Italy

Italy shares its northern alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia.

Italy was home to many well-known and influential European cultures, including the Etruscans, Greeks, and the Romans. 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.

Italy is called il Belpaese ("beautiful country") by its inhabitants, due to the beauty and variety of its landscapes.

Today, Italy is a highly-developed country with the 7th-highest GDP and the 17th-highest Human Development Index rating. 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").

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. 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.

Roman and Medieval Italy

Center of the Roman civilization for centuries, Italy lost its unity after the collapse of the Roman Empire and subsequent barbaric invasions. Italy became part of the Holy Roman Empire.

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.

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 center of Western civilisation, strongly influencing the other European countries.

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.

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 northern part of Italy, under the direct control of Vienna, again recovered economic dynamism and intellectual fervor, had improved its situation.

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).

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.

In 1878 Umberto I succeeded his father Vittorio Emanuele II as King of Italy.

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 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.

The fascist dictatorship of Benito Mussolini lasted from 1922 to 1943 but in the first years Mussolini maintained the appearance of a liberal democracy.

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. This resulted in the alienation of Italy from its traditional allies, France and Great Britain, and its nearing to Nazi Germany. 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 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. 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 September 1943 Italy surrendered. 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 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.

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 Party and its liberal and social democratic allies ruled Italy without interruptions from 1948 until 1994, marginalising the main opposition party, the Italian Communist Party, until the end of the cold war.

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

Politics

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. Those members of Parliament were elected for the first time in April 2006 and they enjoy the same rights as members elected in Italy.

All Italian citizens older than 18 can vote.

Administrative divisions

Italy is subdivided into 20 regions (regioni, singular regione).

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.

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). 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.

Between 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 snow in Milan by -2°C while Palermo or Naples have just clouds and +17°C. (‘‘See how Po valley can be frosty in winter )

The east coast of the peninsula is not as wet as the west coast, but during winter is usually colder.

Italy is subject to highly diverse weather conditions in autumn, winter, and spring, while summer is usually more stable, even if in the north cities like Turin, Milan, Brescia, Verona or Udine sees a lot of thunderstorms in the afternoon/night hours. (see the late January 2006 snowfall of Bergamo )

Generally, the hottest month is August in the south and July in the north;

Winter morning lows can occasionally reach -14°C in Po valley, -5°C/-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 had highs till 47°C/48°C in some hot summers.

Demographics

Italy is largely homogeneous in language and religion but is diverse culturally, economically, and politically. 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. 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.

Religion

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Roman Catholicism is by far the largest religion in the country.

Other Christian groups in Italy include 500,000 Jehovah's Witnesses (0.9%), 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) . 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. Italy's economy has deceptive strength because it is supported by a substantial "underground" economy that functions outside government controls. 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.

Culture

Italy, as a state, did not exist until the unification of the country came to a conclusion in year 1861. Despite the pronounced political and social isolation of these regions that prevailed throughout Italy's history, Italy's contributions to the cultural and historical heritage of Europe remain immense.

Italy has been a seminal place for many important artistic and intellectual movements that spread throughout Europe and beyond, including the Renaissance and Baroque. Perhaps Italy's greatest cultural achievements lie in its long artistic heritage, which is often validated through the names of Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Donatello, Botticelli, Fra Angelico, Tintoretto, Caravaggio, Bernini, Titian and Raphael, among many others. Beyond art, Italy's contributions to the realms of literature, science and music cannot be overlooked.

With the basis of the modern Italian language established through the eminent Florentine poet, Dante Alighieri, whose greatest work, the Divina Commedia, is often considered the foremost literary statement produced in Europe during the Middle Ages, there is no shortage of celebrated literary figures; the writers and poets Boccaccio, Giacomo Leopardi, Alessandro Manzoni, Tasso, Ludovico Ariosto, and Petrarca, whose best known vehicle of expression, the sonnet, was invented in Italy.

From folk music to classical, music has always played an important role in Italian culture. Having given birth to opera, for example, Italy provides many of the very foundations of the classical music tradition. Some of the instruments that are often associated with classical music, including the piano and violin, were invented in Italy, and many of the existing classical music forms can trace their roots back to innovations of 16th and 17th century Italian music (such as the symphony, concerto, and sonata). Some of Italy's most famous composers include the Renaissance composers Palestrina and Monteverdi, the Baroque composers Corelli and Vivaldi, the Classical composers Paganini and Rossini, and the Romantic composers Verdi and Puccini.

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. 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.

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.

Today, despite regional variations in the form of accents and vowel emphasis, Italian is fully comprehensible to most throughout the country.

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:

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