasts only a few months.

The industrial capacities of Italy at that time were very limited and, unlike the First World War fought on one front, the Italian army was forced to engage in four different fronts: Libya, East Africa, the Balkans and Russia. The Italians suffered several serious defeats and are increasingly dependent on their German allies. After the defeat at El Alamein (November 1942), Italians and Germans were forced to abandon Africa. In addition, the armies ^of the Third Reich suffering a serious defeat at Stalingrad in January 1943, the Italian army in Russia is falling apart in a catastrophic defeat.

• 10 July 1943 , the Allies landed in Sicily and then enter the south of Italy Mussolini was overthrown and imprisoned by order of the king. The dictator is issued by a German commando ( September 12 ). So that they become allies as occupiers, Il Duce installs under the command of Hitler an Italian Social Republic (also known as the Republic of Sal) in the north. Marshal Pietro Badoglio sign the surrender (September 8, 1943), southern Italy continued war on the Allied side, at the same time commits a civil war with northern Italy (Fascist) Mussolini supported by the Germans. Italy becomes a major battleground in which several foreign armies clash. On April 28, 1945, attempting to flee to Switzerland, Mussolini was executed (and hanged) by supporters Communists.

• In June 1946 , a referendum tight ends the monarchy, the Republic of Italy is proclaimed and the royal family was exiled.

Contemporary Period

Italy then settled in a democratic regime, dominated by a href = "% C3% D A9mocratie_chr% C3% A9tienne_ (Italy)" title = "Christian Democracy (Italy)"> Christian Democrat parties and secular anti-fascists, which promotes despite frequent cabinet crises, both international recognition, European integration and economic development without precedent (the Italian economic miracle). An Italian Communist Party increasingly strong, and relatively moderate prevents alternating election until 1976 , when the agreement was historic but also lead years , marked by the terrorism of the extreme left. Gradually, the Christian Democrats , while still essential, leaving part of power to smaller parties like the Italian Republican Party or the Italian Socialist Party. Major social reforms adopted after the referendum (the divorce , the abortion ) or after the voting law, and a transformation of the pension system in Italy , to develop forms of pension.

A climate careerists, increasingly corrupt, moved, causing the judicial operation called Mani pulite (Clean Hands). It follows a policy of massive reorganization that sees the explosion of the 3 major political forces (the Christian Democrats, the Communist Party and the Socialist Party) in a myriad of parties, change increased the referendum in 1993 and the adoption in 1994 an electoral law setting the stage for a mixed electoral system. These changes cause the descent of political Silvio Berlusconi , whose business had benefited from the government of Socialist Craxi. If it is quickly abandoned by its allies (like the Northern League ), he could not get less power in 2001 with a landslide election victory, after an interlude, dominated by the center-left, unable to reach a reform constitutional majority. This government Silvio Berlusconi II is so far the longest of any Republican history.

In 2006 , the left led by Romano Prodi , returns to power after a narrow victory in parliamentary elections. In August 2006, Ehud Olmert asked Romano Prodi of Italy takes the lead in UNIFIL enhanced after the Israel-Lebanon conflict , as was the case in February 2007.

Politics

The Italian Constitution date 1947 and established the First Republic, "founded on work" (art. ^1). It enshrines the principle of separation of executive, legislative and judicial (respectively assigned to the Government , the Parliament and Justice ) and founded a parliamentary bicameral :

• a Chamber of Deputies ( Camera dei ) from 630 deputies;
• a Senate ( Senato della Repubblica ) of 315 senators (as well as former presidents and five senators for life , at most, appointed by the Head of State).

The Parliament is elected by direct universal suffrage. The electoral law was substantially amended following a referendum repeal in 1993 to introduce an element of majority voting (75%) to prevent chronic government instability of the early Republic due, inter alia, a multiparty system and excessive the absence of alternation. It was again amended in late 2005, to restore a proportional closed lists, so as to reduce the likely failure of the House of Freedoms. Criticized, including by the Minister who introduced the project, it is described Porcellum (porcata of a crap) unlike the previous one, Mattarellum (actually, the law Mattarella, named after its rapporteur).

The President of the Italian Republic (Presidente della Repubblica Italiana) is the head of state, elected by the deputies and senators and representatives of regions for a term of seven years. Although a role that is symbolic, it is the guarantor of the Constitution and for this highly respected by politicians and the public. He appoints the Prime Minister (head of government) and government ministers on the proposal of the prime minister and can dissolve Parliament.

The executive consists of a government headed by a Chairman of the Board (Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri).

Abortive reform of the Constitution, adopted by Parliament in late 2005, should have led to the creation of a ^"Second Republic" in which the territorial organization would like federal and where the Prime Minister (new name given to the Chief Government) would have sweeping powers while the Chamber of Deputies would be counted more than 530 members (-100)) and the Senate of the Republic 265 senators (-50). The senators were also elected by indirect suffrage. This reform was overwhelmingly rejected by the Italian people in a referendum in May 2006.

Romano Prodi , who won narrowly in legislative elections on 9 and 10 April 2006 at the head of an electoral coalition called the center-left Union will be named President of the Council of Ministers by Giorgio Napolitano , the new President of the Republic elected May 10, 2006, but resigned after 20 months of service due to the loss of a confidence vote (161 against 156 votes in its favor).

Today the political landscape has changed: the center-left has converged into a single party, the Democratic Party and the center-right did the same with the creation of the People of Freedom ), the party founded by Silvio Berlusconi and Gianfranco Fini. This results to halt the chronic instability of Italian politics.

The current government headed by Silvio Berlusconi who begins his third term, was appointed May 8 2008 and is composed of an alliance between the ruling People of Freedom party and the Northern League.

Geography

Map of Italy.

Italy is a peninsula of southern Europe in the center of the Mediterranean basin. Covering an area of 301,300 sq km, it is long 1360 km from north to south and covers 92% area of the Italian geographic area ^Subdivisions

The territorial government of Italy is composed of:

• 20 regions (regioni): 15 of normal status and five autonomous regions;
• 110 provinces (province): 107 status of normal and two autonomous provinces and a province statistics;
• 8101 municipalities (Comuni).

Demographics

Demographic changes between 1961 and 2004 (figure in FAO , 2005). Population in thousands.

On March 31, 2010, Italy had 60.4 million inhabitants. The density is 198 inhabitants per km. Long reservoir population of Europe and America, it has now become a land of immigration. Indeed, the fertility rate is particularly low for many years. It was in 2008 of 1.3 children per woman. The rate of natural increase is negative. The aging population is already beginning to strain the social budget (pension funding). The longevity of the Italians, however, is the highest in Europe and among the highest in the world: the men on average live 80.4 years while women live 85.3 years . The number of foreigners residing in Italy was 1.25 million at the beginning of the XXI ^century. In 2008, it now seems to approach 2.5 million, mostly nationals of East Europe (Romania, Ukraine, Albania in particular) and the Maghreb. Foreign citizens residing in Italy on 1 January 2008 are estimated at 2,432,651 by the ISTAT (October 2009). They increased from 493 729 in one year (+16.8%). This is the largest increase ever recorded in Italy, mainly due to Romanians (283 078). The length of the coastline, near the southern Mediterranean and developing countries, like Albania , are from Italy, like the Spanish , a major transit point for chains of illegal immigration. The population distribution is largely dictated by the natural constraints. The mountains and very dry areas of southern Italy are experiencing relatively low densities while the coastal plains, and the industrious plain Po , support very high densities. 67% of the population is urban. The urban network is dense in northern Italy and Central, where we find the country's economic capital, Milan, and major industrial cities like Genoa and Turin. Italy has a large number of cities with between 100,000 and 500,000 inhabitants .

Economy

Italy is a member of the G8 , the eight most industrialized countries. It is ^the 7th largest economy in the world in 2009 and the leading exporter of luxury goods. The Italian economy has European dimensions: agricultural products world-renowned (oil, balsamic vinegar , cheese, pasta ), industrial products (cars, clothes ⁽² nd in the world), services (tourism: with 43 million tourists in Italy ranks as ^the 5th most visited country). Italy is the fourth European power, the raw product being 1.758 billion dollars ( USD ).

GDP per capita (index 100 being the average of Europe ).

The northern regions, including Lombardy and the Veneto , has a GDP per capita the highest in the European Union (31 180 dollars per capita in 2004) and comparable to that of Ile-de-France or region of London. By contrast the southern regions are still lagging behind economically significant relative to the northern regions. The unemployment rate in 2007 was 5.6% but varies across regions, particularly between the north (3%) the center (6%) and southern (15%) of the country.

Italy has a long tradition of quality manufacturing and commercial dynamism. Even today, its economy is driven by the entrepreneurial energy, either because of the large industrial groups such as Fiat (which is currently undergoing a revival), Olivetti , Finmeccanica , AnsaldoBreda, Saipem and Benetton , to Crown corporations now largely privatized such as Eni , Enel and the existence of a dense network consisting of small subcontractors or small structures geared towards excellence, quality, design and component export strength Italy's economy. The big names in luxury Italian as Ferrari , Maserati in automotive, Gucci , Dolce & Gabbana , Armani , Borbonese , Prada , Ermenegildo Zegna in fashion and Ferretti , Azimut and Riva in yachting make Italy a world leader in the field elegance and design. Meanwhile, there is an underground economy is largely found in southern Italy. Moonlighting represent 20% of GDP.

Major criminal organizations like the Mafia in Sicily, the Camorra, Naples and the Ndrangheta Calabria practiced extortion, trafficking in drugs, cigarettes, weapons, illegal paris and wear. According to some estimates, 80% of Sicilian businesses suffer from the racketeering mafia. This weighs on the economy of the Mezzogiorno (Southern Peninsula). Italian and international investors are reluctant indeed to settle in this area. However traders Palermo decided to rebel against the practices of extortion. These organizations to launder dirty money, tend to invest in legitimate business activity in the richer regions of northern and central Italy and abroad (notably in Switzerland and Germany), but the influence Mafia exerted in particular through the racket is really only in regions where clans originate, that is to say, Naples , in Calabria and Sicily.

As a result, most companies and networks of dynamic SMEs are located in central and northern or southern areas that escape the grip of the Mafia as Basilicata or Sardinia. The Milan-Genoa industrial triangle-Turin is part of the metropolis in Europe. It represents the southern part. With Emilia-Romagna and Veneto, he made the industrial heart of Italy, strongly anchored to Europe and exports. There are powerful industries like Fiat and Eni , but also dynamic SMEs. SMEs in the Third Italy are also highly export oriented. This part of Italy is much richer than the South and only 2% unemployment while the southern reaches 15%. In between, there is a region that geographers have called the Third Italy. It bases its economic development on dynamic networks of SMEs in various sectors such as textiles, leather, metal and mechanical industries. Note that Italy is ^the 2nd manufacturer and exporter of machine tools from Germany. This country is the first economic partner for Italy, after being France. Regarding trade, 60% are made in Europe. Italy has very good communications infrastructure to Europe (railways, highways, collars equipped) and an opening to Central Europe and East through Slovenia and Austria. Finally, even the very heavy energy bill, which imports most of the energy it needs, the trade balance would be largely redundant.

Tourism is also a motor activity of the economy: Italy, third tourist country in Europe behind France and Spain, is hosting 52 million tourists per year in the Alps, on beaches and in the cities of art like Venice, Florence, Naples and Rome. The presence of ancient ruins also many in the country's tourism reputation, while Italy is also developing in recent years tourism food and wine (known as agri-tourism).

There are nearly 2 million farms in Italy. They specialize in the cultivation of traditional products in the Mediterranean world, that is to say the vine, wheat, olives, fruits and vegetables and citrus fruits (especially bergamot in Reggio Calabria ) and dairy products.

Easing the tax burden, easing labor market, reforming the pension system, moving slowly because of opposition from unions who fear a precarious working conditions of employees and a loss of future retirees. The new government of Silvio Berlusconi has more latitude to engage these changes because it does not rely on a motley coalition too. However, Italy have a financial situation ( debt ) delicate, its room for maneuvering is extremely limited.

Economic Regions

Colosseum in Rome.

Milan Cathedral.

Mole Antonelliana of Turin.

Duomo of Florence.

Tower of Pisa.

San Francesco di Paola Napoli.

Castel del Monte in Andria.

Venice.

Italy can be divided into four major regions economically distinct

• The North-West, "Economic Triangle ', which is the economic heart of Europe and occupies the southern European megalopolis. The region concentrates the heavy main activities and the corporate headquarters and is organized around three major cities:
  • Milan , and tertiary industrial metropolis, the country's financial capital;
  • Turin , automotive, banking-finance-insurance;
  • Genoa , Italy ^1, and second port of the Mediterranean after Marseille , in the region involving shipbuilding and tourism, high-end.
• The North East is the region of SMEs, where their concentration is highest in Europe. The urban fabric is composed of medium-sized cities such as Verona , Padua , Venice - Mestre , Trieste , Modena , Bologna. Two major ports (Venice and Trieste) activities are concentrated heavy industry and shipbuilding (shipyards Fincantieri ) and provide an outlet for local industries, coupled with its proximity to countries of Central Europe (who know strong growth recently).
• Italy's center or third Italy is a dynamic region of Europe thanks to innovative SMEs in family structures and powerful unions. The urban network is also composed of towns that combine historical and industrial parks and handicraft (fabrics, automobile, fashion, ...). We note the strong influence of Bologna and the rule of Florentine pole associated with the port of Livorno and the Adriatic Riviera.
• Italy, South (or southern Italy ), which was the richest region of Italy and developed at the time of unification, was heavily penalized by the policy choice by the unitary state is today ' hui an area more rural and poorer. It benefited from state aid and the European Union to fund an efficient road network and install industrial and port complex, which often proved to be cathedrals in the desert. The Molise and Abruzzo , which do not undergo the stranglehold of the Mafia or the Camorra , have experienced stronger growth than the south-western Italy. Puglia is a region also dynamic and is the second plain of Italy, it therefore offers a more intense agricultural activity in tourism. The region has major ports at Taranto, Bari and Brindisi.

Region	Chief town
Valle d'Aosta *	Aosta
Piedmont	Turin
Liguria	Genoa
Lombardy	Milan
Trentino-Alto Adige *	Thirty
Veneto	Venice
Friuli-Venezia Giulia *	Trieste
Emilia-Romagna	Bologna
Tuscany	Florence
Umbria	Perugia
Marches	Ancona
Lazio	Rome
Abruzzo	L'Aquila
Molise	Campobasso
Campania	Naples
Apulia	Bari
Basilicata	Potenza
Calabria	Catanzaro
Sicily *	Palermo
Sardinia *	Cagliari

Transport

Italy is located in the center of the Mediterranean basin. Its central geographical position has allowed its cities to play a major role in trade between East and West in the Middle Ages. Today the Mediterranean is crossed by roads through the global maritime Suez Canal. The port of Gioia Tauro has become the leading container port in the Mediterranean although underserved and do not have adequate logistics platform, and it remains a transshipment port. Italy seeks to strengthen its links with the EU: the Milan Malpensa International Airport, completed in 2001, makes it easier to connect the economic heart of Italy to the world, for rail projects backed by Berlin Palermo and Lyon Turin Budapest that accentuate the centrality of northern Italy. There is also a very efficient network of ports, both in freight traffic in the traffic of passengers / tourists. Despite a very striking Alpine, economic flows between northern Europe and Italy are not limited due to good relations with its neighbors and the many cooperations.

The country has a total of 29 international airports, the largest being Leonardo da Vinci (Fiumicino) Rome (35 million passengers) and Milan Malpensa (23 million passengers). Milan has three airports (Malpensa, Linate and Orio al Serio), making it the first traffic hub with 38 million passengers.

There are 7,000 km of highway traversing the country from north to south (including Sicily). Most of these highways are not free, except, for example, the motorway A3 between Naples to Reggio di Calabria. The first highway commissioning the world was that connects Milan and Varese was only one lane in each direction. Inaugurated in 1927 by Mussolini, it is still functioning in 2008 and expanded to 3 lanes. There is also a network of superstrada, State Road (SS: Strada Statale) 4-way, connecting outlying areas to main roads. However, the network is overloaded and many rehabilitation projects of the oldest highways are in progress, such lack of funds stopped.

The TAV , the equivalent of the French TGV, the network uses AV / AC Italian (Velocit Alta / Alta Capaci) which is composed of two main axes: the axis Turin-Milan-Verona-Venice-Milan axis and the Florence-Rome- Naples-Salerno. In addition, it will pin Milan-Genoa-Bari and Naples (the latter is already a high-speed system but slower than the TAV). TAV network currently has 1,243 km of AV / AC. The entire rail network is 18, 376 km.

Culture

Languages

The Italian national unity was late and took place against the backdrop of a real cultural and linguistic diversity, which is still very sensitive today. The Italian has to deal with the languages and dialects premises: in 2002 , when 6.7% of the population, all contexts, use only the dialect, the dialect of the rate rises to 52% if one includes those who use it alternative with the Italian. Moreover, relatively few Italians mastered the Italian language there are still 50 years. About the problem of illiteracy in Italy, Victor Hugo has also said: " Festivals

A decree of 1985 fixed religious holidays ( Catholic ), under the agreement in bankruptcy (art. 6) signed in Rome on 18 February 1984 between Italy and the Holy See , ratified by Law ^No. 121 of 25 March 1985 :

• every Sunday;
• on January ¹ , Maria Santissima Madre di Dio (Most Holy Mary, Mother of God);
• on January 6 , Epifania del Signore (Epiphany of the Lord);
• on August 15 , Assunzione della Beata Vergine Maria (Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary);
• on November ¹ , tutti i Santi (All Saints);
• on December 8 , Immacolata Concezione della Beata Vergine Maria (Immaculate Conception);
• on December 25 , Natale del Signore (Nativity of the Lord);
• on June 29 , SS. Pietro e Paolo (Saints Peter and Paul), the municipality of Rome ;
• on December 7 , S. Ambrogio (St. Ambrose), the municipality of Milan. Opening of the new season of La Scala Theatre

The largest association of religion in Italy is the Catholic Church , followed distantly by the Assembly di Dio, who are Pentecostal , and Jehovah's Witnesses and Muslims, when we take into account immigrants . Then there are Jews and Valdesi ( Vaudois refugees in regions of Italy Francoprovenal ).

Media

• List of Italian newspapers

Codes

Italy has the code:

• I , as the list of international codes of plates ;
• IT , according to the standard ISO 3166-1 (list of country codes), code alpha-2;
• IT , according to the list of country codes used by NATO , alpha-2 code;
• . It , according to the list of Internet TLDs ( top level domain );
• ITA , according to the standard ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 (list of country codes);
• ITA , according to the list of country codes IOC ;
• ITA , according to the list of country codes used by NATO , code alpha-3.

References

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