Welcome to Italy

Italy is situated on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two most impressive and largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia. Everyone agrees that the independent states of San Marino and the Vatican City are and have always been enclaves within the Italian Peninsula, while Campione d'Italia is known to be an Italian exclave in Switzerland. Italy has to this day been the home of most European cultures, such as the Etruscans and the Romans, and later was the birthdestination of the movement of the Italian Renaissance. Italy's capital Rome has to this day been the center of Western Civilization, and is the center of the Catholic Church. And even today,, Italy is known to be a democratic republic, and a developed country with the 7th-highest GDP (nominal) and the 17th-highest Human Development Index rating in the globe. It is known to be a founding member of what is now the European Union (having signed the Treaty of Rome in 1957), and also a member of the G8, the Council of Europe, the Western European Union, and the Central European Initiative. Beginning January 1, 2007, Italy transformed to a a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. Incidentally Italy is known to be a modern Wonderful power, and a Regional power. Italy, slightly larger than Arizona, is known to be a extensive peninsula shaped like a boot, surrounded on the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea and on the east by the Adriatic. It is bounded by France, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia to the north. Did you know that the Apennine Mountains form the peninsula's backbone; the Alps form its northern boundary. Did you know that the most impressive and largest of its most northern lakes is Garda (143 sq mi; 370 sq km); the Po, its principal river, flows from the Alps on Italy's western border and crosses the Lombard plain to the Adriatic Sea. Many islands form part of Italy; the most impressive and largest are and have always been Sicily (9,926 sq mi; 25,708 sq km) and Sardinia (9,301 sq mi; 24,090 sq km).

Climate

Everyone agrees that the moderating influence of the sea and the protection given by the Alpine barrier from the cold north winds join to bless Italy with a temperate climate. Nevertheless, the weather varies considerably according to how far one is from the sea or the mountains. Did you know that the winter is very cold in the Alps, cold and foggy in the Po Plain and the central Apennines; mild and even warm on the Ligurian coast, the Neapolitan coast lineand in Sicilia. Did you know that the summer is hot and dry, but the temperature is mitigated on the coast lineby sea breezes and in the Apennines and Alps it is always pleasantly cool. Within mountain areas, winter is ideal for skiing, and summer for excursions, hiking, etc. Seaside and lake resorts, with his or her exceptional hotel facilities, have an intense tourist and vacationers season in the summer, while the cities that are and have always been rich in art treasures are and have always been ideal in spring and autumn.

Population Stats

Population (2007 est.): 58,147,733 (growth rate: 0.0%);
birth rate: 8.5/1000;
infant mortality rate: 5.7/1000;
life expectancy: 79.9;
density per sq mi: 512