Difference between revisions of "General"

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#redirect [[Italy]]
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'''Italy''' ([[Italian language|Italian]]: ''Repubblica Italiana'' or ''Italia'') is a country in southern [[Europe]]. It comprises a  [[boot]]-shaped [[peninsula]] and two large islands in the [[Mediterranean Sea]], [[Sicily]] and [[Sardinia]], and shares its northern alpine boundary with [[France]], [[Switzerland]], [[Austria]] and [[Slovenia]]. The independent countries of [[San Marino]] and the [[Vatican City]] are [[enclave]]s within Italian territory.
 
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{| border=1 align=right cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 width=300 style="margin: 0 0 1em 1em; background: #333300; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;"
 
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|+<big><big>'''Repubblica Italiana'''</big></big>
 
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| align="center" colspan="2"|
 
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{| border=0 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=0 style="background:#333300; text-align:center;"
 
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| width="130px"| [[image:Flag of Italy.png|125px|Flag of Italy]] || align=center width=130px| [[Image:Italian coa.png|110px|Italy: Coat of Arms]]
 
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|-
 
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| width="130px"| ([[Flag of Italy|In Detail]])
 
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|}
 
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|-
 
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| align=center colspan=2 |
 
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|-
 
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| align=center colspan=2 style="background:#333300;" | [[image:LocationItaly.png|Location of Italy]]
 
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|-
 
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|'''[[Official language]]''' || [[Italian language|Italian]]<sup>1</sup>
 
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|-
 
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|'''[[Capital]] and largest city''' || [[Rome]]
 
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|-
 
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|'''[[President of Italy|President]]''' || [[Carlo Azeglio Ciampi]]
 
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|-
 
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|'''[[List of Prime Ministers of Italy|Prime minister]]''' || [[Silvio Berlusconi]]
 
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|-
 
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|'''[[Area]]''' <br>&nbsp;- Total <br>&nbsp;- % water
 
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|[[List of countries by area|Ranked 71st]] <br>[[1 E11 m2|301,336 km&sup2;]]<br>2.40%
 
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|-
 
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|'''[[Population]]''' <br>&nbsp;- Total ([[July 2005]]) <br>&nbsp;- [[Population density|Density]]
 
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|[[List of countries by population|Ranked 23rd]] <br>58,462,375 <br>194/km&sup2;
 
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|-
 
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|'''[[Italian Unification|Unification]]'''
 
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|[[17 March]] [[1861]]
 
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|-
 
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|'''[[Gross Domestic Product|GDP]]''' (2003) <br/> &nbsp; - Total  (PPP) <br/>  &nbsp; - Total (nom.) <br/> &nbsp; - GDP/capita (PPP) <br/> &nbsp; - GDP/capita (nom.)
 
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| <br> $1.559 trillion ([[List of countries by GDP (PPP)|8th]]) <br/> $1.466 trillion ([[List of countries by GDP (nominal)|6th]]) <br/> $27,050 ([[List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita|19th]]) <br/> $29,014 ([[List of countries by GDP (nominal) per capita|20th]])
 
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|-
 
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|'''[[Currency]]''' || [[Euro]] (&euro;)<sup>2</sup>
 
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|-
 
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| '''[[Time zone]]''' <br />&nbsp;- in [[European Summer Time|summer]]
 
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| [[Central European Time|CET]] ([[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]]+1)<br>[[Central European Summer Time|CEST]] ([[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]]+2)
 
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|-
 
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| '''[[National anthem]]''' || [[Il Canto degli Italiani]]
 
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|-
 
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| '''[[Top-level domain|Internet TLD]]''' || [[.it]]
 
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|-
 
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| '''[[List of country calling codes|Calling Code]]''' || +39
 
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|-
 
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|colspan="2"| <small><sup>1</sup> [[French language|French]] is co-official in the [[Aosta Valley]]; [[German language|German]] is co-official in [[South Tyrol]].<br>
 
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<sup>2</sup> Prior to [[1999]]: [[Lira|Italian Lira]].</small>
 
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|}
 
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== History ==
 
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''Main article: [[History of Italy]]''
 
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Italy has shaped the cultural and social development of the whole Mediterranean area, deeply influencing [[European]] culture as well. Important cultures and civilizations have existed there since prehistoric times. After [[Magna Graecia]], the Etruscan civilization and especially the [[Roman Republic]] and [[Roman Empire|Empire]] that dominated this part of the world for many centuries, Italy was central to European [[philosophy]], science and art during the Middle Ages and the [[Renaissance]].
 
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Modern Italy became a nation-state belatedly — on March 17, 1861, when most of the states of the peninsula were united under king [[Victor Emmanuel II]] of the [[Savoy]] dynasty, which ruled over [[Sardinia]] and [[Piedmont]]. The architects of Italian unification were [[Count Camillo Benso di Cavour]], the Chief Minister of Victor Emmanuel, and [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]], a general and national hero. [[Rome]] itself remained for a decade under the Papacy, and became part of the [[Kingdom of Italy]] only on September 20, 1870. The [[Vatican City|Vatican]] is now an independent enclave surrounded by [[Rome]].
 
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== Politics ==
 
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''Main article: [[Politics of Italy]]''
 
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The [[1948]] [[constitution]] established a [[bicameral]] [[parliament]] (''Parlamento''), consisting of a [[Italian Chamber of Deputies|Chamber of Deputies]] (''Camera dei Deputati'') and a [[Italian Senate|Senate]] (''Senato della Repubblica''), a separate [[judiciary]], and an [[executive branch]] composed of a Council of Ministers ([[Cabinet (government)|cabinet]])  (''Consiglio dei ministri''), headed by the [[Prime Minister of Italy|prime minister]] (''Presidente del consiglio dei ministri''). The [[President of Italy|President of the Republic]] (''Presidente della Repubblica'') is elected for 7 years by the parliament sitting jointly with a small number of regional delegates. The president nominates the prime minister, who proposes the other ministers (formally named by the president). The Council of Ministers must retain the support (''Fiducia'') of both houses.
 
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The houses of [[parliament]] are popularly and directly elected by a mixed majoritarian and proportional representation system. Under [[1993]] [[legislation]], Italy has single-member districts for 75% of the seats in parliament; the remaining 25% of seats are allotted on a proportional basis.
 
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The Chamber of Deputies has officially 630 members (''de facto'', 619 only after the 2001 elections). In addition to 315 senators, elected members, the Senate includes former presidents and several other persons (no more than 5) appointed for life by the President of the Republic according to special constitutional provisions. Both houses are elected for a maximum of 5 years, but either may be dissolved before the expiration of its normal term. [[Legislative]] bills may originate in either house and must be passed by a majority in both.
 
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The Italian judicial system is based on [[Roman law]] modified by the [[Napoleonic code]] and later [[statute]]s. A constitutional court, the ''Corte Costituzionale'', passes on the constitutionality of laws, and is a post-[[World War II]] innovation.
 
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== Regions ==
 
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''Main article: [[Regions of Italy]]''
 
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[[Image:It-map.png|right|Map of Italy]]
 
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Italy is subdivided into 20 regions (''regioni'', singular ''regione''), of which five enjoy a special autonomous status that enables them to enact legislation on some of their specific local matters, marked by an *:
 
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*[[Abruzzo]]
 
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*[[Basilicata]]
 
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*[[Calabria]]
 
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*[[Campania]]
 
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*[[Emilia-Romagna]]
 
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*[[Friuli-Venezia Giulia]] *
 
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*[[Latium]] (Lazio)
 
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*[[Liguria]]
 
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*[[Lombardy]] (Lombardia)
 
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*[[Marche]]
 
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*[[Molise]]
 
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*[[Piedmont (Italy)|Piedmont]] (Piemonte)
 
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*[[Apulia]] (Puglia)
 
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*[[Sardinia]] (Sardegna) *
 
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*[[Sicily]] (Sicilia) *
 
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*[[Tuscany]] (Toscana)
 
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*[[Trentino-South Tyrol]] (Trentino-Alto Adige) *
 
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*[[Umbria]]
 
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*[[Aosta Valley]] (Valle d'Aosta)*
 
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*[[Veneto]]
 
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All regions except Valle d'Aosta are further subdivided into two or more [[Provinces of Italy|provinces]].
 
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== Geography ==
 
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''Main article: [[Geography of Italy]]''
 
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[[Image:RomaAltarePatriaTramonto.jpg|thumb|220px|Monument to king Vittorio Emanuele II, Rome]]
 
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[[Image:Andrea Palladio-Villa Badoer-Front.jpg|thumb|Villa Badoer by Andrea Palladio]]
 
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[[Image:Truli houses in Alberobello, Italy. Unesco Heritage.jpg|thumb|Trulli houses in Alberobello.]]
 
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[[Image:Boboli Gardens.jpg|thumb|Boboli Gardens, Florence, Italy,]]
 
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[[Image:Roma-isola tiberina.jpg|thumb| Ponte Fabricio, Isola Tiberina, Roma.]]
 
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[[Image:Firenze-ponte vecchio.jpg|thumb|Ponte Vecchio, Florence.]]
 
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[[Image:Rifugio Laghi Gemelli.JPG|thumb|Rifugio Laghi Gemelli]]
 
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Italy consists predominantly of a large [[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.
 
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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.
 
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Here is also found a large alluvial plain, the Po-Venetian plain, drained by the [[Po River]] and its many tributaries flowing down from the Alps, [[Apennine]]s and [[Dolomites]].
 
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Other well-known rivers include the [[Tiber]], [[Adige]] and [[Arno]].
 
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Its highest point is [[Mont Blanc]] (''Monte Bianco'') at 4,810 m, but Italy is more typically associated with two famous [[volcano]]es: the currently dormant [[Vesuvius]] near [[Naples]] and the very active [[Etna]] on Sicily.
 
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== Demographics == 
 
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''Main article: [[Demographics of Italy]]'' 
 
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Italy is largely homogeneous in language and religion but is diverse culturally, economically, and politically. The country has the fifth-highest population density in Europe at 194 persons per square kilometre. Indigenous minority groups are small. For a country of 58,5 million people, Italy has a smaller number of migrants compared to Spain, France, and Germany. According to ISTAT, the national statistical office, Italy has 2 million (3.5%) foreigners, including legal immigrants and their children. The largest immigrant groups are [[Romanian]] (445,812) (unnoficially 1,000,000<!-- do not edit the official demographic section, see the discussion page first --> ), [[Albanian]] (270,383), [[Moroccan]] (253,362) and [[Han Chinese|Chinese]] (86,738). There are many other ethnic groups, like Filipinos, Tunisians, Serbians, and Ukrainians, but they make very small numbers.
 
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== Economy ==
 
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''Main article: [[Economy of Italy]]''
 
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Italy has a diversified industrial [[economics|economy]] with roughly the same total and per capita output as [[France]] and the [[United Kingdom]]. This [[capitalism|capitalistic]] economy remains divided into a developed industrial north, dominated by private companies, and a less developed [[agriculture|agricultural]] south, with 20% unemployment. In comparison to its western European neighbours, it has a high number of small to medium sized enterprises ([[Small and Medium-sized Enterprise|SME]]es).
 
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Most raw materials needed by industry and more than 75% of energy requirements are imported. 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]].
 
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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 [[labor union|labour unions]].
 
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*[[List of Italian companies]]
 
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Although [[Roman Catholic]]ism is the majority religion (85% of native-born citizens are nominally Catholic) there are mature [[Protestant]] and [[Judaism|Jewish]] communities and a growing [[Islam|Muslim]] (see: [[Islam in Italy]]) immigrant community, as many come from Albania, Morocco, and Tunisia.
 
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== Culture ==
 
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''Main article: [[Culture of Italy]]''
 
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Italy is well-known for its art and culture as well as popular iconic monuments, among them the [[leaning tower of Pisa]] and the Roman [[Colosseum]], as well as for its [[food]] ([[pizza]], [[pasta]], etc.), [[wine]], [[lifestyle]], [[elegance]], [[design]], [[film|cinema]], [[theatre]], [[literature]], [[poetry]], visual [[art]]s, [[music]] (notably [[Opera]]), [[holidays]], and generally speaking, for taste.
 
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Europe's [[Renaissance]] period began in Italy during the [[14th century|14th]] and [[15th century|15th centuries]]. Literary achievements, such as the poetry of [[Dante Alighieri|Dante]], [[Petrarch]], [[Torquato Tasso|Tasso]], and [[Ludovico Ariosto|Ariosto]] and the prose of [[Giovanni Boccaccio|Boccaccio]], [[Niccolò Machiavelli|Machiavelli]], and [[Baldassare Castiglione|Castiglione]] exerted a tremendous and lasting influence on the subsequent development of Western culture, as did the [[painting]], [[sculpture]], and [[architecture]] contributed by giants such as [[Filippo Brunelleschi]], [[Leonardo da Vinci]], [[Raffaello Santi|Raffaello]], [[Sandro Botticelli|Botticelli]], [[Fra Angelico]], and [[Michelangelo]]. Modern artists include the sculptor [[Tommaso Geraci]].
 
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The musical influence of Italian composers [[Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina|Palestrina]], [[Claudio Monteverdi|Monteverdi]], [[Corelli]] and [[Vivaldi]] proved epochal; in the [[19th century]], Italian romantic opera flourished under composers [[Gioacchino Rossini]], [[Giuseppe Verdi]], and [[Giacomo Puccini]].
 
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Contemporary Italian artists, writers, filmmakers, architects, composers, and designers continue to contribute significantly to Western culture.
 
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[[Football (soccer)|Football]] is the main national [[sport]] and the Italians are well known for their passion for this sport. Italy has won the [[Football World Cup]] three times: in [[1934]], [[1938]] and [[1982]].
 
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*[[List of Italians]]
 
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*[[Cinema of Italy]]
 
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*[[Music of Italy]]
 
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*[[Holidays in Italy]]
 
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== Languages ==
 
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''Main article: [[Languages of Italy]]''
 
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The official language of Italy is Italian - a direct descendant of Latin (some 75% of Italian words are of Latin origin), which is itself believed to be a descendant of Kurgan - a language spoken in the area north of the Black and Caspian Seas some five thousand years ago which spawned all of the major Indo-European language families (including the Romance, Slavic and Germanic languages - but not Finnish, Magyar and Basque for example).
 
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Prior to unification in 1861, Italian spoken throughout the country was incredibly varied - with dialects being virtually mutually incomprehensible in most of the country.  Indeed, each historical region of Italy had its own dialect, 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.  Given the variation in Italian language throughout the peninsula, it was quickly establised that 'proper' or 'standard' Italian would be based on the Florentine dialect spoken in most of Tuscany (given that it was the first region to produce authors such as Dante Alighieri, who in 1291 wrote the ''[[Divina Commedia]]'').  A national education system was established - leading to a decrease in variation in the Italian spoken throughout the country over time.  However, it was not until the advent of the state television broadcaster, RAI that Italian truly became standardised.
 
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Today, Italian is fully comprehensible to all throughout the country, but regional variations in the form of accents and vowel emphasis persist.  In addition, particular dialects have become cherised beacons of regional variation and are becoming recently more and more protected by the newly-created Regional Assemblies (especially the Neapolitan dialect which is extensively used for the singing of popular folk-songs).
 
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Apart from standard Italian and regional variations, a number of truly separate languages do exist.  In the north, the province of [[Bolzano]] (or Bozen in German) is almost entirely [[German language|German]]-speaking; the area was awarded to Italy following the First World War and her defeat of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  Pockets of German speakers also persist in other north-western Italian regions - a remnant of the old Austrian influence on this area of Italy.  In total some 300,000 or so Italians speak German as their first language and indeed identify themselves as ethnic Austrians.  Some 120,000 or so people live in the [[Aosta Valley|Valle D'Aosta]] region, where a [[Franco-Provençal]] dialect very similar to French called ''[[Patois]]'' is spoken.  About 80,000 [[Slovenian language| Slovene]]-speakers live in the north-eastern region of [[Friuli-Venezia Giulia]] near the border with Slovenia.  Some 40,000 [[Ladin]]-speakers (Ladin is a descendant of Latin and possibly the closest living relative to the ancient tongue) also live in the [[Trentino-Alto Adige]] region and in the [[Veneto]] region.  A very large community of some 700,000 people in [[Friuli]] speak [[Friulian]] - a romance language too distinct from Italian to be considered the same language.  In the [[Molise]] region of central-south Italy some 4,000 people speak [[Serbo-Croatian]] - these are the descendants of a group of people who migrated from the Balkans in the Middle Ages.  Scattered across Southern Italy are a number of some 30,000 [[Greek language|Greek]]-speakers - considered to be the last surviving traces of the region's Greek heritage (Ancient Greek colonists reached Southern Italy and Sicily about 2500 BC).  Some 15,000 [[Catalan language|Catalan]] speakers reside around the area of [[Alghero]] in the north-west corner of [[Sardinia]] - believed to be the result of a migration of a large group of Catalans from Barcellona in ages past.  Around 100,000 or so people in Southern Italy and in central [[Sicily]] speak [[Albanian language|Albanian]] - the result of past migrations.  Finally, the largest group of non-Italian speakers (some 1.6 million people) are the ones who speak [[Sardinian language| Sardinian]] - a romance language which evolved quite independently from Italian.  The arrival of immigrants has generated a plethora of new languages, including Arab, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu, Turkish, Kurdish, Mandarin and others.  It must be stressed that even today, variations in local accents allow people from one town to distinguish people from a neighbouring town which may be only a few miles away.
 
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== External links ==
 
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{{wikinewscat|Italy}}
 
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{{wikitravel}}
 
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===Official sites===
 
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{{commonscat|Italy}}
 
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*[http://www.quirinale.it/ Presidenza della Repubblica] - Official site of the Italian president (in Italian)
 
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*[http://www.parlamento.it/ Parlamento] - Official site of the Italian parliament (Senate in Italian only)
 
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*[http://www.italia.gov.it/ Italia.gov.it Main governmental portal] (in Italian)
 
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*[http://www.esteri.gov.it/eng/ Ministero degli Affari Esteri, Italian Foreign Office]
 
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*[http://www.istat.it Istituto nazionale di statistica]
 
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===General sites===
 
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{{portal}}
 
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*[http://www.big-italy-map.co.uk Map of Italy] - Maps of Italy and its regions
 
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*[http://www.italy-weather-and-maps.com/ Italy - maps and weather] - Maps and 6&#8209;day weather forecasts
 
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*[http://www.italiansrus.com/ Italiansrus.com] - Guide to Italy and Italian Culture
 
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===Tourist sites and photo galleries===
 
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*[http://www.ultimateitaly.com/ Ultimate Italy]
 
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*[http://www.italianvisits.com/ ItalianVisits.com]
 
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*[http://webcam.deili.info/en,1,2 Webcams in Italy]
 
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{{EU_countries}}
 
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{{Europe}}
 
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<!-- en-GB, -ise -->
 
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[[Category:Italy]]
 
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[[Category:European Union member states]]
 

Latest revision as of 15:35, 10 August 2009

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