| Revision as of 12:42, 26 July 2023 view sourceSimplyred90 (talk | contribs)159 editsm Undid revision 1167212530 by Pretounud (talk)Tag: Undo← Previous edit | Latest revision as of 22:30, 23 December 2024 view source LukeWiller (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users36,026 edits →Demographics: Adding links | ||
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| {{Short description|Country in Southern Europe}} | {{Short description|Country in Southern Europe}} | ||
| {{Redirect|Italia|other uses|Italy (disambiguation)|and|Italia (disambiguation)}} | {{Redirect|Italia|other uses|Italy (disambiguation)|and|Italia (disambiguation)}} | ||
| {{pp-move}} | |||
| {{pp-vandalism|small=yes}} | {{pp-vandalism|small=yes}} | ||
| {{Use British English|date= |
{{Use British English|date=December 2024}} | ||
| {{Use dmy dates|date=December |
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}} | ||
| {{Infobox country | {{Infobox country | ||
| | conventional_long_name = Italian Republic | | conventional_long_name = Italian Republic | ||
| | common_name = Italy | | common_name = Italy | ||
| | native_name = {{ |
| native_name = {{Native name|it|Repubblica Italiana<!--upper case see Italian wiki-->}} | ||
| | image_flag = Flag of Italy.svg | | image_flag = Flag of Italy.svg | ||
| | image_coat = Emblem of Italy.svg | | image_coat = Emblem of Italy.svg | ||
| | symbol_type = Emblem | | symbol_type = Emblem | ||
| | national_anthem = "{{Lang|it|]|italic=no}}"<br/>"The Song of the Italians"<div style="padding-top:0.5em;">{{Center|]}}</div> | |||
| | other_symbol = | |||
| | motto = | |||
| | national_anthem = "]"<br />"The Song of the Italians"<div style="padding-top:0.5em;">{{center|]}}</div> | |||
| | image_map = {{Switcher|]|Show globe|]|Show map of Europe|default=1}} | | image_map = {{Switcher|]|Show globe|]|Show map of Europe|default=1}} | ||
| | map_caption = {{ |
| map_caption = {{Map caption|location_color=dark green|region=Europe|region_color=dark grey|subregion=the ]|subregion_color = light green|legend=EU-Italy.svg}} | ||
| | image_map2 = | |||
| | capital = ] | | capital = ] | ||
| | coordinates = {{Coord|41|54|N|12|29|E|type:city}} | | coordinates = {{Coord|41|54|N|12|29|E|type:city}} | ||
| Line 25: | Line 21: | ||
| | languages = See ] | | languages = See ] | ||
| | official_languages = ]<sup>a</sup> | | official_languages = ]<sup>a</sup> | ||
| {{ |
{{Infobox|child=yes | ||
| |label1 = ] {{ |
|label1 = ] {{Nobold|(2021)}}<ref name="id2020">{{Cite web|title=Indicatori demografici, anno 2020 |url=https://www.istat.it/it/files//2021/05/REPORT_INDICATORI-DEMOGRAFICI-2020.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210503091112/https://www.istat.it/it/files//2021/05/REPORT_INDICATORI-DEMOGRAFICI-2020.pdf|archive-date=3 May 2021|access-date=3 May 2021}}</ref> | ||
| | data1 = {{Unbulleted list|91 |
| data1 = {{Unbulleted list|91% ]|9% other}} | ||
| }} | }} | ||
| | religion = {{Ublist|item_style=white-space:nowrap;|84% ]|12% ]|1% ]|3% ]}} | |||
| | ethnic_groups = | |||
| | ethnic_groups_year = | |||
| | ethnic_groups_ref = | |||
| | religion = {{ublist |item_style=white-space:nowrap; |84.4% ]|11.6% ] |1.0% ] |3.0% ]}} | |||
| | religion_year = 2020 | | religion_year = 2020 | ||
| | religion_ref = <ref |
| religion_ref = <ref>{{Cite web|date=September 2021|title=Special Eurobarometer 516|url=https://data.europa.eu/data/datasets/s2237_95_2_516_eng?locale=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230629085321/http://data.europa.eu/data/datasets/s2237_95_2_516_eng?locale=en|archive-date=29 June 2023|access-date=24 September 2021|publisher=]: ]|via=] (see Volume C: Country/socio-demographics: IT: Question D90.2.)}}</ref> | ||
| | demonym = ] | | demonym = ] | ||
| | government_type = ] | | government_type = ] | ||
| Line 43: | Line 36: | ||
| | leader_title3 = ] | | leader_title3 = ] | ||
| | leader_name3 = ] | | leader_name3 = ] | ||
| | leader_title4 = |
| leader_title4 = ] | ||
| | leader_name4 = ] | | leader_name4 = ] | ||
| | legislature = ] | | legislature = ] | ||
| Line 52: | Line 45: | ||
| | established_date1 = 17 March 1861 | | established_date1 = 17 March 1861 | ||
| | established_event2 = ] | | established_event2 = ] | ||
| | established_date2 = |
| established_date2 = 12<!--Monarchy was abolished officially--> June 1946 | ||
| | established_event3 = ] | | established_event3 = ] | ||
| | established_date3 = 1 January 1948 | | established_date3 = 1 January 1948 | ||
| | area_km2 = 301,340<ref name="Central Intelligence Agency-2023">{{Cite web|date=23 August 2023|title=Italy|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/italy|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210701235642/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/italy|archive-date=1 July 2021|access-date=28 August 2023|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=12 November 2023|title=Italy country profile|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17433142|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231218111602/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17433142|archive-date=18 December 2023|access-date=12 November 2023|publisher=BBC News}}</ref> | |||
| | established_event4 = {{nowrap|] the ]}} {{nowrap|(now ])}} | |||
| | established_date4 = 1 January 1958 | |||
| | area_km2 = 301,230 | |||
| | area_rank = 71st | | area_rank = 71st | ||
| | area_sq_mi = 116,347 <!--Do not remove per ]--> | | area_sq_mi = 116,347 <!--Do not remove per ]--> | ||
| | percent_water = 1.24 (2015)<ref>{{ |
| percent_water = 1.24 (2015)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Surface water and surface water change|url=https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=SURFACE_WATER|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210324133453/https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=SURFACE_WATER|archive-date=24 March 2021|access-date=11 October 2020|publisher=] (OECD)}}</ref> | ||
| | population_estimate = 58, |
| population_estimate = {{IncreaseNeutral}} 58,968,501<ref>{{Cite web|title=ISTAT – Demography, Statistics, Demographic Balance, Resident Population|url=https://demo.istat.it/app/?l=en&a=2024&i=D7B|access-date=10 July 2024|website=demo.istat.it|archive-date=6 July 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240706185033/https://demo.istat.it/app/?i=D7B&l=en&a=2024|url-status=live}}</ref> | ||
| | population_estimate_year = |
| population_estimate_year = 2024 | ||
| | population_estimate_rank = 25th | | population_estimate_rank = 25th | ||
| | population_density_km2 = |
| population_density_km2 = 195.7 | ||
| | population_density_sq_mi = |
| population_density_sq_mi = 507 <!--Do not remove per ]--> | ||
| | population_density_rank = 71st | | population_density_rank = 71st | ||
| | GDP_PPP = {{ |
| GDP_PPP = {{Increase}} $3.597 trillion<ref name="IMFWEO.IT">{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2024/October/weo-report?c=136,&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,&sy=2022&ey=2029&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1 |title=World Economic Outlook Database, October 2024 Edition. (Italy) |publisher=] |website=www.imf.org |date=22 October 2024 |access-date=22 October 2024}}</ref> | ||
| | GDP_PPP_year = |
| GDP_PPP_year = 2024 | ||
| | GDP_PPP_rank = |
| GDP_PPP_rank = 13th | ||
| | GDP_PPP_per_capita = {{ |
| GDP_PPP_per_capita = {{Increase}} $60,992<ref name="IMFWEO.IT"/> | ||
| | GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = |
| GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 30th | ||
| | GDP_nominal = {{ |
| GDP_nominal = {{Increase}} $2.376 trillion<ref name="IMFWEO.IT"/> | ||
| | GDP_nominal_year = |
| GDP_nominal_year = 2024 | ||
| | GDP_nominal_rank = 8th | | GDP_nominal_rank = 8th | ||
| | GDP_nominal_per_capita = {{ |
| GDP_nominal_per_capita = {{Increase}} $40,286<ref name="IMFWEO.IT"/> | ||
| | GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 26th | | GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 26th | ||
| | Gini = 32.5 <!--number only--> | | Gini = 32.5 <!--number only--> | ||
| | Gini_year = 2020 | | Gini_year = 2020 | ||
| | Gini_change = decrease <!--increase/steady/decrease--> | | Gini_change = decrease <!--increase/steady/decrease--> | ||
| | Gini_ref = <ref |
| Gini_ref = <ref>{{Cite web|title=Gini coefficient of equivalised disposable income – EU-SILC survey|url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tessi190/default/table?lang=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201009091832/https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tessi190/default/table?lang=en|archive-date=9 October 2020|access-date=21 June 2022|publisher=European Commission}}</ref> | ||
| | |
| HDI = 0.906 <!--number only--> | ||
| | |
| HDI_year = 2022<!-- Please use the year to which the data refers, not the publication year--> | ||
| | |
| HDI_change = steady <!--increase/decrease/steady--> | ||
| | HDI_ref = <ref>{{Cite web|date=13 March 2024|title=Human Development Report 2023/24 |url=https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2023-24reporten.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240313164319/https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2023-24reporten.pdf|archive-date=13 March 2024|access-date=13 March 2024|publisher=]|page=288}}</ref> | |||
| | HDI_change = increase <!--increase/decrease/steady--> | |||
| | HDI_ref = <ref name="HDI">{{cite web|url=https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2021-22pdf_1.pdf|title=Human Development Report 2021/2022|language=en|publisher=]|date=8 September 2022|access-date=8 September 2022}}</ref> | |||
| | HDI_rank = 30th | | HDI_rank = 30th | ||
| | currency = ] (])<sup>b</sup> | | currency = ] (])<sup>b</sup> | ||
| Line 93: | Line 83: | ||
| | utc_offset_DST = +2 | | utc_offset_DST = +2 | ||
| | time_zone_DST = ] | | time_zone_DST = ] | ||
| | date_format = {{abbr|dd|day}}/{{abbr|mm|month}}/{{abbr|yyyy|year}}<br />{{abbr|yyyy|year}}-{{abbr|mm|month}}-{{abbr|dd|day}} (])<ref>Year-month-day also sometimes used, though rarely, mainly used for computing contexts. See ].</ref> | |||
| | drives_on = right | |||
| | calling_code = ]<sup>c</sup> | | calling_code = ]<sup>c</sup> | ||
| | cctld = ] |
| cctld = ] | ||
| | footnote_a = <span style="font-size:100%;"> |
| footnote_a = <span style="font-size:100%;">German is co-official in ] and ]; French is co-official in the ]; ] is co-official in the ], the ], and Friuli-Venezia Giulia; ] is co-official in South Tyrol, in ] and in other northern areas; ] is co-official in Friuli-Venezia Giulia; ] is co-official in ].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Legge Regionale 15 ottobre 1997, n. 26 |url=http://www.regione.sardegna.it/j/v/86?v=9&c=72&file=1997026|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226213750/http://www.regione.sardegna.it/j/v/86?v=9&c=72&file=1997026|archive-date=26 February 2021|access-date=31 May 2018|publisher=Regione autonoma della Sardegna – Regione Autònoma de Sardigna}}; {{Cite web|title=Regione Autonoma Friuli-Venezia Giulia – Comunità linguistiche regionali|url=https://www.regione.fvg.it/rafvg/cms/RAFVG/cultura-sport/patrimonio-culturale/comunita-linguistiche|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904201140/https://www.regione.fvg.it/rafvg/cms/RAFVG/cultura-sport/patrimonio-culturale/comunita-linguistiche|archive-date=4 September 2015|access-date=2 November 2020|website=regione.fvg.it}}</ref></span> | ||
| | footnote_b = <span style="font-size:100%;">Before 2002, the ]. The euro is accepted in ] but its official currency is the ].<ref>{{ |
| footnote_b = <span style="font-size:100%;">Before 2002, the ]. The euro is accepted in ] but its official currency is the ].<ref>{{Cite web|date=14 July 2010|title=Comune di Campione d'Italia|url=http://www.comune.campione-d-italia.co.it|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430223743/http://www.comune.campione-d-italia.co.it|archive-date=30 April 2011|access-date=30 October 2010|publisher=Comune.campione-d-italia.co.it}}</ref></span> | ||
| | footnote_c = <span style="font-size:100%;">To call |
| footnote_c = <span style="font-size:100%;">To call Campione d'Italia, it is necessary to use the Swiss code ].</span> | ||
| | footnote_d = <span style="font-size:100%;">The ] domain is also used, as it is shared with other European Union member states.</span> | |||
| | country_code = | |||
| | today = | |||
| }} | }} | ||
| '''Italy''' |
'''Italy''',{{Efn|{{Langx|it|Italia}}, {{IPA|it|iˈtaːlja|pron|small=no|It-Italia.ogg}}}} officially the '''Italian Republic''',{{Efn|{{Langx|it|Repubblica Italiana|links=no}}, {{IPA|it|reˈpubblika itaˈljaːna|pron|small=no}}}} is a country in Southern<ref>{{Cite web|title=Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/italy|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210701235642/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/italy|archive-date=1 July 2021|access-date=17 August 2021|website=The World Factbook|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency}}</ref> and Western<ref name="DGACM">{{Cite web|title=UNITED NATIONS DGACM|url=https://www.un.org/Depts/DGACM/RegionalGroups.shtml|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170821045724/http://www.un.org/depts/DGACM/RegionalGroups.shtml|archive-date=21 August 2017|access-date=24 September 2019|publisher=United Nations}}</ref>{{Efn|Italy is often grouped in Western Europe.<ref>Academic works describing Italy as a Western European country:{{Bulleted list | ||
| |{{ |
|{{Cite book|last1=Hancock|first1=M. Donald|url=https://archive.org/details/politicsinwester00hanc_0|title=Politics in Western Europe: an introduction to the politics of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, and the European Union|last2=Conradt|first2=David P.|last3=Peters|first3=B. Guy|last4=Safran|first4=William|last5=Zariski|first5=Raphael|date=11 November 1998|publisher=Chatham House Publishers|isbn=978-1-5664-3039-5|edition=2nd|quote=list of Western European countries Italy.|url-access=registration|ref=none}} | ||
| |{{ |
|{{Cite book|last1=Ugo|first1=Ascoli|last2=Emmanuele|first2=Pavolini|title=The Italian welfare state in a European perspective: A comparative analysis|date=2016|publisher=Policy Press|isbn=978-1-4473-3444-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BEzRDAAAQBAJ&q=list+of+Western+European+countries+Italy|ref=none}} | ||
| |{{ |
|{{Cite book|last1=Zloch-Christy|first1=Iliana|title=East-West Financial Relations: Current Problems and Future Prospects|date=1991|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-5213-9530-4|url=https://archive.org/details/eastwestfinancia00zloc|url-access=registration|quote=list of Western European countries Italy.|access-date=29 September 2019|ref=none}} | ||
| |{{ |
|{{Cite book|last1=Clout|first1=Hugh D.|title=Western Europe: Geographical Perspectives|date=1989|publisher=Longman Scientific & Technical|isbn=978-0-5820-1772-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WGbIT90ppZsC|access-date=29 September 2019|ref=none}} | ||
| |{{ |
|{{Cite book|last1=Furlong|first1=Paul|title=Modern Italy: Representation and Reform|date=2003|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-1349-7983-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JNNsOl65D0AC&q=italy+western+European+country|access-date=29 September 2019|ref=none}} | ||
| |{{ |
|{{Cite book|last1=Hanf|first1=Kenneth|last2=Jansen|first2=Alf-Inge|title=Governance and Environment in Western Europe: Politics, Policy and Administration|date=2014|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-3178-7917-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=31wSBAAAQBAJ&q=West+Europe+Italy|access-date=29 September 2019|ref=none}} | ||
| }}</ref>}} ]. It consists of ] that extends into the ], with the ] on its northern land border, as well as ], notably ] and ].<ref name="Treccani">{{Citation|title=Italia|volume=VI|page=413|year=1970|publisher=]|language=it|encyclopedia=Dizionario enciclopedico italiano}}</ref> Italy shares its borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, and two enclaves: ] and ]. It is the ], covering {{Convert|301340|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}},<ref name="Central Intelligence Agency-2023"/> and the third-most populous ], with a population of nearly 60 million.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Italy Population 2022 (Demographics, Maps, Graphs) |url=https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/italy-population|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221180502/https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/italy-population|archive-date=21 February 2022|access-date=21 February 2022|website=worldpopulationreview.com}}</ref> Italy's capital and ] is ]; other major urban areas include ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ]. | |||
| }}|group=note}} ]. Located in the middle of the ], it consists of ] delimited by the ] and surrounded by ].<ref name="Treccani">{{Citation|year=1970|title=Italia|encyclopedia=Dizionario enciclopedico italiano|volume=VI|page=413|publisher=]|language=it}}</ref> | |||
| Italy shares ] with ], ], ], ] and the ] ] of ] and ]. It has a territorial ] in Switzerland, ], and some islands in the ]. Italy covers an area of {{convert|301230|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}, with a population of about 60 million.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Italy Population 2022 (Demographics, Maps, Graphs)|url=https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/italy-population|access-date=21 February 2022|website=worldpopulationreview.com}}</ref> | |||
| The ] |
The history of Italy goes back to numerous ], notably including the ], who conquered the Mediterranean world during the ] and ruled it for centuries during the ].<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Carl Waldman|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kfv6HKXErqAC|title=Encyclopedia of European Peoples|last2=Catherine Mason|publisher=Infobase Publishing|year=2006|isbn=978-1-4381-2918-1|page=586|access-date=23 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311102543/https://books.google.com/books?id=kfv6HKXErqAC|archive-date=11 March 2023|url-status=live}}; {{Cite book|last=Mommsen|first=Theodor|author-link=Theodor Mommsen|title=], Book II: From the Abolition of the Monarchy in Rome to the Union of Italy|publisher=Reimer & Hirsel|year=1855|location=Leipzig}}; {{Cite book|last=Lazenby|first=John Francis|url=https://archive.org/details/hannibalswarmili00laze|title=Hannibal's War: A Military History of the Second Punic War|date=4 February 1998|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|isbn=978-0-8061-3004-0|page=|quote=Italy homeland of the Romans.|url-access=registration|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> With the spread of Christianity, Rome became the seat of the ] and the ]. Between ] and the ], Italy experienced the arrival of Germanic tribes and the ]. By the 11th century, ] and ] expanded, bringing renewed prosperity through commerce and laying the groundwork for modern capitalism.<ref name="See">{{Cite web|last=Sée|first=Henri|title=Modern Capitalism Its Origin and Evolution|url=http://www.efm.bris.ac.uk/het/see/ModernCapitalism.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007010542/http://www.efm.bris.ac.uk/het/see/ModernCapitalism.pdf|archive-date=7 October 2013|access-date=29 August 2013|website=University of Rennes|publisher=Batoche Books}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Italian Trade Cities {{!}} Western Civilization|url=https://courses.lumenlearning.com/atd-herkimer-westerncivilization/chapter/italian-trade-cities|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211102035722/https://courses.lumenlearning.com/atd-herkimer-westerncivilization/chapter/italian-trade-cities|archive-date=2 November 2021|access-date=21 September 2022|website=courses.lumenlearning.com}}</ref> The ] flourished during the 15th and 16th centuries and spread to the rest of Europe. Italian explorers discovered new routes to the Far East and the ], contributing significantly to the European ]. | ||
| After centuries of political and territorial divisions, |
After centuries of political and territorial divisions, Italy was almost entirely unified in 1861, following wars of independence and the ], establishing the ].<ref>{{Cite web|date=4 April 2003|title=Unification of Italy|url=http://library.thinkquest.org/TQ0312582/unification.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090307050237/http://library.thinkquest.org/TQ0312582/unification.html|archive-date=7 March 2009|access-date=19 November 2009|publisher=Library.thinkquest.org}}</ref> From the late 19th to the early 20th century, Italy rapidly industrialised, mainly in the north, and acquired ],<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Italian Colonial Empire|url=http://www.allempires.com/article/index.php?q=italian_colonial|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120224012449/http://www.allempires.com/article/index.php?q=italian_colonial|archive-date=24 February 2012|access-date=17 June 2012|publisher=All Empires|quote=At its peak, just before WWII, the Italian Empire comprehended the territories of present time Italy, Albania, Rhodes, Dodecanese, Libya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, the majority of Somalia and the little concession of Tientsin in China}}</ref> while ] remained largely impoverished, fueling ] to the Americas.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Jon Rynn|title=WHAT IS A GREAT POWER?|url=http://globalmakeover.com/sites/economicreconstruction.com/static/JonRynn/FirstChapterDissertation.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170428053310/http://globalmakeover.com/sites/economicreconstruction.com/static/JonRynn/FirstChapterDissertation.pdf|archive-date=28 April 2017|access-date=15 March 2017|website=economicreconstruction.com}}</ref> From 1915 to 1918, Italy took part in ] with the ] against the ]. In 1922, the ] dictatorship was established. ], Italy was first part of the ] until its surrender to the ] (1940–1943), then a co-belligerent of the Allies during the ] and the ] (1943–1945). Following the war, the monarchy was replaced by a republic and the country enjoyed ].<ref>{{Cite web|title=IMF Advanced Economies List. World Economic Outlook, April 2016, p. 148 |url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2016/01/pdf/text.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160421023851/http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2016/01/pdf/text.pdf|archive-date=21 April 2016}}</ref> | ||
| Italy has the ] nominal GDP in the world, the |
A ] with ], Italy has the ] in the world, the ] in Europe,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Manufacturing by Country 2023 |url=https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/manufacturing-by-country|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231130004544/https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/manufacturing-by-country|archive-date=30 November 2023|access-date=14 October 2023|website=worldpopulationreview.com}}</ref> and ]<ref>Gabriele Abbondanza, ''Italy as a Regional Power: the African Context from National Unification to the Present Day'' (Rome: Aracne, 2016); "''] may be considered one of the most important instances in which Italy has acted as a regional power, taking the lead in executing a technically and politically coherent and determined strategy.''" See Federiga Bindi, ''Italy and the European Union'' (Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, 2011), p. 171.</ref> and ]<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nTKBdY5HBeUC&q=Canada%2520Among%2520Nations%252C%25202004%253A%2520Setting%2520Priorities+Straight|title=Canada Among Nations, 2004: Setting Priorities Straight |date=17 January 2005|publisher=McGill-Queen's Press – MQUP|isbn=978-0-7735-2836-9|page=85|access-date=13 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116145100/https://books.google.com/books?id=nTKBdY5HBeUC&q=Canada%2520Among%2520Nations%252C%25202004%253A%2520Setting%2520Priorities+Straight|archive-date=16 January 2023|url-status=live|quote=The United States is the sole world's superpower. France, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom are great powers}}; {{Cite book|last=Sterio|first=Milena|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-QuI6n_OVMYC&q=The%20Right%20to%20Self-determination%20Under%20International%20Law%3A%20%22selfistans%22%2C%20Secession%20and%20the%20Rule%20of%20the%20Great%20Powers|title=The right to self-determination under international law: "selfistans", secession and the rule of the great powers|date=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-4156-6818-7|location=Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon|page=xii (preface)|access-date=13 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240116110143/https://books.google.com/books?id=-QuI6n_OVMYC&q=The%20Right%20to%20Self-determination%20Under%20International%20Law%3A%20%22selfistans%22%2C%20Secession%20and%20the%20Rule%20of%20the%20Great%20Powers#v=snippet&q=The%20Right%20to%20Self-determination%20Under%20International%20Law%3A%20%22selfistans%22%2C%20Secession%20and%20the%20Rule%20of%20the%20Great%20Powers&f=false|archive-date=16 January 2024|url-status=live|quote=The great powers are super-sovereign states: an exclusive club of the most powerful states economically, militarily, politically and strategically. These states include veto-wielding members of the United Nations Security Council (United States, United Kingdom, France, China, and Russia), as well as economic powerhouses such as Germany, Italy and Japan.}}</ref> economic, military, cultural, and diplomatic affairs. Italy is a ] and ], and is part of numerous international institutions, including ], the ] and ], the ] and the ]. As a ], Italy has long been a renowned global centre ], ], ], ], ], ], and the source of ].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Michael Barone|date=2 September 2010|title=The essence of Italian culture and the challenge of the global age|url=http://www.crvp.org/book/Series04/IV-5/chapter_vi.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120922063927/http://www.crvp.org/book/Series04/IV-5/chapter_vi.htm|archive-date=22 September 2012|access-date=22 September 2012|publisher=Council for Research in Values and philosophy}}</ref> It has the ] of ]s (]) and is the ] in the world. | ||
| ==Name== | == Name == | ||
| {{ |
{{Anchor|Etymology}} | ||
| {{Main|Name of Italy}} | {{Main|Name of Italy}} | ||
| ]'' of Roman emperor ] displaying the inscription ''ITALIA'' on the verge of a ] holding ] and ]]] | |||
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| | image1 = RomanItaly.png | |||
| | caption1 = Expansion of the territory ] from ] until ] | |||
| | image2 = Social War AR Syd 621.1.jpg|180 | |||
| | caption2 = Silver coin minted in ] during the ], displaying the inscription ''ITALIA'' on the verge of the ], represented as a goddess with ] | |||
| }} | |||
| Hypotheses for the etymology of |
Hypotheses for the etymology of ''Italia'' are numerous.<ref>Alberto Manco, ''Italia. Disegno storico-linguistico'', 2009, ], L'Orientale, {{ISBN|978-8-8950-4462-0}}</ref> One theory suggests it originated from an ] term for the land of the ''Italói'', a tribe that resided in the region now known as ]. Originally thought to be named ''Vituli'', some scholars suggest their ]ic animal to be the calf (]: ''vitulus''; ]: ''vitlo''; ]: ''Víteliú'')<!-- and named for the god of cattle, ] -->.<ref>J.P. Mallory and D.Q. Adams, ''Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture'' (London: Fitzroy and Dearborn, 1997), 24.</ref> Several ancient authors said it was named after a local ruler ].<ref>Dionysius of Halicarnassus, ''Roman Antiquities'', {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215151343/https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Dionysius_of_Halicarnassus/1B%2A.html|date=15 December 2022}}, on LacusCurtius; Aristotle, ''Politics'', {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910185719/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0058%3Abook%3D7%3Asection%3D1329b|date=10 September 2015}}, on Perseus; Thucydides, ''The Peloponnesian War'', {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924213434/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Thuc.+6.2.4&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0200|date=24 September 2015}}, on Perseus</ref> | ||
| ''Roman Antiquities'', , on LacusCurtius</ref> mentioned also by ]<ref>Aristotle, ''Politics'', {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910185719/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0058%3Abook%3D7%3Asection%3D1329b |date=10 September 2015 }}, on Perseus</ref> and ].<ref>Thucydides, ''The Peloponnesian War'', {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924213434/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Thuc.+6.2.4&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0200 |date=24 September 2015 }}, on Perseus</ref> | |||
| The ancient Greek term for Italy initially referred only to the south of the ] peninsula and parts of ] and ]. The larger concept of ] and "Italy" became synonymous, and the name applied to most of ] as well. Before the Roman Republic's expansion, the name was used by Greeks for the land between the ] and the line connecting the ] and ], corresponding to Calabria. The Greeks came to apply "Italia" to a larger region.<ref>Pallottino, M., ''History of Earliest Italy'', trans. Ryle, M & Soper, K. in Jerome Lectures, Seventeenth Series, p. 50</ref> In addition to the "]" in the south, historians have suggested the existence of an "Etruscan Italy", which consisted of areas of central Italy.<ref>Giovanni Brizzi, Roma. Potere e identità: dalle origini alla nascita dell'impero cristiano, Bologna, Patron, 2012 p. 94</ref> | |||
| The borders of ], ''Italia'', are better established. Cato's '']'' |
The borders of ], ''Italia'', are better established. Cato's '']'' describes Italy as the entire peninsula south of the Alps.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Carlà-Uhink|first=Filippo|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dSY-DwAAQBAJ&q=cato+italy+south+of+the+Alps&pg=PT49|title=The "Birth" of Italy: The Institutionalization of Italy as a Region, 3rd–1st Century BCE|date=25 September 2017|publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG|isbn=978-3-1105-4478-7}}; {{Cite book|last=Levene|first=D. S.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aLsRDAAAQBAJ&q=cato+walls+of+Italy&pg=PA108|title=Livy on the Hannibalic War|date=17 June 2010|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-1981-5295-8|access-date=12 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328152752/https://books.google.com/books?id=aLsRDAAAQBAJ&q=cato+walls+of+Italy&pg=PA108#v=snippet&q=cato%20walls%20of%20Italy&f=false|archive-date=28 March 2024|url-status=live}}</ref> In 264 BC, Roman Italy extended from the ] and ] rivers of the centre-north to the entire south. The northern area, ], considered geographically part of Italy, was occupied by Rome in the 220s BC,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Carlà-Uhink|first=Filippo|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dSY-DwAAQBAJ&q=Tota+Italia+essays&pg=PT454|title=The "Birth" of Italy: The Institutionalization of Italy as a Region, 3rd–1st Century BCE|date=25 September 2017|publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG|isbn=978-3-1105-4478-7|access-date=12 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240211000755/https://books.google.com/books?id=dSY-DwAAQBAJ&q=Tota+Italia+essays&pg=PT454#v=snippet&q=Tota%20Italia%20essays&f=false|archive-date=11 February 2024|url-status=live}}</ref> but remained politically separated. It was legally merged into the administrative unit of Italy in 42 BC.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Williams|first=J. H. C.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RPj_FkEeVO4C&q=beyond+the+Rubicon|title=Beyond the Rubicon: Romans and Gauls in Republican Italy – J. H. C. Williams – Google Books|date=22 May 2020|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-1981-5300-9|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200522000630/https://books.google.it/books?id=RPj_FkEeVO4C&dq=beyond+the+Rubicon&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiI5YrC6rbkAhUvDmMBHXZOCMAQ6AEIKTAA|archive-date=22 May 2020}}; {{Cite book|last=Long|first=George|title=Decline of the Roman republic: Volume 2|year=1866}}; {{Cite web|last=Aurigemma|first=Salvatore|title=Gallia Cisalpina|url=http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/gallia-cisalpina_(Enciclopedia-Italiana)|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404054511/https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/gallia-cisalpina_(Enciclopedia-Italiana)|archive-date=4 April 2023|access-date=14 October 2014|website=treccani.it|publisher=Enciclopedia Italiana|language=it}}</ref> Sardinia, ], Sicily, and ] were added to Italy by ] in 292 AD,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Italy (ancient Roman territory)|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/297743/Italy|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110232259/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/297743/Italy|archive-date=10 November 2013|access-date=10 November 2013|website=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref> which made late-ancient Italy coterminous with the modern ].<ref>{{Cite web|title=La riorganizzazione amministrativa dell'Italia. Costantino, Roma, il Senato e gli equilibri dell'Italia romana|url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/la-riorganizzazione-amministrativa-dell-italia-costantino-roma-il-senato-e-gli-equilibri-dell-italia-romana_%28Enciclopedia-Costantiniana%29|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119225335/https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/la-riorganizzazione-amministrativa-dell-italia-costantino-roma-il-senato-e-gli-equilibri-dell-italia-romana_(Enciclopedia-Costantiniana)|archive-date=19 November 2021|access-date=19 November 2021|language=it}}</ref> | ||
| The Latin ''Italicus'' was used to describe "a man of Italy" as opposed to a ''provincial'', or one from the ].<ref>''Letters'' 9.23</ref> The adjective ''italianus'', from which ''Italian'' was derived, is from ] and was used alternatively with ''Italicus'' during the ].<ref>''ytaliiens'' (1265) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181029191636/http://www.cnrtl.fr/etymologie/italien|date=29 October 2018}}</ref> After the ], the ] of Italy was created. After the ] invasions, ''Italia'' was retained as the name for their kingdom, and its ] within the ].<ref>{{Cite web|title=IL COMUNE MEDIEVALE|url=https://www.homolaicus.com/storia/medioevo/comune_medievale.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120318214257/http://www.homolaicus.com/storia/medioevo/comune_medievale.htm|archive-date=18 March 2012|website=homolaicus.com}}</ref> | |||
| The Latin term ''Italicus'' was used to describe "a man of Italy" as opposed to a ]. For example, ] notably wrote in a letter ''Italicus es an provincialis''? meaning "are you an Italian or a provincial?".<ref>''Letters'' 9.23</ref> | |||
| The adjective ''italianus'', from which are derived the Italian (and also French and English) name of the ], is ] and was used alternatively with Italicus during the ].<ref>''ytaliiens'' (1265) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181029191636/http://www.cnrtl.fr/etymologie/italien |date=29 October 2018 }}</ref> | |||
| == History == | |||
| After the ], which was caused by the invasion of the ], the ] was created. After the ] invasions, "Italia" was retained as the name for ], and for its ] within the ], which nominally lasted until 1806, although it had '']'' disintegrated due to ] pitting the empire against the ascendant ] in the 13th century.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.homolaicus.com/storia/medioevo/comune_medievale.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120318214257/http://www.homolaicus.com/storia/medioevo/comune_medievale.htm|url-status=dead|title=IL COMUNE MEDIEVALE|archivedate=18 March 2012|website=www.homolaicus.com}}</ref> | |||
| {{clear}} | |||
| ==History== | |||
| {{Main|History of Italy}} | {{Main|History of Italy}} | ||
| ===Prehistory and antiquity=== | === Prehistory and antiquity === | ||
| {{Main|Prehistoric Italy|Italic peoples|Etruscan civilisation| |
{{Main|Prehistoric Italy|Italic peoples|Etruscan civilisation|Greek colonisation|Magna Graecia}} | ||
| ] fresco in the ], 5th century BC]] | |||
| {{see also|List of ancient peoples of Italy}} | |||
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| | image1 = Matera from Piazzetta Pascoli-2930.jpg | |||
| | caption1 = The '']'' cave houses of ] are believed to be among the first human settlements in Italy dating back to the Paleolithic.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.amusingplanet.com/2016/04/sassi-di-matera-oldest-continuously.html?m=1 |title=Sassi di Matera |publisher=AmusingPlanet}}</ref> | |||
| | image2 = Etruscan Painting 1.jpg|275 | |||
| | caption2 = ] fresco in the ], 5th century BC | |||
| }} | |||
| ] artefacts, dating back 850,000 years, have been recovered from ].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Society|first=National Geographic|title=Erano padani i primi abitanti d'Italia|url=http://www.nationalgeographic.it/scienza/2012/01/20/news/erano_padani_iprimi_abitanti_ditalia-807204|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626220707/http://www.nationalgeographic.it/scienza/2012/01/20/news/erano_padani_iprimi_abitanti_ditalia-807204|archive-date=26 June 2019|access-date=11 March 2019|website=National Geographic}}</ref> Excavations throughout Italy revealed a ] presence in the Middle Palaeolithic period 200,000 years ago,<ref>Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers 2001, ch. 2. {{ISBN|0-3064-6463-2}}.</ref> while ] appeared about 40,000 years ago at ].<ref>42.7–41.5 ka (]). | |||
| {{Cite journal|last=Douka|first=Katerina|display-authors=etal|year=2012|title=A new chronostratigraphic framework for the Upper Palaeolithic of Riparo Mochi (Italy)|journal=Journal of Human Evolution|volume=62|issue=2|pages=286–299|doi=10.1016/j.jhevol.2011.11.009|pmid=22189428|bibcode=2012JHumE..62..286D }}; {{Cite web|date=29 January 2010|title=Istituto Italiano di Preistoria e Protostoria|url=http://www.iipp.it|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131015231105/http://www.iipp.it|archive-date=15 October 2013|publisher=IIPP}}</ref> | |||
| Excavations throughout Italy revealed a ] presence dating back to the Middle Palaeolithic period some 200,000 years ago,<ref>Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers 2001, ch. 2. {{ISBN|0-306-46463-2}}.</ref> while ] appeared about 40,000 years ago at ].<ref>42.7–41.5 ka (]). | |||
| {{cite journal | last1 = Douka | first1 = Katerina | display-authors = etal | year = 2012| title = A new chronostratigraphic framework for the Upper Palaeolithic of Riparo Mochi (Italy) | journal = Journal of Human Evolution | volume = 62 | issue = 2| pages = 286–299 | doi = 10.1016/j.jhevol.2011.11.009 | pmid = 22189428 }}</ref> Archaeological sites from this period include ], ], ], and ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iipp.it |title=Istituto Italiano di Preistoria e Protostoria |publisher=IIPP |date=29 January 2010|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131015231105/http://www.iipp.it/ |archive-date=15 October 2013}}</ref> | |||
| The ] of pre-Roman Italy |
The ] of pre-Roman Italy were ], specifically the ]. The main historic peoples of possible non-Indo-European or ] heritage include the ], the ] and ] of Sicily, and the prehistoric ], who gave birth to the ]. Other ancient populations include the ] and ], known for their ].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Rock Drawings in Valcamonica|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/94|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100703183257/http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/94|archive-date=3 July 2010|access-date=29 June 2010|publisher=UNESCO World Heritage Centre}}</ref> A natural mummy, ], dated 3400–3100 BC, was discovered in the ] glacier in 1991.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bonani|first1=Georges|last2=Ivy|first2=Susan D.|display-authors=etal|year=1994|title=AMS {{SimpleNuclide|Carbon|14}} Age Determination of Tissue, Bone and Grass Samples from the Ötzal Ice Man|url=http://digitalcommons.library.arizona.edu/objectviewer?o=http%3A%2F%2Fradiocarbon.library.arizona.edu%2FVolume36%2FNumber2%2Fazu_radiocarbon_v36_n2_247_250_v.pdf|url-status=live|journal=Radiocarbon|volume=36|issue=2|pages=247–250|doi=10.1017/s0033822200040534|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100720211402/https://digitalcommons.library.arizona.edu/objectviewer?o=http%3A%2F%2Fradiocarbon.library.arizona.edu%2FVolume36%2FNumber2%2Fazu_radiocarbon_v36_n2_247_250_v.pdf|archive-date=20 July 2010|access-date=4 February 2016|doi-access=free}}</ref> | ||
| The first |
The first colonisers were the ]ns, who established ]s on the coasts of Sicily and Sardinia. Some became small urban centers and developed parallel to ].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Raclot|first1=Thierry|last2=Oudart|first2=Hugues|date=January 2000|title=CORPS GRAS ET OBESITE Acides gras alimentaires et obésité: aspects qualitatifs et quantitatifs|journal=Oléagineux, Corps gras, Lipides|volume=7|issue=1|pages=77–85|doi=10.1051/ocl.2000.0077|issn=1258-8210|doi-access=free}}</ref> During the 8th and 7th centuries, Greek colonies were established at ], eventually extending along the south of the Italian Peninsula and the coast of Sicily, an area later known as ].<ref>Emilio Peruzzi, ''Mycenaeans in early Latium'', (Incunabula Graeca 75), Edizioni dell'Ateneo & Bizzarri, Roma, 1980</ref> ], ] colonists, ]s, and the ] founded various cities. ] placed the ] in contact with democratic forms of government and high artistic and cultural expressions.<ref>{{Cite web|title=II 1987: Uomini e vicende di Magna Grecia |url=https://www.bpp.it/Apulia/html/archivio/1987/II/art/R87II015.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204123345/https://www.bpp.it/Apulia/html/archivio/1987/II/art/R87II015.html|archive-date=4 February 2021|access-date=31 January 2021|website=bpp.it}}</ref> | ||
| === Ancient Rome === | |||
| Between the 17th and the 11th centuries BC ] established contacts with Italy<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927095436/http://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/humanities/research/archaeologyresearch/projects/mycenaeansitaly/ |date=27 September 2013 }} and Italy: the archaeological and archaeometric ceramic evidence, University of Glasgow, Department of Archaeology</ref><ref>Gert Jan van Wijngaarden, ''Use and Appreciation of Mycenaean Pottery in the Levant, Cyprus and Italy (1600–1200 B.C.): The Significance of Context'', Amsterdam Archaeological Studies, Amsterdam University Press, 2001</ref><ref>Bryan Feuer, ''Mycenaean civilization: an annotated bibliography through 2002'', McFarland & Company; Rev Sub edition (2 March 2004)</ref> and in the 8th and 7th centuries BC a number of ] were established all along the coast of Sicily and the southern part of the Italian Peninsula, that became known as ].<ref>Emilio Peruzzi, ''Mycenaeans in early Latium'', (Incunabula Graeca 75), Edizioni dell'Ateneo & Bizzarri, Roma, 1980</ref> | |||
| {{Main|Ancient Rome|Roman expansion in Italy|Roman Italy}} | |||
| {{Multiple image | |||
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| | caption1 = The ], one of the great works of architecture and engineering of ancient history | |||
| | image2 = Roman Empire Trajan 117AD.png|275 | |||
| | caption2 = {{legend|#b23938|] in AD 117 at its greatest extent<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bennett, Julian|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qk_tofvS8EsC|title=Trajan: Optimus Princeps : a Life and Times|publisher=Routledge|year=1997|isbn=978-0-415-16524-2}}.</ref>}} {{legend|#d28989|]s}} | |||
| }} | |||
| Ancient Rome, a settlement on the river ] in central Italy, ] in 753 BC, was ruled for 244 years by a monarchical system. In 509 BC, the Romans, favouring a government of the Senate and the People (]), ] and established an oligarchic republic. | |||
| ] settlers founded ], ], ], ], ], ], and ]. ] colonists founded ], ], ], ], ], ]; the ]s founded ] and ]; the megarese founded ]. The ] founded ], ], ], ], and ]; ] and ] found ]. The ] placed the ] in contact with democratic forms of government and with high artistic and cultural expressions.<ref>{{Cite web|title=II 1987: Uomini e vicende di Magna Grecia|url=https://www.bpp.it/Apulia/html/archivio/1987/II/art/R87II015.html|access-date=31 January 2021|website=www.bpp.it}}</ref> | |||
| The Italian Peninsula, named ''Italia'', was consolidated into a unified entity during Roman expansion, the conquest of new territories often at the expense of the ], ], ], and ]. A permanent association, with most of the local tribes and cities, was formed, and Rome began the conquest of Western Europe, North Africa, and the ]. In the wake of ]'s assassination in 44 BC, Rome grew into a massive empire stretching from ] to the borders of ], engulfing the whole Mediterranean basin, in which Greek, Roman, and other cultures merged into a powerful civilisation. The long reign of the first emperor, ], began an age of peace and prosperity. Roman Italy remained the ] of the empire, homeland of the Romans and territory of the capital.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Morcillo|first=Marta García|title=The Glory of Italy and Rome's Universal Destiny in Strabo's Geographika, in: A. Fear – P. Liddel (eds), Historiae Mundi. Studies in Universal History. Duckworth: London 2010: 87-101. |url=https://www.academia.edu/362374|url-status=live|journal=Historiae Mundi: Studies in Universal History|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220114073554/https://www.academia.edu/362374|archive-date=14 January 2022|access-date=20 November 2021}}; {{Cite book|last=Keaveney|first=Arthur|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ojoOAAAAQAAJ|title=Arthur Keaveney: ''Rome and the Unification of Italy''|date=January 1987|publisher=Croom Helm|isbn=978-0-7099-3121-8|access-date=20 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240211000835/https://books.google.com/books?id=ojoOAAAAQAAJ|archive-date=11 February 2024|url-status=live}}; {{Cite book|last=Billanovich|first=Giuseppe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fVylk1KUS84C&dq=Italia+domina+provinciarum&pg=PR13|title=Libreria Universitaria Hoepli, Lezioni di filologia, Giuseppe Billanovich e Roberto Pesce: ''Corpus Iuris Civilis, Italia non erat provincia, sed domina provinciarum'', Feltrinelli, p.363|publisher=Roberto Pesce|year=2008|isbn=978-8-8965-4309-2|language=it|access-date=20 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240211000801/https://books.google.com/books?id=fVylk1KUS84C&dq=Italia+domina+provinciarum&pg=PR13#v=onepage&q=Italia%20domina%20provinciarum&f=false|archive-date=11 February 2024|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
| ===Ancient Rome=== | |||
| {{Main|Ancient Rome|Roman Italy}} | |||
| {{further|Roman Kingdom|Roman Republic|Roman Empire}} | |||
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| | image1 = Colosseum in Rome, Italy - April 2007.jpg|275 | |||
| | caption1 = The ] in Rome, built c. 70–80 AD, is considered one of the greatest works of ] and ] of ancient history. | |||
| | image2 = Roman Empire Trajan 117AD.png|275 | |||
| | caption2 = {{legend|#b23938|The ] at its greatest extent, 117 AD}} | |||
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| ], a settlement around a ford on the river ] in central Italy conventionally ] in 753 BC, was ruled for a period of 244 years by a ] system, initially with sovereigns of ] and ] origin, later by Etruscan kings. The tradition handed down seven kings: ], ], ], ], ], ] and ]. In 509 BC, the Romans ] from their city, favouring a government of the ] (SPQR) and establishing an ]. | |||
| The Italian Peninsula, named Italia, was consolidated into a single entity during the Roman ] and conquest of new lands at the expense of the ], ], ], and ]. A ] with most of the local tribes and cities was formed, and Rome began the conquest of Western Europe, Northern Africa and the ]. In the wake of ]'s rise and ] in the first century BC, Rome grew over the course of centuries into a massive ] stretching from ] to the borders of ], and engulfing the whole ] basin, in which Greek and Roman and many other cultures merged into a unique ]. The long and triumphant reign of the first emperor, ], began a golden age of peace and prosperity. ] remained the metropole of the empire, and as the homeland of the Romans and the territory of the capital, maintained a special status which made it {{lang|la|] Provinciarum}} ("ruler of the ]", the latter being all the remaining territories outside Italy).<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.academia.edu/362374|title=The Glory of Italy and Rome's Universal Destiny in Strabo's Geographika, in: A. Fear – P. Liddel (eds), Historiae Mundi. Studies in Universal History. Duckworth: London 2010: 87-101.|access-date=20 November 2021|last1=Morcillo|first1=Marta García|journal=Historiae Mundi: Studies in Universal History}}</ref><ref name="books.google.it">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ojoOAAAAQAAJ|title=Arthur Keaveney: ''Rome and the Unification of Italy''|isbn=9780709931218|access-date=20 November 2021|last1=Keaveney|first1=Arthur|date=January 1987}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fVylk1KUS84C&dq=Italia+domina+provinciarum&pg=PR13|title=Libreria Universitaria Hoepli, Lezioni di filologia, Giuseppe Billanovich e Roberto Pesce: ''Corpus Iuris Civilis, Italia non erat provincia, sed domina provinciarum'', Feltrinelli, p.363|isbn=9788896543092|access-date=20 November 2021|language=it|last1=Billanovich|first1=Giuseppe|year=2008 }}</ref> More than ] followed, during which Italy was referred to as the {{lang|la|Rectrix Mundi}} ("governor of the world") and {{lang|la|Omnium Terrarum Parens}} ("parent of all lands").<ref>{{cite book |last=Fear |first=Andrew |date=25 March 2010 |title=Historiae Mundi: Studies in Universal History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hb6OAQAAQBAJ&q=Rectrix%20mundi%20omnium%20terrarum%20parens&pg=PA97 |isbn=978-1-4725-1980-1}}</ref> | |||
| As ] were being established throughout the Mediterranean, Italy maintained a special status which made it {{lang|la|] provinciarum}} ('ruler of the provinces'),<ref>{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/362374|chapter=The Glory of Italy and Rome's Universal Destiny in Strabo's Geographika|editor1=A. Fear|editor2=P. Liddel|title=Historiae Mundi. Studies in Universal History|publisher=Duckworth|location=London|year=2010|pages=87–101|access-date=20 November 2021|archive-date=14 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220114073554/https://www.academia.edu/362374|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ojoOAAAAQAAJ|title=Arthur Keaveney: ''Rome and the Unification of Italy''|isbn=9780709931218|access-date=20 November 2021|last1=Keaveney|first1=Arthur|date=January 1987|publisher=Croom Helm|archive-date=2 October 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241002210931/https://books.google.com/books?id=ojoOAAAAQAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fVylk1KUS84C&dq=Italia+domina+provinciarum&pg=PR13|title=Libreria Universitaria Hoepli, Lezioni di filologia, Giuseppe Billanovich e Roberto Pesce: ''Corpus Iuris Civilis, Italia non erat provincia, sed domina provinciarum'', Feltrinelli, p.363|isbn=9788896543092|access-date=20 November 2021|language=it|last1=Billanovich|first1=Giuseppe|year=2008|publisher=Roberto Pesce|archive-date=2 October 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241002210932/https://books.google.com/books?id=fVylk1KUS84C&dq=Italia+domina+provinciarum&pg=PR13#v=onepage&q=Italia%20domina%20provinciarum&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> and—especially in relation to the ]—{{lang|la|rectrix mundi}} ('governor of the world')<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OXqfCgAAQBAJ&dq=Italia+roman+homeland&pg=PT375|title=Italy: the absolute center of the Republic and the Roman Empire|isbn=9780241003909|access-date=20 November 2021|last1=Bleicken|first1=Jochen|date=15 October 2015|publisher=Penguin UK|archive-date=2 October 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241002211034/https://books.google.com/books?id=OXqfCgAAQBAJ&dq=Italia+roman+homeland&pg=PT375#v=onepage&q=Italia%20roman%20homeland&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hb6OAQAAQBAJ&dq=Rectrix+mundi+omnium+terrarum+parens&pg=PA97|last=Morcillo|first=Martha García|chapter=The Roman Italy: ''Rectrix Mundi'' and ''Omnium Terrarum Parens''|editor1=A. Fear|editor2=P. Liddel|title=Historiae Mundi. Studies in Universal History|location=London|year=2010|publisher=Bloomsbury|isbn=9781472519801|access-date=20 November 2021|archive-date=2 October 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241002210933/https://books.google.com/books?id=hb6OAQAAQBAJ&dq=Rectrix+mundi+omnium+terrarum+parens&pg=PA97#v=onepage&q=Rectrix%20mundi%20omnium%20terrarum%20parens&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> and {{lang|la|omnium terrarum parens}} ('parent of all lands').<ref>{{Cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=hb6OAQAAQBAJ&dq=Rectrix+mundi+omnium+terrarum+parens&pg=PA97|title= Altri nomi e appellativi relazionati allo status dell'Italia in epoca romana|date= 20 November 2013|publisher= Bloomsbury|isbn= 9781472519801|access-date= 20 November 2021|language= it|archive-date= 2 October 2024|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20241002210933/https://books.google.com/books?id=hb6OAQAAQBAJ&dq=Rectrix+mundi+omnium+terrarum+parens&pg=PA97#v=onepage&q=Rectrix%20mundi%20omnium%20terrarum%20parens&f=false|url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.abebooks.it/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=22910180903&searchurl=sortby%3D20%26tn%3Ditalia%2Bomnium%2Bterrarum%2Bparens&cm_sp=snippet-_-srp1-_-title1|title=Antico appellativo dell'Italia romana: ''Italia Omnium Terrarum Parens''|access-date=20 November 2021|language=it|archive-date=9 September 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240909021454/https://www.abebooks.it/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=22910180903&searchurl=sortby%3D20%26tn%3Ditalia%2Bomnium%2Bterrarum%2Bparens&cm_sp=snippet-_-srp1-_-title1|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
| The Roman Empire was among the most powerful economic, cultural, political and military forces in the world of its time, and it was one of the ]. At its height under ], it covered 5 million square kilometres.<ref name="size">{{cite journal |journal=Social Science History |title=Size and Duration of Empires: Growth-Decline Curves, 600 B.C. to 600 A.D |first=Rein |last=Taagepera |volume=3 |issue=3/4 |pages=115–138 |year=1979 |doi=10.2307/1170959 |jstor=1170959 |author-link=Rein Taagepera}}</ref><ref name="cliodynamics.info">{{cite journal |last1=Turchin |first1=Peter |last2=Adams |first2=Jonathan M. |last3=Hall |first3=Thomas D |title=East–West Orientation of Historical Empires |journal=Journal of World-Systems Research |date=2006 |volume=12 |issue=2 |page=222 |url=http://peterturchin.com/PDF/Turchin_Adams_Hall_2006.pdf |access-date=6 February 2016 |issn=1076-156X|url-status=live |archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20160517210851/http://peterturchin.com/PDF/Turchin_Adams_Hall_2006.pdf |archive-date=17 May 2016 |doi=10.5195/JWSR.2006.369|doi-access=free }}</ref> The Roman ] has deeply influenced Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world; among the many legacies of Roman dominance are the widespread use of the ] derived from Latin, the ], the modern Western ] and ], and the emergence of Christianity as a major world religion.<ref>{{cite book |last=Richard |first=Carl J. |title=Why we're all Romans: the Roman contribution to the western world |year=2010 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |location=Lanham, MD |isbn=978-0-7425-6779-5 |pages=xi–xv |edition=1st pbk.}}</ref> The ], beginning around the 1st century BCE, testify to extensive Roman trade in far away regions; many reminders of the commercial trade between the ] and Italy have been found, such as the ivory statuette ] from the ruins of ]. | |||
| The Roman Empire was among the largest in history, wielding great economical, cultural, political, and military power. At its greatest extent, it had an area of {{Convert|5|e6km2|abbr=off}}.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Taagepera|first=Rein|author-link=Rein Taagepera|year=1979|title=Size and Duration of Empires: Growth-Decline Curves, 600 B.C. to 600 A.D|journal=Social Science History|volume=3|issue=3/4|pages=115–138|doi=10.2307/1170959|jstor=1170959}}; {{Cite journal|last1=Turchin|first1=Peter|last2=Adams|first2=Jonathan M.|last3=Hall|first3=Thomas D|year=2006|title=East–West Orientation of Historical Empires|url=http://peterturchin.com/PDF/Turchin_Adams_Hall_2006.pdf|url-status=live|journal=Journal of World-Systems Research|volume=12|issue=2|page=222|doi=10.5195/JWSR.2006.369|issn=1076-156X|archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20160517210851/http://peterturchin.com/PDF/Turchin_Adams_Hall_2006.pdf|archive-date=17 May 2016|access-date=6 February 2016|doi-access=free}}</ref> The Roman ] has deeply influenced Western civilisation shaping the modern world. The widespread use of ] derived from Latin, ], modern Western alphabet and calendar, and the emergence of Christianity as a world religion, are among the many legacies of Roman dominance.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Richard|first=Carl J.|title=Why we're all Romans: the Roman contribution to the western world|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|year=2010|isbn=978-0-7425-6779-5|edition=1st pbk.|location=Lanham, MD|pages=xi–xv}}</ref> | |||
| In a slow ] since the third century AD, the Empire split in two in 395 AD. The ], under the pressure of the ], eventually dissolved in 476 AD when its last emperor, ], was deposed by the Germanic chief ]. The ] half of the Empire survived for another thousand years. | |||
| ===Middle Ages=== | === Middle Ages === | ||
| {{Main|Italy in the Middle Ages}} | {{Main|Italy in the Middle Ages}} | ||
| After the ], Italy fell under the ], and was seized by the ].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Sarris|first=Peter|title=Empires of faith: the fall of Rome to the rise of Islam, 500–700|publisher=Oxford UP|year=2011|isbn=978-0-1992-6126-0|edition=1st. pub.|location=Oxford|page=118}}</ref> Invasions resulted in a chaotic succession of kingdoms and the supposed "]". The invasion of another ] in the 6th century, the Lombards, reduced Byzantine presence and ended political unity of the peninsula. The north formed the Lombard kingdom, central-south was also controlled by the Lombards, and other parts remained Byzantine.<ref>{{Cite web|title=History of Italy|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Italy/Lombards-and-Byzantines|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220929150112/https://www.britannica.com/place/Italy/Lombards-and-Byzantines|archive-date=29 September 2022|access-date=29 September 2022|website=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref> | |||
| {{See also|Barbarian kingdoms}} | |||
| ], 13th-century explorer]] | |||
| ] (blue) at its greatest extent, under King ] (749–756). Territories controlled by the ] are marked in orange.]] | |||
| After the ], Italy fell under the power of Odoacer's ], and, later, was seized by the ],<ref>{{cite book |last=Sarris |first=Peter |title=Empires of faith: the fall of Rome to the rise of Islam, 500–700 |year=2011 |publisher=Oxford UP |location=Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-926126-0 |page=118 |edition=1st. pub.}}</ref> followed in the 6th century by a brief ] under ] Emperor ]. The invasion of another ], the ], late in the same century, reduced the Byzantine presence to the rump realm of the ] and started the end of political unity of the peninsula for the next 1,300 years. The peninsula was therefore divided as follows: northern Italy and Tuscany formed the ], with its capital in ], while in central-southern Italy the Lombards controlled the duchies of ] and ]. The remaining part of the peninsula remained under the Byzantines and was divided between the ], based in ], the ], the ], the ] and Sicily, the latter directly dependent on the Emperor of Constantinople.<ref>{{cite web |title=History of Italy |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Italy/Lombards-and-Byzantines |website=Britannica |publisher=ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA |access-date=29 September 2022}}</ref> Invasions of the peninsula caused a chaotic succession of barbarian kingdoms and the so-called "]". The Lombard kingdom was subsequently absorbed into the ] by ] in the late 8th century and became the ].<ref>{{cite web |title=Carolingian and post-Carolingian Italy, 774–962 |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Italy/Carolingian-and-post-Carolingian-Italy-774-962 |website=britannica.com |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=7 October 2022}}</ref> The Franks also helped the formation of the ] in central Italy. Until the 13th century, Italian politics was dominated by the relations between the ]s and the Papacy, with most of the Italian city-states siding with the former (]) or with the latter (]) for momentary convenience.<ref>{{cite book |last=Nolan |first=Cathal J. |title=The age of wars of religion, 1000–1650: an encyclopedia of global warfare and civilization |year=2006 |publisher=Greenwood Press |location=Westport (Connecticut) |isbn=978-0-313-33045-2 |page=360 |edition=1. publ.}}</ref> | |||
| ], explorer of the 13th century, recorded his 24 years-long travels in the '']'', introducing Europeans to Central Asia and China.<ref>{{cite web |title=Marco Polo – Exploration |publisher=History.com |url=http://www.history.com/topics/exploration/marco-polo |access-date=9 January 2017}}</ref>]] | |||
| The |
The Lombard kingdom was absorbed into ] by ] in the late 8th century and became the Kingdom of Italy.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Carolingian and post-Carolingian Italy, 774–962|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Italy/Carolingian-and-post-Carolingian-Italy-774-962|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221007160553/https://www.britannica.com/place/Italy/Carolingian-and-post-Carolingian-Italy-774-962|archive-date=7 October 2022|access-date=7 October 2022|website=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref> The Franks helped form the ]. Until the 13th century, politics was dominated by relations between the ]s and the Papacy, with city-states siding with the former (]) or with the latter (]) for momentary advantage.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Nolan|first=Cathal J.|title=The age of wars of religion, 1000–1650: an encyclopedia of global warfare and civilization |publisher=Greenwood Press|year=2006|isbn=978-0-3133-3045-2|edition=1. publ.|location=Westport (Connecticut)|page=360}}</ref> The Germanic emperor and Roman pontiff became the ]s of medieval Europe. However, conflict over the ] and between Guelphs and Ghibellines ended the imperial-feudal system in the north, where cities gained independence.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Jones|first=Philip|author-link=Philip Jones (historian)|title=The Italian city-state: from Commune to Signoria|publisher=Clarendon Press|year=1997|isbn=978-0-1982-2585-0|location=Oxford|pages=55–77}}</ref> In 1176, the ] of city-states, defeated Holy Roman Emperor ], ensuring their independence. | ||
| City-states—e.g. ], Florence, ]—played a crucially innovative role in financial development by devising banking practices, and enabling new forms of social organisation.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Niall|first=Ferguson|title=The Ascent of Money: The Financial History of the World|publisher=Penguin|year=2008}}</ref> In coastal and southern areas, maritime republics dominated the Mediterranean and monopolised trade to the Orient. They were independent ] city-states, in which merchants had considerable power. Although oligarchical, the relative political freedom they afforded was conducive to academic and artistic advancement.<ref name="Lane">{{Cite book|last=Lane|first=Frederic C.|title=Venice, a maritime republic|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|year=1991|isbn=978-0-8018-1460-0|edition=4. print.|location=Baltimore|page=73}}</ref> The best-known maritime republics were Venice, ], ], and ].<ref>G. Benvenuti – Le Repubbliche Marinare. Amalfi, Pisa, Genova, Venezia – Newton & Compton editori, Roma 1989; Armando Lodolini, ''Le repubbliche del mare'', Biblioteca di storia patria, 1967, Roma. {{Cite book|last=Peris|first=Persi|title=Conoscere l'Italia|publisher=Istituto Geografico De Agostini|year=1982|pages=74}}; {{Cite web|title=Repubbliche Marinare|url=http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/repubbliche-marinare|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190829104758/http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/repubbliche-marinare|archive-date=29 August 2019|access-date=13 September 2019|website=Treccani.it|publisher=Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana|language=it}}; {{Cite web|title=Repubbliche marinare|url=https://thes.bncf.firenze.sbn.it/termine.php?id=29771|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200101131949/https://thes.bncf.firenze.sbn.it/termine.php?id=29771|archive-date=1 January 2020|access-date=13 September 2019|website=thes.bncf.firenze.sbn.it|publisher=]|language=it}}</ref> Each had dominion over overseas lands, islands, lands on the Adriatic, Aegean, and Black seas, and commercial colonies in the Near East and North Africa.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Zorzi|first=Alvise|author-link=Alvise Zorzi|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IP5OAAAAMAAJ&q=%22even+in+countries+where+aid+is+near+at+hand+%22+%22attack+from+the+sea%22|title=Venice: The Golden Age, 697 – 1797 |publisher=Abbeville Press|year=1983|isbn=0-8965-9406-8|location=New York|page=255|access-date=16 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202182132/https://books.google.com/books?id=IP5OAAAAMAAJ&q=%22even+in+countries+where+aid+is+near+at+hand+%22+%22attack+from+the+sea%22|archive-date=2 February 2023|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
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| | image2 = Republik Venedig Handelswege01-IT.png | | image2 = Republik Venedig Handelswege01-IT.png | ||
| | alt2 = Map | | alt2 = Map | ||
| | footer = |
| footer = Left: flag of the ]. Clockwise, from upper left: the coat of arms of ], ], ] and ].<br/>Right: trade routes, colonies of the ] and ]. | ||
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| Venice and Genoa were Europe's |
Venice and Genoa were Europe's gateways to the East, and producers of fine glass, while Florence was a centre of silk, wool, banking, and jewellery. The wealth generated meant large public and private artistic projects could be commissioned. The republics participated in the ], providing support, transport, but mostly taking political and trading opportunities.<ref name=Lane/> Italy first felt the economic changes which led to the ]: Venice was able to ] and finance ]'s voyages to Asia; the first universities were formed in Italian cities, and scholars such as ] obtained international fame; capitalism and banking families emerged in Florence, where ] and ] were active around 1300.<ref name="See"/> In the south, Sicily had become an ] in the 9th century, thriving until the ] conquered it in the late 11th century, together with most of the Lombard and Byzantine principalities of southern Italy.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ali |first=Ahmed Essa with Othman |title=Studies in Islamic civilization: the Muslim contribution to the Renaissance |year=2010 |publisher=International Institute of Islamic Thought |location=Herndon, VA |isbn=978-1-56564-350-5 |pages=38–40}}</ref> The region was subsequently divided between the ] and ].{{efn|Kingdom of Naples is used by historians, but not by its rulers, who kept the original 'Kingdom of Sicily' (i.e., there existed two Kingdoms of Sicily).}}<ref>Eleni Sakellariou, ''Southern Italy in the Late Middle Ages: Demographic, Institutional and Economic Change in the Kingdom of Naples, c.1440–c.1530'' (Brill, 2012), pp. 63–64.</ref> The ] of 1348 killed perhaps a third of Italy's population.<ref>Stéphane Barry and Norbert Gualde, "The Biggest Epidemics of History" (La plus grande épidémie de l'histoire), in ''L'Histoire'' n° 310, June 2006, pp. 45–46; "". Brown University. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090831003435/http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/dweb/plague/effects/death_toll.shtml|date=31 August 2009}}</ref> | ||
| In the south, Sicily had become an ] in the 9th century, thriving until the ] conquered it in the late 11th century together with most of the Lombard and Byzantine principalities of southern Italy.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ali |first=Ahmed Essa with Othman |title=Studies in Islamic civilization: the Muslim contribution to the Renaissance |year=2010 |publisher=International Institute of Islamic Thought |location=Herndon, VA |isbn=978-1-56564-350-5 |pages=38–40}}</ref> Through a complex series of events, southern Italy developed as a unified kingdom, first under the ], then under the ] and, from the 15th century, the House of Aragon. In ], the former Byzantine provinces became independent states known in Italian as ], although some parts of the island fell under Genoese or Pisan rule until eventual Aragonese annexation in the 15th century. The ] ] of 1348 left its mark on Italy by killing perhaps one third of the population.<ref>Stéphane Barry and Norbert Gualde, "The Biggest Epidemics of History" (La plus grande épidémie de l'histoire), in ''L'Histoire'' n° 310, June 2006, pp. 45–46</ref><ref>"". Brown University. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090831003435/http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/dweb/plague/effects/death_toll.shtml |date=31 August 2009 }}</ref> However, the recovery from the plague led to a resurgence of cities, trade, and economy, which allowed the blossoming of ] and ] that later spread to Europe. | |||
| ===Early Modern=== | |||
| {{Main|Italian Renaissance|Italian Wars|History of Italy (1559–1814)}} | |||
| ] before the beginning of the ] in 1494]] | |||
| Italy was the birthplace and heart of the ] during the 1400s and 1500s. The ] marked the transition from the medieval period to the modern age as Europe recovered, economically and culturally, from the crises of the ] and entered the ]. The Italian polities were now regional states effectively ruled by ]s, ''de facto'' monarchs in control of trade and administration, and their courts became major centres of the ] and ]. The Italian princedoms represented a first form of modern states as opposed to feudal monarchies and multinational empires. The princedoms were led by ] and merchant families such as the ] in ], the ] and ] in the ], the ] in the ], the ], ] and ] in the ], the ] in ], and the ] in ].<ref name="strathern" /><ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511133416/http://www.florentine-society.ru/Medici_Chapel_Mysteries.htm |date=11 May 2011 }}. {{ISBN|5-85050-825-2}}</ref> The Renaissance was therefore a result of the wealth accumulated by Italian merchant cities combined with the ] of its dominant families.<ref name="strathern">Strathern, Paul ''The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance'' (2003)</ref> Italian Renaissance exercised a dominant influence on subsequent European painting and sculpture for centuries afterwards, with artists such as ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ], and architects such as ], ], ], and ]. | |||
| ], the quintessential ], in a self-portrait (ca. 1512, ], ])]] | |||
| Following the conclusion of the ] in favour of Rome at the ] (1415–1417), the new ] returned to the ] after a three years-long journey that touched many Italian cities and restored Italy as the sole centre of Western Christianity. During the course of this voyage, the ] was made the official credit institution of the Papacy, and several significant ties were established between the Church and the new political dynasties of the peninsula. The Popes' status as elective monarchs turned the ]s and ] of the Renaissance into political battles between the courts of Italy for primacy in the peninsula and access to the immense resources of the ]. In 1439, ] and the Byzantine Emperor ] signed a reconciliation agreement between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church at the ] hosted by ]. In 1453, Italian forces under ] were sent by ] to defend the ] but the decisive battle was lost to the more advanced Turkish army equipped with cannons, and ] to Sultan ]. | |||
| === Early modern period === | |||
| The fall of Constantinople led to the migration of ] and texts to Italy, fueling the rediscovery of Greco-Roman ].<ref name="Britannica1">Encyclopædia Britannica, ''Renaissance'', 2008, O.Ed.</ref><ref name="Harris">Har, Michael H. ''History of Libraries in the Western World'', Scarecrow Press Incorporate, 1999, {{ISBN|0-8108-3724-2}}</ref><ref name="Norwich">Norwich, John Julius, ''A Short History of Byzantium'', 1997, Knopf, {{ISBN|0-679-45088-2}}</ref> Humanist rulers such as ] and ] worked to establish ] where ''man is the measure of all things'', and therefore founded ] and ] respectively. ] wrote the '']'', considered the manifesto of ], in which he stressed the importance of ] in human beings. The humanist historian ] was the first to divide human history in three periods: Antiquity, Middle Ages and Modernity.<ref name=hankins-2001>{{cite book |url=http://www.hup.harvard.edu/results-list.php?collection=1389 |title=History of the Florentine People |volume=1 |author1=Leonardo Bruni |author2=James Hankins |date=9 October 2010 |publisher=Harvard University Press |location=Boston |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130103172600/http://www.hup.harvard.edu/results-list.php?collection=1389 |archive-date=3 January 2013}}</ref> The second consequence of the Fall of Constantinople was the beginning of the ]. | |||
| {{Main|Italian Renaissance|History of early modern Italy}} | |||
| ] before the ] in 1494]] | |||
| During the 1400s and 1500s, Italy was the birthplace and heart of the ]. This era marked the transition from the medieval period to the modern age and was fostered by the wealth accumulated by merchant cities and the patronage of dominant families.<ref name="strathern">Strathern, Paul ''The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance'' (2003)</ref> Italian polities were now regional states effectively ruled by princes, in control of trade and administration, and their courts became centres of the arts and sciences. These princedoms were led by political dynasties and merchant families, such as the ] of Florence. After the end of the ], newly elected ] returned to the ] and restored Italy as the sole centre of Western Christianity. The ] was made the credit institution of the Papacy, and significant ties were established between the Church and new political dynasties.<ref name="strathern"/><ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511133416/http://www.florentine-society.ru/Medici_Chapel_Mysteries.htm|date=11 May 2011}}. {{ISBN|5-8505-0825-2}}</ref> | |||
| ] leads a Spanish expedition to the New World, 1492. ] are celebrated as the discovery of the Americas from a European perspective, and they opened a ] in the history of humankind and sustained contact between the two worlds.]] | |||
| ], quintessential ], in a self-portrait ({{circa}} 1512)]] | |||
| Italian{{refn|Though the modern state of Italy had yet to be established, the Latin equivalent of the ] had been in use for natives of ] since antiquity. See ], '']'' 9.23.|group=note}} ] and navigators from the dominant maritime republics, eager to find an alternative route to the Indies in order to bypass the Ottoman Empire, offered their services to monarchs of Atlantic countries and played a key role in ushering the ] and the European colonization of the Americas. The most notable among them were: ] ({{lang-it|Cristoforo Colombo}}), colonizer in the name of Spain, who is credited with discovering the New World and the opening of the Americas for conquest and settlement by Europeans;<ref>Encyclopædia Britannica, 1993 ed., Vol. 16, pp. 605ff / Morison, ''Christopher Columbus'', 1955 ed., pp. 14ff</ref> ] ({{lang-it|Giovanni Caboto}}), sailing for England, who was the first European to set foot in "New Found Land" and explore parts of the North American continent in 1497;<ref>{{cite web |year=2007 |url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03126d.htm |title=''Catholic Encyclopedia'' "John & Sebastian Cabot" |publisher=newadvent |access-date=17 May 2008 }}</ref> ], sailing for Portugal, who first demonstrated in about 1501 that the New World (in particular Brazil) was not Asia as initially conjectured, but a fourth continent previously unknown to people of the Old World (America is named after him);<ref>{{cite book|author=Eric Martone|title=Italian Americans: The History and Culture of a People|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MHJ1DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA109|year=2016|publisher=ABC-CLIO|page=504|isbn=9781610699952}}</ref> and ], at the service of France, renowned as the first European to explore the Atlantic coast of North America between Florida and New Brunswick in 1524.<ref>{{Cite book |url={{Google books|1qsuAAAAYAAJ |page=PA13 |keywords= |text= |plainurl=yes}} |title=The Life and Voyages of Verrazzano |last=Greene |first=George Washington |publisher=Folsom, Wells, and Thurston |year=1837 |location=Cambridge University |page=13 |author-link=George Washington Greene |access-date=18 August 2017 |via=Google Books}}</ref> | |||
| In 1453, despite activity by ] to support the Byzantines, the city of ] fell to the ]. This led to the migration of ] and texts to Italy, fuelling the rediscovery of Greek ].<ref>Encyclopædia Britannica, ''Renaissance'', 2008, O.Ed.; Har, Michael H. ''History of Libraries in the Western World'', Scarecrow Press Incorporate, 1999, {{ISBN|0-8108-3724-2}}; Norwich, John Julius, ''A Short History of Byzantium'', 1997, Knopf, {{ISBN|0-6794-5088-2}}</ref> Humanist rulers such as ] and ] worked to establish ], founding ] and ]. ] wrote the '']'', considered the manifesto of the Renaissance. In the arts, the Italian Renaissance exercised a dominant influence on European art for centuries, with artists such as ], ], ], ], ], ], and ], and architects such as ], ], and ]. Italian ] and navigators from the maritime republics, eager to find an alternative route to the Indies to bypass the Ottomans, offered their services to monarchs of Atlantic countries and played a key role in ushering the ] and colonization of the Americas. The most notable were: ], who opened the Americas for conquest by Europeans;<ref>Encyclopædia Britannica, 1993 ed., Vol. 16, pp. 605ff / Morison, ''Christopher Columbus'', 1955 ed., pp. 14ff</ref> ], the first European to explore North America since the ];<ref>{{Cite web|year=2007|title=''Catholic Encyclopedia'' "John & Sebastian Cabot"|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03126d.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200518005335/https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03126d.htm|archive-date=18 May 2020|access-date=17 May 2008|publisher=newadvent}}</ref> and ], for whom the continent of ] is named.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Eric Martone|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MHJ1DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA109|title=Italian Americans: The History and Culture of a People|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2016|isbn=978-1-6106-9995-2|page=504|access-date=22 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240211001055/https://books.google.com/books?id=MHJ1DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA109|archive-date=11 February 2024|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Greene|first=George Washington|author-link=George Washington Greene|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1qsuAAAAYAAJ&pg=PAPA13|title=The Life and Voyages of Verrazzano|publisher=Folsom, Wells, and Thurston|year=1837|location=Cambridge University|page=13|access-date=18 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240211000806/https://books.google.com/books?id=1qsuAAAAYAAJ&pg=PAPA13#v=onepage&q&f=false|archive-date=11 February 2024|url-status=live|via=Google Books}}</ref> | |||
| Following the fall of Constantinople, the ] came to an end and a defensive alliance known as ] was formed between Venice, Naples, Florence, Milan, and the Papacy. ] was the greatest Florentine patron of the Renaissance and supporter of the Italic League. He notably avoided the collapse of the League in the aftermath of the ] and during the ] by the Turks. However, the military campaign of ] in Italy caused the end of the Italic League and initiated the ] between the Valois and the Habsburgs. During the ] of the 1500s, Italy was therefore both the main European battleground and the cultural-economic centre of the continent. Popes such as ] (1503–1513) fought for the control of Italy against foreign monarchs, others such as ] (1534–1549) preferred to mediate between the European powers in order to secure peace in Italy. In the middle of this conflict, the Medici popes ] (1513–1521) and ] (1523–1534) opposed the ] and ]. In 1559, at the end of the French invasions of Italy and of the Italian wars, the many states of ] remained part of the Holy Roman Empire, indirectly subject to the Austrian Habsburgs, while all of ] (Naples, Sicily, Sardinia) and Milan were under Spanish Habsburg rule. | |||
| ], which was the first ] adopted by a sovereign Italian state (1797)]] | |||
| A defensive alliance known as the ] was formed between Venice, Naples, Florence, Milan, and the Papacy. ] was the Renaissance's greatest patron, his support allowed the League to ] by the Turks. The alliance, however, collapsed in the 1490s; the invasion of ] initiated a series of wars in the peninsula. During the ], popes such as ] (1503–1513) fought for control of Italy against foreign monarchs; ] (1534–1549) preferred to mediate between the European powers to secure peace. In the middle of such conflicts, the Medici popes ] (1513–1521) and ] (1523–1534) faced the ] in Germany, England and elsewhere. | |||
| The Papacy remained a powerful force and launched the ]. Key events of the period include: the ] (1545–1563); the excommunication of ] (1570) and the ] (1571), both occurring during the pontificate of ]; the construction of the ], the adoption of the ], and the ] of ] under ]; the ]; the ] and the execution of ] in 1600, under ]; the birth of the ] of the ], of which the main figure was ] (later put ]); the final phases of the ] (1618–1648) during the pontificates of ] and ]; and the formation of the last ] by ] during the ]. | |||
| In 1559, at the end of the ] between France and the Habsburgs, about half of Italy (the southern Kingdoms of ], ], ], and the ]) was under Spanish rule, while the other half remained independent (many states continued to be formally part of the Holy Roman Empire). The Papacy launched the ], whose key events include: the ] (1545–1563); adoption of the ]; the ]; the ]; end of the ] (1618–1648); and the ]. The Italian economy declined in the 1600s and 1700s. | |||
| The Italian economy declined during the 1600s and 1700s, as the peninsula was excluded from the rising ]. Following the European wars of succession of the 18th century, the south passed to a cadet branch of the Spanish Bourbons and the North fell under the influence of the Habsburg-Lorraine of Austria. During the ], northern-central Italy was reorganised by Napoleon in a number of ] of France and later as a ] in ] with the ].<ref>Napoleon Bonaparte, "The Economy of the Empire in Italy: Instructions from Napoleon to Eugène, Viceroy of Italy," ''Exploring the European Past: Texts & Images'', Second Edition, ed. Timothy E. Gregory (Mason: Thomson, 2007), 65–66.</ref> The southern half of the peninsula was administered by ], Napoleon's brother-in-law, who was crowned as ]. The 1814 ] restored the situation of the late 18th century, but the ideals of the ] could not be eradicated, and soon re-surfaced during the ]s that characterised the first part of the 19th century. | |||
| ], the first ] adopted by a sovereign Italian state (1797)]] | |||
| ], in 1797, the first official adoption of the ] as a national flag by a sovereign Italian state, the ], a Napoleonic ] of ], took place, on the basis of the events following the ] (1789–1799) which, among its ideals, advocated the national ].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Maiorino |first1=Tarquinio|last2=Marchetti Tricamo|first2=Giuseppe |last3=Zagami |first3=Andrea |title=Il tricolore degli italiani. Storia avventurosa della nostra bandiera|year=2002 |publisher=Arnoldo Mondadori Editore|language=it|isbn=978-88-04-50946-2|page=156}}</ref><ref>.Getting to Know Italy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (retrieved 5 October 2008) {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080223131121/http://www.esteri.it/MAE/EN/Benvenuti_in_Italia/Conoscere_Italia/bandieraInno.htm |date=23 February 2008}}</ref> This event is celebrated by the ].<ref name="miolegale">Article 1 of the law n. 671 of 31 December 1996 ("National celebration of the bicentenary of the first national flag")</ref> The ] appeared for the first time on ] in 1789,<ref name="Cita|Ferorelli |p. 662">{{cite journal |last1=Ferorelli |first1=Nicola |date=1925 |title=La vera origine del tricolore italiano |url=http://www.risorgimento.it/rassegna/index.php?id=10511&ricerca_inizio=0&ricerca_query=&ricerca_ordine=DESC&ricerca_libera= |journal=Rassegna Storica del Risorgimento |volume=XII |issue=fasc. III |language=it |pages=662 |access-date=1 October 2021 |archive-date=31 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331181159/http://www.risorgimento.it/rassegna/index.php?id=10511&ricerca_inizio=0&ricerca_query=&ricerca_ordine=DESC&ricerca_libera= |url-status=dead }}</ref> anticipating by seven years the first green, white and red Italian military ], which was adopted by the ] in 1796.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Tarozzi|first1=Fiorenza|last2=Vecchio|first2=Giorgio |title=Gli italiani e il tricolore|year=1999|publisher=Il Mulino|language=it|isbn=88-15-07163-6|pages=67–68}}</ref> | |||
| During the ] (1700–1714), Austria acquired most of the Spanish domains in Italy, namely Milan, Naples and Sardinia; the latter was given to the House of Savoy in exchange for Sicily in 1720. Later, a branch of the Bourbons ascended to the throne of Sicily and Naples. During the ], north and central Italy were reorganised as ] of France and, later, as a ].<ref>Napoleon Bonaparte, "The Economy of the Empire in Italy: Instructions from Napoleon to Eugène, Viceroy of Italy", ''Exploring the European Past: Texts & Images'', Second Edition, ed. Timothy E. Gregory (Mason: Thomson, 2007), 65–66.</ref> The south was administered by ], Napoleon's brother-in-law. 1814's ] restored the situation of the late 18th century, but the ideals of the ] could not be eradicated, and re-surfaced during the ]s that characterised the early 19th century. The first adoption of the ] by an Italian state, the ], occurred during ], following the French Revolution, which advocated national ].<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Maiorino|first1=Tarquinio|title=Il tricolore degli italiani. Storia avventurosa della nostra bandiera|last2=Marchetti Tricamo|first2=Giuseppe|last3=Zagami|first3=Andrea|publisher=Arnoldo Mondadori Editore|year=2002|isbn=978-8-8045-0946-2|page=156|language=it}}; .Getting to Know Italy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (retrieved 5 October 2008) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080223131121/http://www.esteri.it/MAE/EN/Benvenuti_in_Italia/Conoscere_Italia/bandieraInno.htm|date=23 February 2008}}</ref> This event is celebrated by ].<ref>Article 1 of the law n. 671 of 31 December 1996 ("National celebration of the bicentenary of the first national flag")</ref> | |||
| ===Unification=== | === Unification === | ||
| {{Main|Unification of Italy}} | {{Main|Unification of Italy}} | ||
| The ] was the result of efforts of Italian nationalists and monarchists loyal to the ] to establish a united kingdom encompassing the entire ]. By the mid-19th century, rising ] led to revolution.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Risorgimento in 'Dizionario di Storia'|url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/risorgimento_(Dizionario-di-Storia)|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922035556/https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/risorgimento_(Dizionario-di-Storia)|archive-date=22 September 2022|access-date=22 September 2022|website=treccani.it|language=it-IT}}</ref> Following the ] in 1815, the political and social Italian unification movement, or ], emerged to unite Italy by consolidating the states and liberating them from foreign control. A radical figure was the patriotic journalist ], founder of the political movement ] in the 1830s, who favoured a unitary republic and advocated a broad nationalist movement. 1847 saw the first public performance of "]", which became the national anthem in 1946.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Maiorino|first1=Tarquinio|last2=Marchetti Tricamo|first2=Giuseppe|last3=Zagami|first3=Andrea|title=Il tricolore degli italiani. Storia avventurosa della nostra bandiera|year=2002|publisher=Arnoldo Mondadori Editore|language=it|isbn=978-8-8045-0946-2|page=18}}; {{Cite web|title=Fratelli d'Italia|url=https://www.quirinale.it/page/inno|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230426052752/https://www.quirinale.it/page/inno|archive-date=26 April 2023|access-date=1 October 2021|language=it}}</ref> | |||
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| | footer = ] (left), highly influential leader of the Italian revolutionary movement; and ] (right), celebrated as one of the greatest generals of modern times<ref name="scholar and patriot">{{cite web |url={{Google books|iWK7AAAAIAAJ |page=PA133 |keywords=Garibaldi+one+of+the+greatest+generals+of+modern+time |text= |plainurl=yes}}|title=Scholar and Patriot|publisher=Manchester University Press|via=Google Books}}</ref> and as the "Hero of the Two Worlds" because of his military enterprises in South America and Europe,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Giuseppe Garibaldi (Italian revolutionary)|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/225978/Giuseppe-Garibaldi|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140226091529/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/225978/Giuseppe-Garibaldi|archive-date=26 February 2014|access-date=6 March 2014}}</ref> who fought in many military campaigns that led to ] | |||
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| | footer = ] ''(left)'', highly influential leader of the Italian revolutionary movement; and ] ''(right)'', celebrated as one of the greatest generals of modern times<ref name="scholar and patriot">{{cite web |url={{Google books|iWK7AAAAIAAJ |page=PA133 |keywords=Garibaldi+one+of+the+greatest+generals+of+modern+time |text= |plainurl=yes}}|title=Scholar and Patriot|publisher=Manchester University Press|via=Google Books}}</ref> and as the "Hero of the Two Worlds",<ref name="Garibaldi on Encyclopædia Britannica">{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/225978/Giuseppe-Garibaldi |title=Giuseppe Garibaldi (Italian revolutionary) |access-date=6 March 2014 | url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140226091529/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/225978/Giuseppe-Garibaldi |archive-date=26 February 2014 }}</ref> who commanded and fought in many military campaigns that led to Italian unification | |||
| }} | }} | ||
| The most famous member of Young Italy was the revolutionary and general ]<ref>Denis Mack Smith, ''Modern Italy: A Political History'', (University of Michigan Press, 1997) p. 15. A literary echo may be found in the character of Giorgio Viola in Joseph Conrad's '']''.</ref> who led the republican drive for unification in southern Italy. However, the Italian monarchy of the House of Savoy, in the ], whose government was led by ], also had ambitions of establishing a united Italian state. In the context of the ] that swept Europe, an unsuccessful ] was declared against ]. In 1855, Sardinia became an ally of Britain and France in the ].<ref>Enrico Dal Lago, "Lincoln, Cavour, and National Unification: American Republicanism and Italian Liberal Nationalism in Comparative Perspective". ''The Journal of the Civil War Era'' 3#1 (2013): 85–113.; William L. Langer, ed., ''An Encyclopedia of World Cup History''. 4th ed. 1968. pp 704–7.</ref> Sardinia fought the Austrian Empire in the ] of 1859, with the aid of France, resulting in liberating ]. On the basis of the ], the Sardinia ceded ] and ] to France, an event that caused the ].<ref>{{Cite web|date=28 August 2017|title="Un nizzardo su quattro prese la via dell'esilio" in seguito all'unità d'Italia, dice lo scrittore Casalino Pierluigi|url=https://www.montecarlonews.it/2017/08/28/notizie/argomenti/altre-notizie-1/articolo/un-nizzardo-su-quattro-prese-la-via-dellesilio-in-seguito-allunita-ditalia-dice-lo-scrittore.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200219165302/http://www.montecarlonews.it/2017/08/28/notizie/argomenti/altre-notizie-1/articolo/un-nizzardo-su-quattro-prese-la-via-dellesilio-in-seguito-allunita-ditalia-dice-lo-scrittore.html|archive-date=19 February 2020|access-date=14 May 2021|language=it}}</ref> | |||
| The ] was the result of efforts by Italian nationalists and monarchists loyal to the ] to establish a united kingdom encompassing the entire ]. Following the ] in 1815, the political and social ] movement, or ''Risorgimento'', emerged to unite Italy consolidating the different states of the peninsula and liberate it from foreign control. A prominent radical figure was the patriotic journalist ], member of the secret revolutionary society '']'' and founder of the influential political movement ] in the early 1830s, who favoured a unitary republic and advocated a broad nationalist movement. His prolific output of propaganda helped the unification movement stay active. | |||
| In this context, in 1847, the first public performance of the song '']'', the Italian ] since 1946, took place.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Maiorino |first1=Tarquinio|last2=Marchetti Tricamo|first2=Giuseppe |last3=Zagami |first3=Andrea |title=Il tricolore degli italiani. Storia avventurosa della nostra bandiera|year=2002 |publisher=Arnoldo Mondadori Editore|language=it|isbn=978-88-04-50946-2|page=18}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.quirinale.it/page/inno|title=Fratelli d'Italia|access-date=1 October 2021|language=it}}</ref> ''Il Canto degli Italiani'', written by ] set to music by ], is also known as the ''Inno di Mameli'', after the author of the lyrics, or ''Fratelli d'Italia'', from its ]. | |||
| ]ic copy of 1847 of '']'', the Italian ] since 1946]] | |||
| The most famous member of Young Italy was the revolutionary and general ], renowned for his extremely loyal followers,<ref>Denis Mack Smith, ''Modern Italy: A Political History'', (University of Michigan Press, 1997) p. 15. A literary echo may be found in the character of Giorgio Viola in Joseph Conrad's '']''.</ref> who led the Italian republican drive for unification in Southern Italy. However, the Northern Italy monarchy of the House of Savoy in the ], whose government was led by ], also had ambitions of establishing a united Italian state. In the context of the ] that swept through Europe, an unsuccessful ] was declared on ]. In 1855, the Kingdom of Sardinia became an ally of Britain and France in the ], giving Cavour's diplomacy legitimacy in the eyes of the great powers.<ref>Enrico Dal Lago, "Lincoln, Cavour, and National Unification: American Republicanism and Italian Liberal Nationalism in Comparative Perspective." ''The Journal of the Civil War Era'' 3#1 (2013): 85–113.</ref><ref>William L. Langer, ed., ''An Encyclopedia of World Cup History''. 4th ed. 1968. pp 704–7.</ref> The Kingdom of Sardinia again attacked the Austrian Empire in the ] of 1859, with the aid of ], resulting in liberating ]. On the basis of the ], the Kingdom of Sardinia ceded ] and ] to France, an event that caused the ], that was the emigration of a quarter of the ] to Italy,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.montecarlonews.it/2017/08/28/notizie/argomenti/altre-notizie-1/articolo/un-nizzardo-su-quattro-prese-la-via-dellesilio-in-seguito-allunita-ditalia-dice-lo-scrittore.html|title="Un nizzardo su quattro prese la via dell'esilio" in seguito all'unità d'Italia, dice lo scrittore Casalino Pierluigi|date=28 August 2017|access-date=14 May 2021|language=it}}</ref> and the ]. | |||
| ] | |||
| In 1860–1861, Garibaldi led the drive for unification in Naples and Sicily (the ]),<ref>Mack Smith, Denis (1997). ''Modern Italy; A Political History''. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. {{ISBN|0-472-10895-6}}</ref> while the House of Savoy troops occupied the central territories of the Italian peninsula, except Rome and part of Papal States. ] was the site of the famous meeting of 26 October 1860 between Giuseppe Garibaldi and ], last King of Sardinia, in which Garibaldi shook Victor Emanuel's hand and hailed him as ]; thus, Garibaldi sacrificed republican hopes for the sake of Italian unity under a monarchy. Cavour agreed to include Garibaldi's Southern Italy allowing it to join the union with the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860. This allowed the Sardinian government to ] on 17 March 1861.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.thelocal.it/20170317/everything-to-know-about-march-17th-italys-unity-unification-risorgimento-day |title=Everything you need to know about March 17th, Italy's Unity Day |date=17 March 2017|access-date=17 July 2017 |language=en}}</ref> Victor Emmanuel II then became the first king of a united Italy, and the capital was moved from Turin to Florence. The title of "King of Italy" had been out of use since the abdication of ] on 6 April 1814. | |||
| In 1866, Victor Emmanuel II allied with ] during the ], |
In 1860–1861, Garibaldi led the drive for unification in Naples and Sicily.<ref>Mack Smith, Denis (1997). ''Modern Italy; A Political History''. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. {{ISBN|0-4721-0895-6}}.</ref> ] was the site of a famous meeting between Garibaldi and ], the last king of Sardinia, during which Garibaldi shook Victor Emanuel's hand and hailed him as ]. Cavour agreed to include Garibaldi's southern Italy in a union with the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860. This allowed the Sardinian government to ] on 17 March 1861,<ref>{{Cite news|date=17 March 2017|title=Everything you need to know about March 17th, Italy's Unity Day|url=https://www.thelocal.it/20170317/everything-to-know-about-march-17th-italys-unity-unification-risorgimento-day|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170617212538/https://www.thelocal.it/20170317/everything-to-know-about-march-17th-italys-unity-unification-risorgimento-day|archive-date=17 June 2017|access-date=17 July 2017}}</ref> with Victor Emmanuel II as its first king. In 1865, the kingdom's capital was moved from Turin to Florence. In 1866, Victor Emmanuel II, allied with ] during the ], waged the ], which resulted in Italy annexing ]. Finally, in 1870, as France abandoned Rome during the ], the Italians ], unification was completed, and the capital moved to Rome.<ref name="scholar and patriot"/> | ||
| ===Liberal period=== | === Liberal period === | ||
| {{Main|Kingdom of Italy|Italian diaspora|Italian Empire|Military history of Italy during World War I}} | {{Main|Kingdom of Italy|Italian diaspora|Italian Empire|Military history of Italy during World War I}} | ||
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| Sardinia's constitution was extended to all of Italy in 1861, and provided basic freedoms for the new state; but electoral laws excluded the non-propertied classes. The new kingdom was governed by a parliamentary constitutional monarchy dominated by liberals. As northern Italy quickly industrialised, southern and northern rural areas remained underdeveloped and overpopulated, forcing millions to migrate and fuelling a ]. The ] increased in strength, challenging the traditional liberal and conservative establishment. In the last two decades of the 19th century, Italy developed into a ] by subjugating ], ], ], and ] in Africa.<ref>(Bosworth (2005), p. 49.)</ref> In 1913, male universal suffrage was adopted. The pre-] period was dominated by ], prime minister five times between 1892 and 1921. | |||
| ] is a ]. It is the largest war memorial in Italy and one of the largest in the world.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rai.it/ufficiostampa/assets/template/us-articolo.html?ssiPath=/articoli/2021/10/Redipuglia-Il-sacrario-della-Grande-Guerra-c1dc61c5-9a1c-44c8-b203-9d16d943d7ec-ssi.html#:~:text=Il%20sacrario%20militare%20di%20Redipuglia,caduti%20durante%20la%20Grande%20Guerra.|title=Redipuglia. Il sacrario della Grande Guerra|language=it|access-date=23 June 2024|archive-date=25 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240625213329/https://www.rai.it/ufficiostampa/assets/template/us-articolo.html?ssiPath=/articoli/2021/10/Redipuglia-Il-sacrario-della-Grande-Guerra-c1dc61c5-9a1c-44c8-b203-9d16d943d7ec-ssi.html#:~:text=Il%20sacrario%20militare%20di%20Redipuglia,caduti%20durante%20la%20Grande%20Guerra.|url-status=live}}</ref>]] | |||
| ] in 1915 with the aim of completing national unity, so it is also considered the Fourth Italian War of Independence,<ref>{{Cite web|date=6 March 2015|title=Il 1861 e le quattro Guerre per l'Indipendenza (1848–1918) |url=http://www.piacenzaprimogenita150.it/index.php?it%2F176%2Fil-1861-e-le-quattro-guerre-per-lindipendenza-1848-1918|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319075828/http://www.piacenzaprimogenita150.it/index.php?it%2F176%2Fil-1861-e-le-quattro-guerre-per-lindipendenza-1848-1918|archive-date=19 March 2022|access-date=12 March 2021|language=it}}</ref> from a historiographical perspective, as the conclusion of the ].<ref>{{Cite web|title=La Grande Guerra nei manifesti italiani dell'epoca|url=http://www.beniculturali.it/mibac/export/MiBAC/sito-MiBAC/Contenuti/MibacUnif/Eventi/visualizza_asset.html_1239896580.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923183754/http://www.beniculturali.it/mibac/export/MiBAC/sito-MiBAC/Contenuti/MibacUnif/Eventi/visualizza_asset.html_1239896580.html|archive-date=23 September 2015|access-date=12 March 2021|language=it}}; {{Cite book|last=Genovesi|first=Piergiovanni|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_LntMIUOXngC&q=%22quarta+guerra+d%27indipendenza%22&pg=PA41|title=Il Manuale di Storia in Italia, di Piergiovanni Genovesi|date=11 June 2009|publisher=FrancoAngeli|isbn=978-8-8568-1868-0|language=it|access-date=12 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240116110143/https://books.google.com/books?id=_LntMIUOXngC&q=%22quarta+guerra+d%27indipendenza%22&pg=PA41#v=snippet&q=%22quarta%20guerra%20d'indipendenza%22&f=false|archive-date=16 January 2024|url-status=live}}</ref> Italy, nominally allied with ] and the ] empires in the ], in 1915 joined the ], entering World War I with a ] of substantial territorial gains that included west ], the former ], and ], as well as parts of the ]. The country's contribution to the Allied victory earned it a place as one of the "]" powers. Reorganisation of the army and conscription led to Italian victories. In October 1918, the Italians launched a massive offensive, culminating in victory at the ].<ref>Burgwyn, H. James: ''Italian foreign policy in the interwar period, 1918–1940.'' Greenwood Publishing Group, 1997. p. 4. | |||
| Starting in the last two decades of the 19th century, Italy developed into a ] by forcing under its rule ] and ] in East Africa, ] and ] in North Africa (later unified in the colony of ]) and the ] islands.<ref>(Bosworth (2005), p. 49.)</ref> From 2 November 1899 to 7 September 1901, Italy also participated as part of the ] forces during the ] in China; on 7 September 1901, a ] was ceded to the country, and on 7 June 1902, the concession was taken into Italian possession and administered by a ]. In 1913, male universal suffrage was adopted. The pre-war period dominated by ], Prime Minister five times between 1892 and 1921, was characterised by the economic, industrial, and political-cultural modernization of Italian society. | |||
| {{ISBN|0-2759-4877-3}}; Schindler, John R.: ''Isonzo: The Forgotten Sacrifice of the Great War.'' Greenwood Publishing Group, 2001. p. 303. | |||
| ] in Rome, a ] celebrating the first king of the unified country, and resting place of the ] since the end of World War I. It was inaugurated in 1911, on the occasion of the 50th ].]] | |||
| {{ISBN|0-2759-7204-6}}; Mack Smith, Denis: ''Mussolini.'' Knopf, 1982. p. 31. {{ISBN|0-3945-0694-4}}</ref> This marked the end of war on the Italian Front, secured dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and was instrumental in ] the war less than two weeks later. | |||
| During the war, more than 650,000 Italian soldiers and as many civilians died,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Mortara|first=G|title=La Salute pubblica in Italia durante e dopo la Guerra|publisher=Yale University Press|year=1925|location=New Haven}}</ref> and the kingdom was on the brink of bankruptcy. The ] (1919) and ] (1920) allowed for annexation of ], the ], ], the ], and the Dalmatian city of ]. The subsequent ] (1924) led to annexation of ] by Italy. Italy did not receive other territories promised by the Treaty of London, so this outcome was denounced as a "]", by ], which helped lead to the ]. Historians regard "mutilated victory" as a "political myth", used by fascists to fuel ].<ref>G.Sabbatucci, ''La vittoria mutilata'', in AA.VV., ''Miti e storia dell'Italia unita'', Il Mulino, Bologna 1999, pp.101–106</ref> Italy gained a permanent seat in the ]'s executive council. | |||
| Italy entered into the ] in 1915 with the aim of completing national unity: for this reason, the Italian intervention in the First World War is also considered the ],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.piacenzaprimogenita150.it/index.php?it%2F176%2Fil-1861-e-le-quattro-guerre-per-lindipendenza-1848-1918|title=Il 1861 e le quattro Guerre per l'Indipendenza (1848–1918)|date=6 March 2015|language=it|access-date=12 March 2021|archive-date=19 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319075828/http://www.piacenzaprimogenita150.it/index.php?it%2F176%2Fil-1861-e-le-quattro-guerre-per-lindipendenza-1848-1918|url-status=dead}}</ref> in a historiographical perspective that identifies in the latter the conclusion of the ], whose military actions began during the ] with the ].<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite web|url=http://www.beniculturali.it/mibac/export/MiBAC/sito-MiBAC/Contenuti/MibacUnif/Eventi/visualizza_asset.html_1239896580.html|title=La Grande Guerra nei manifesti italiani dell'epoca|language=it|access-date=12 March 2021|archive-date=23 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923183754/http://www.beniculturali.it/mibac/export/MiBAC/sito-MiBAC/Contenuti/MibacUnif/Eventi/visualizza_asset.html_1239896580.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_LntMIUOXngC&q=%22quarta+guerra+d%27indipendenza%22&pg=PA41|title=Il Manuale di Storia in Italia, di Piergiovanni Genovesi|isbn=9788856818680|language=it|access-date=12 March 2021|last1=Genovesi|first1=Piergiovanni|date=11 June 2009}}</ref> | |||
| === Fascist regime and World War II === | |||
| Italy, nominally allied with the ] and the Empire of ] in the ], in 1915 joined the ] into World War I with a ] of substantial territorial gains, that included western ], former ], ] as well as parts of the ]. The country gave a fundamental contribution to the victory of the conflict as one of the "]" top Allied powers. The war on the ] was initially inconclusive, as the Italian army got stuck in a long ] in the Alps, making little progress and suffering heavy losses. However, the reorganization of the army and the conscription of the so-called '''99 Boys'' (''Ragazzi del '99'', all males born in 1899 who were turning 18) led to more effective Italian victories in major battles, such as on ] and in a series of battles on the ]. Eventually, in October 1918, the Italians launched a massive offensive, culminating in the victory of ]. The Italian victory,<ref>Burgwyn, H. James: ''Italian foreign policy in the interwar period, 1918–1940.'' Greenwood Publishing Group, 1997. p. 4. | |||
| {{Main|Fascist Italy|Military history of Italy during World War II|Italian Civil War|Italian campaign (World War II)}} | |||
| {{ISBN|0-275-94877-3}}</ref><ref>Schindler, John R.: ''Isonzo: The Forgotten Sacrifice of the Great War.'' Greenwood Publishing Group, 2001. p. 303. | |||
| ] titled himself '']'' and ruled the country from 1922 to 1943.]] | |||
| {{ISBN|0-275-97204-6}}</ref><ref>Mack Smith, Denis: ''Mussolini.'' Knopf, 1982. p. 31. {{ISBN|0-394-50694-4}}</ref> which was announced by the '']'' and the '']'', marked the end of the war on the Italian Front, secured the dissolution of the ] and was chiefly instrumental in ] the First World War less than two weeks later. Italian armed forces were also involved in the ], the ], the ], and then took part in the ]. | |||
| The ] that followed the devastation of the Great War, inspired by the ], led to counter-revolution and repression throughout Italy. The liberal establishment, fearing a Soviet-style revolution, started to endorse the small ], led by Mussolini. In October 1922, the ] of the National Fascist Party organised a ] and the "]" ]. King ] appointed Mussolini as prime minister, transferring power to the fascists without armed conflict.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lyttelton|first=Adrian|title=The Seizure of Power: Fascism in Italy, 1919–1929 |date=2008|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-4155-5394-0|location=New York|pages=75–77}}; {{Cite news|title=March on Rome {{!}} Italian history|url=https://www.britannica.com/event/March-on-Rome|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150504055509/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/508871/March-on-Rome|archive-date=4 May 2015|access-date=25 July 2017|work=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref> Mussolini banned political parties and curtailed personal liberties, establishing a dictatorship. These actions attracted international attention and inspired similar dictatorships in ] and ]. | |||
| During the war, more than 650,000 Italian soldiers and as many civilians died,<ref>{{cite book |title=La Salute pubblica in Italia durante e dopo la Guerra |last=Mortara |first=G |year=1925 |publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven }}</ref> and the kingdom went to the brink of bankruptcy. The ] (1919) and the ] (1920) allowed the annexation of ], ], ], ] as well as the ]n city of ]. The subsequent ] (1924) led to the annexation of the city of ] to Italy. Italy did not receive other territories promised by the ], so this outcome was denounced as a '']''. The rhetoric of ''Mutilated victory'' was adopted by ] and led to the ] ], becoming a key point in the ]. Historians regard ''Mutilated victory'' as a "political myth", used by fascists to fuel ] and obscure the successes of ] in the aftermath of World War I.<ref>G.Sabbatucci, ''La vittoria mutilata'', in AA.VV., ''Miti e storia dell'Italia unita'', Il Mulino, Bologna 1999, pp.101–106</ref> Italy also gained a permanent seat in the ]'s executive council. | |||
| ] was based upon Italian nationalism and imperialism, seeking to expand Italian possessions via irredentist claims based on the legacy of the Roman and Venetian empires.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Rodogno|first=Davide|author-link=Davide Rodogno|title=Fascism's European Empire: Italian Occupation during the Second World War|date=2006|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge, England|page=88}}; {{Cite book|last=Kallis|first=Aristotle A.|title=Fascist ideology: territory and expansionism in Italy and Germany, 1922–1945 |date=2000|publisher=Routledge|location=London, England; New York City, USA|pages=41}}; {{Cite book|last1=Ball|first1=Terence|title=The Cambridge History of Twentieth-Century Political Thought|last2=Bellamy|first2=Richard|pages=133}}; {{Cite book|last=Stephen J. Lee|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u-mm5UDlzBEC&pg=PA157|title=European Dictatorships, 1918–1945 |date=2008|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-4154-5484-1|pages=157–158|access-date=8 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240211001320/https://books.google.com/books?id=u-mm5UDlzBEC&pg=PA157#v=onepage&q&f=false|archive-date=11 February 2024|url-status=live}}</ref> For this reason the fascists engaged in ]. In 1935, Mussolini ] and founded ], resulting in international isolation and leading to Italy's withdrawal from the ]. Italy then ] and the ], and strongly supported ] in the ]. In 1939, Italy ]. | |||
| ===Fascist regime=== | |||
| {{Main|Italian fascism|Fascist Italy (1922–1943)|Italian irredentism|Military history of Italy during World War II|Fall of the Fascist regime in Italy|Italian Civil War}} | |||
| ] dictator ] titled himself ] and ].]] | |||
| The ] that followed the devastation of the Great War, inspired by the ], led to counter-revolution and repression throughout Italy. The liberal establishment, fearing a Soviet-style revolution, started to endorse the small ], led by ]. In October 1922 the ] of the National Fascist Party attempted a ] and a ] named the "]" which failed but at the last minute, King ] refused to proclaim a state of siege and appointed Mussolini prime minister, thereby transferring political power to the fascists without armed conflict.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Seizure of Power: Fascism in Italy, 1919–1929|last=Lyttelton|first=Adrian|publisher=New York: Routledge|year=2008|isbn=978-0-415-55394-0|pages=75–77}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.britannica.com/event/March-on-Rome|title=March on Rome {{!}} Italian history|work=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=25 July 2017}}</ref> Over the next few years, Mussolini banned all political parties and curtailed personal liberties, thus forming a ]. These actions attracted international attention and eventually inspired similar dictatorships such as ] and ]. | |||
| Italy entered World War II on 10 June 1940. At different times, Italians advanced in ], ], the ], and eastern fronts. They were, however, ] as well as in the ] and ] campaigns, losing their territories in Africa and the Balkans. ] included ]s and ]<ref>James H. Burgwyn (2004). {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921054155/http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/routledg/rmis/2004/00000009/00000003/art00005|date=21 September 2013}}, Journal of Modern Italian Studies, Volume 9, Number 3, pp. 314–329(16)</ref> by deportation of about 25,000 people—mainly Yugoslavs—to ] and elsewhere. ] perpetrated their own crimes against the ethnic Italian population during and after the war, including the ]. An ] began in July 1943, leading to the ] on 25 July. Mussolini was deposed and arrested by order of King Victor Emmanuel III. On 8 September, Italy signed the ], ending its war with the Allies. The Germans, with the assistance of Italian fascists, succeeded in taking control of north and central Italy. The country remained a battlefield, with the Allies moving up from the south. | |||
| Italian Fascism is based upon Italian nationalism and imperialism, and in particular seeks to complete what it considers as the incomplete project of the ] by incorporating '']'' (unredeemed Italy) into the state of Italy.<ref name="autogenerated1922">Aristotle A. Kallis. ''Fascist ideology: territory and expansionism in Italy and Germany, 1922–1945''. London, England, UK; New York City, USA: Routledge, 2000, pp. 41.</ref><ref name="autogenerated3">Terence Ball, Richard Bellamy. The Cambridge History of Twentieth-Century Political Thought. Pp. 133</ref> To the east of Italy, the Fascists claimed that ] was a land of Italian culture whose Italians, including those of Italianized ] descent, had been driven out of Dalmatia and into exile in Italy, and supported the return of Italians of Dalmatian heritage.<ref>Jozo Tomasevich. War and Revolution in Yugoslavia 1941–1945: Occupation and Collaboration. Stanford, California, USA: Stanford University Press, 2001. P. 131.</ref> Mussolini identified Dalmatia as having strong Italian cultural roots for centuries, similarly to ], via the ] and the ].<ref name="ReferenceB">Larry Wolff. Venice And the Slavs: The Discovery of Dalmatia in the Age of Enlightenment. Stanford, California, USA: Stanford University Press, P. 355.</ref> To the south of Italy, the Fascists claimed ], which belonged to the United Kingdom, and ], which instead belonged to Greece; to the north claimed ], while to the west claimed ], ], and ], which belonged to France.<ref>Aristotle A. Kallis. ''Fascist Ideology: Expansionism in Italy and Germany 1922–1945''. London, England; UK; New York, New York, USA: Routledge, 2000. P. 118.</ref><ref>''Mussolini Unleashed, 1939–1941: Politics and Strategy in Fascist Italy's Last War''. Cambridge, England, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1986, 1999. P. 38.</ref> The Fascist regime produced literature on Corsica that presented evidence of the island's ''italianità''.<ref name="Davide Rodogno 2006. P. 88">Davide Rodogno. ''Fascism's European Empire: Italian Occupation during the Second World War''. Cambridge, England, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2006. P. 88.</ref> The Fascist regime produced literature on Nice that justified that Nice was an Italian land based on historic, ethnic, and linguistic grounds.<ref name="Davide Rodogno 2006. P. 88" /> | |||
| ] in Milan during the final insurrection leading to the ] in April 1945]] | |||
| ] during its existence{{Legend|#366635|Kingdom of Italy}}{{Legend|#CBFE75|Colonies of Italy}} | |||
| {{Legend|#666666|Protectorates and areas occupied during World War II}}]] | |||
| The ], which ended fighting between Italy and Austria-Hungary at the end of World War I, resulted in Italian annexation of neighbouring parts of Yugoslavia. During the interwar period, the fascist Italian government undertook a campaign of ] in the areas it annexed, which suppressed Slavic language, schools, political parties, and cultural institutions. Between 1922 and the beginning of ], the affected people were also the ]-speaking and ]-speaking populations of ], and the ]- and ]-speaking regions of the ], such as the ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.valledaosta-guidaturistica.it/toponomastica-valle-daosta/|title=I nomi dei comuni valdostani durante il fascismo|access-date=8 February 2022|language=it}}</ref> | |||
| In the north, the Germans set up the ] (RSI), a Nazi ] and ] regime with Mussolini installed as leader after he was ] by German paratroopers. What remained of the Italian troops was organised into the ], which fought alongside the Allies, while other Italian forces, loyal to Mussolini, opted to fight alongside the Germans in the ]. German troops, with RSI collaboration, committed massacres and deported thousands of Jews to death camps. The post-armistice period saw the emergence of the ], who fought a guerrilla war against the ] and collaborators.<ref>G. Bianchi, ''La Resistenza'', in: AA.VV., ''Storia d'Italia'', vol. 8, pp. 368-369.</ref> This has been described as an Italian civil war due to fighting between partisans and fascist RSI forces.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Storia della guerra civile in Italia|url=http://www.istitutobiggini.it/storia_pisano.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013183444/https://www.istitutobiggini.it/storia_pisano.pdf|archive-date=13 October 2022|access-date=28 August 2023}}; See the books from Italian historian ] ''Storia della guerra civile in Italia'', 1943–1945, 3 voll., Milano, FPE, 1965 and the book ''L'Italia della guerra civile'' ("Italy of civil war"), published in 1983 by the Italian writer and journalist ] as the fifteen volume of the ''Storia d'Italia'' ("History of Italy") by the same author.</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Pavone|first=Claudio|title=Una guerra civile. Saggio storico sulla moralità della Resistenza|date=1991|publisher=Bollati Boringhieri|isbn=8-8339-0629-9|location=Torino|page=238|language=it}}</ref> In April 1945, with defeat looming, Mussolini attempted to escape north,<ref>{{Citation|last=Viganò|first=Marino|title=Un'analisi accurata della presunta fuga in Svizzera|date=2001|work=Nuova Storia Contemporanea|volume=3|language=it}}</ref> but was captured and ] by partisans.<ref>{{Cite news|date=28 April 1945|title=1945: Italian partisans kill Mussolini |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/28/newsid_3564000/3564529.stm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111126075555/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/28/newsid_3564000/3564529.stm|archive-date=26 November 2011|access-date=17 October 2011|publisher=BBC News}}</ref> | |||
| Mussolini promised to bring Italy back as a ] in Europe, building a "New ]"<ref>{{cite book|last=Stephen J. Lee|title=European Dictatorships, 1918–1945|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u-mm5UDlzBEC&pg=PA157|year=2008|publisher=Routledge |pages=157–58|isbn=978-0-415-45484-1}}</ref> and holding power over the ]. In ], Fascists used the ancient Roman motto "'']''" (] for "Our Sea") to describe the Mediterranean. For this reason the Fascist regime engaged in ]. In 1923, the Greek island of ] was ], after the assassination of ] in Greek territory. In 1925, Italy forced Albania to become a '']'' ]. In 1935, Mussolini ] and founded ], resulting in an international alienation and leading to Italy's withdrawal from the ]; Italy ] and the ] and strongly supported ] in the ]. In 1939, Italy ]. Italy entered World War II on 10 June 1940. The Italians initially advanced in ], ], the ] (establishing the ] and ], the ], and the puppet states ] and ]), and eastern fronts. They were, however, subsequently defeated on the ] as well as in the ] and the ], losing as a result their territories in Africa and in the Balkans. | |||
| Hostilities ended on 29 April 1945, ]. Nearly half a million Italians died in the conflict,<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|title=Italy – Britannica Online Encyclopedia|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/297474/Italy|access-date=2 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306095718/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/297474/Italy|archive-date=6 March 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> society was divided, and the economy all but destroyed—per capita income in 1944 was at its lowest point since 1900.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Liberal and fascist Italy, 1900–1945 |date=2002|publisher=Oxford University Press|editor-last=Lyttelton|editor-first=Adrian|page=13}}</ref> The aftermath left Italy angry with the monarchy for its endorsement of the Fascist regime, contributing to a revival of Italian republicanism.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|title=Italia|encyclopedia=Dizionario enciclopedico italiano|publisher=]|date=1970|volume=VI|page=456|language=it}}</ref> | |||
| During World War II, ] included ]s and ]<ref name="JamesBurgwyn_2004">James H. Burgwyn (2004). {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921054155/http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/routledg/rmis/2004/00000009/00000003/art00005 |date=21 September 2013 }}, Journal of Modern Italian Studies, Volume 9, Number 3, pp. 314–329(16)</ref> by deportation of about 25,000 people, mainly Jews, Croats, and Slovenians, to the ], such as ], ], ], ], and elsewhere. ] perpetrated their own crimes against the local ethnic ] (] and ]) during and after the war, including the ]. | |||
| In Italy and Yugoslavia, unlike in Germany, few war crimes were prosecuted.<ref name="RoryCarroll_2001"> (archived by ]), written by ], Education, ], June 2001</ref><ref name="Pedaliu_JContHistory">] (2004) {{JSTOR|4141408?}} Britain and the 'Hand-over' of Italian War Criminals to Yugoslavia, 1945–48. Journal of Contemporary History. Vol. 39, No. 4, Special Issue: Collective Memory, pp. 503–529</ref><ref name="oliva06">] (2006) {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720023109/http://www.libreriauniversitaria.it/si-ammazza-troppo-poco-crimini/libro/9788804551294 |date=20 July 2011 }}, Mondadori, {{ISBN|88-04-55129-1}}</ref><ref name="blpp2004">Baldissara, Luca & Pezzino, Paolo (2004). ''Crimini e memorie di guerra: violenze contro le popolazioni e politiche del ricordo'', L'Ancora del Mediterraneo. {{ISBN|978-88-8325-135-1}}</ref> | |||
| ] in Milan during the ], April 1945]] | |||
| === Republican era === | |||
| An ] began in July 1943, leading to the ] on 25 July. Mussolini was deposed and arrested by order of King Victor Emmanuel III in co-operation with the majority of the members of the ], which passed a motion of no confidence. On 8 September, Italy signed the ], ending its war with the Allies. Shortly thereafter, the Germans, with the assistance of the Italian fascists, succeeded in taking control of northern and central Italy. The country remained a ] for the rest of the war, with the Allies slowly moving up from the south. | |||
| In the north, the Germans set up the ] (RSI), a Nazi ] with Mussolini installed as leader after he was ] by German paratroopers. Some Italian troops in the south were organised into the ], which fought alongside the Allies for the rest of the war, while other Italian troops, loyal to Mussolini and his RSI, continued to fight alongside the Germans in the ]. Also, the post-armistice period saw the rise of a large anti-fascist resistance movement, the '']''.<ref name=Resistenza>G. Bianchi, ''La Resistenza'', in: AA.VV., ''Storia d'Italia'', vol. 8, pp. 368-369.</ref> As result, the country descended into ];<ref></ref><ref>See the books from Italian historian ] ''Storia della guerra civile in Italia'', 1943–1945, 3 voll., Milano, FPE, 1965 and the book ''L'Italia della guerra civile'' ("Italy of civil war"), published in 1983 by the Italian writer and journalist ] as the fifteen volume of the ''Storia d'Italia'' ("History of Italy") by the same author.</ref> the Italian resistance fought a ] against the ] and ] forces,<ref name=Resistenza/> while clashes between the Fascist RSI Army and the Royalist Italian Co-Belligerent Army were rare.<ref>{{cite book |last=Pavone |first=Claudio |title=Una guerra civile. Saggio storico sulla moralità della Resistenza |location=Torino |publisher=Bollati Boringhieri |year=1991 |isbn= 88-339-0629-9 |language=it |page=238}}</ref> In late April 1945, with total defeat looming, Mussolini attempted to escape north,<ref>{{Citation |first=Marino |last=Viganò |title=Un'analisi accurata della presunta fuga in Svizzera |journal=Nuova Storia Contemporanea |volume=3 |year=2001 |language=it}}</ref> but was captured and ] near ] by Italian partisans. His body was then taken to ], where it was hung upside down at a service station for public viewing and to provide confirmation of his demise.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/28/newsid_3564000/3564529.stm |title=1945: Italian partisans kill Mussolini |access-date=17 October 2011 |work=BBC News |date=28 April 1945 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111126075555/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/28/newsid_3564000/3564529.stm |archive-date=26 November 2011}}</ref> | |||
| Hostilities ended on 29 April 1945, ]. ] in the conflict,<ref name="britannica.com">{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/297474/Italy |title=Italy – Britannica Online Encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Britannica.com |access-date=2 August 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306095718/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/297474/Italy |archive-date=6 March 2012}}</ref> society was divided and the Italian economy had been all but destroyed; per capita income in 1944 was at its lowest point since the beginning of the 20th century.<ref>Adrian Lyttelton (editor), ''"Liberal and fascist Italy, 1900–1945"'', Oxford University Press, 2002. p. 13</ref> The aftermath of World War II left Italy also with an anger against the monarchy for its endorsement of the Fascist regime for the previous twenty years. These frustrations contributed to a revival of the Italian republican movement.<ref>{{Citation|year=1970|title=Italia|encyclopedia=Dizionario enciclopedico italiano|volume=VI|page=456|publisher=]|language=it}}</ref> | |||
| ===Republican era=== | |||
| {{Main|History of the Italian Republic}} | {{Main|History of the Italian Republic}} | ||
| Italy became a republic after the ]<ref>{{Cite AV media|url=https://archive.org/details/1946-06-06_Damage_Foreshadows_A-Bomb_Test|title=Damage Foreshadows A-Bomb Test, 1946/06/06 (1946) |publisher=]|year=1946|access-date=22 February 2012}}</ref> held on 2 June, a day celebrated since as '']''. This was the first time women voted nationally.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Italia 1946: le donne al voto, dossier a cura di Mariachiara Fugazza e Silvia Cassamagnaghi |url=http://www.insmli.it/pubblicazioni/35/Voto%20donne%20versione%20def.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520041048/http://www.insmli.it/pubblicazioni/35/Voto%20donne%20versione%20def.pdf|archive-date=20 May 2011|access-date=30 May 2011}}; {{Cite news|title=La prima volta in cui le donne votarono in Italia, 75 anni fa|url=https://www.ilpost.it/2021/03/10/primo-voto-italia-donne-10-marzo-1946|access-date=24 August 2021|work=Il Post|date=10 March 2021|language=it-IT|archive-date=23 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210823162103/https://www.ilpost.it/2021/03/10/primo-voto-italia-donne-10-marzo-1946|url-status=live}}</ref> Victor Emmanuel III's son, ], was forced to abdicate. The ] was approved in 1948. Under the ], areas next to the ] were annexed by ], resulting in the ], which involved the emigration of around 300,000 ] and ].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Tobagi|first=Benedetta|title=La Repubblica italiana | Treccani, il portale del sapere|url=http://www.treccani.it/scuola/lezioni/storia/la_repubblica_italiana.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305001726/http://www.treccani.it/scuola/lezioni/storia/la_repubblica_italiana.html|archive-date=5 March 2016|access-date=28 January 2015|publisher=Treccani.it}}</ref> Italy lost all colonial possessions, ending the ]. | |||
| ], ] republican ] and one of the ]]] | |||
| ], ] republican ] and one of the ]]] | |||
| Fears of a Communist takeover proved crucial in ], when the ], under ], won a landslide victory.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Lawrence S. Kaplan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UV-ti1sYcbcC|title=NATO 1948: The Birth of the Transatlantic Alliance |last2=Morris Honick|date=2007|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0-7425-3917-4|pages=52–55|access-date=5 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240116110143/https://books.google.com/books?id=UV-ti1sYcbcC|archive-date=16 January 2024|url-status=live}}; {{Cite book|author=Robert Ventresca|title=From Fascism to Democracy: Culture and Politics in the Italian Election of 1948 |publisher=University of Toronto Press|date=2004|pages=236–37}}</ref> Consequently, in 1949 Italy became a member of ]. The ] revived the economy, which, until the late 1960s, enjoyed a period called the ]. In the 1950s, Italy became a founding country of the ], a forerunner of the European Union. From the late 1960s until the early 1980s, the country experienced the '']'', characterised by economic difficulties, especially after the ]; social conflicts; and terrorist massacres.<ref>{{Cite web|year=1995|title=Commissione parlamentare d'inchiesta sul terrorismo in Italia e sulle cause della mancata individuazione dei responsabili delle stragi (Parliamentary investigative commission on terrorism in Italy and the failure to identify the perpetrators)|url=http://www.isn.ethz.ch/php/documents/collection_gladio/report_ital_senate.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060819211212/http://www.isn.ethz.ch/php/documents/collection_gladio/report_ital_senate.pdf <!-- Bot retrieved archive -->|archive-date=19 August 2006|access-date=2 May 2006|language=it}}; {{In lang|en|it|fr|de}} {{Cite web|title=Secret Warfare: Operation Gladio and NATO's Stay-Behind Armies|url=http://www.isn.ethz.ch/php/collections/coll_gladio.htm#Documents|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060425182721/http://www.isn.ethz.ch/php/collections/coll_gladio.htm|archive-date=25 April 2006|access-date=2 May 2006|publisher=Swiss Federal Institute of Technology / International Relation and Security Network}}; {{Cite web|date=24 June 2000|title=Clarion: Philip Willan, Guardian, 24 June 2000, p. 19 |url=http://www.cambridgeclarion.org/press_cuttings/us.terrorism_graun_24jun2000.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100329113138/http://www.cambridgeclarion.org/press_cuttings/us.terrorism_graun_24jun2000.html|archive-date=29 March 2010|access-date=24 April 2010|publisher=Cambridgeclarion.org}}</ref> | |||
| Italy became a republic after the ]<ref>{{cite video |year=1946 |title=Damage Foreshadows A-Bomb Test, 1946/06/06 (1946) |url=https://archive.org/details/1946-06-06_Damage_Foreshadows_A-Bomb_Test |publisher=] |access-date=22 February 2012}}</ref> held on 2 June 1946, a day celebrated since as '']''. This was the first time that Italian women voted at the national level, and the second time overall considering the local elections that were held a few months earlier in some cities.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.insmli.it/pubblicazioni/35/Voto%20donne%20versione%20def.pdf |title=Italia 1946: le donne al voto, dossier a cura di Mariachiara Fugazza e Silvia Cassamagnaghi |access-date=30 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520041048/http://www.insmli.it/pubblicazioni/35/Voto%20donne%20versione%20def.pdf |archive-date=20 May 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=La prima volta in cui le donne votarono in Italia, 75 anni fa |url=https://www.ilpost.it/2021/03/10/primo-voto-italia-donne-10-marzo-1946/ |access-date=24 August 2021 |work=Il Post |date=10 March 2021 |language=it-IT}}</ref> ]'s son, ], was forced to abdicate and exiled. The ] was approved on 1 January 1948. Under the ], ], ], most of the ] as well as the ]n city of ] was annexed by ] causing the ], which led to the emigration of between 230,000 and 350,000 of local ethnic ] (] and ]), the others being ethnic Slovenians, ethnic Croatians, and ethnic ], choosing to maintain Italian citizenship.<ref>{{cite web |first=Benedetta |last=Tobagi |url=http://www.treccani.it/scuola/lezioni/storia/la_repubblica_italiana.html |title=La Repubblica italiana | Treccani, il portale del sapere |publisher=Treccani.it |access-date=28 January 2015}}</ref> Later, the ] was divided between the two states. Italy also lost all of its colonial possessions, formally ending the ]. In 1950, ] was made a ] under Italian administration until 1 July 1960. The Italian border that applies today has existed since 1975, when ] was formally re-annexed to Italy. | |||
| The economy recovered and Italy became the world's fifth-largest industrial nation after it gained entry into the ] in the 1970s. However, national debt skyrocketed past 100% of GDP. Between 1992 and 1993, Italy faced terror attacks perpetrated by the ] as a consequence of new anti-mafia measures by the government.<ref>{{Cite web|date=8 March 2012|title=New Arrests for Via D'Amelio Bomb Attack|url=https://www.corriere.it/International/english/articoli/2012/03/08/borsellino.shtml|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013204755/http://www.corriere.it/International/english/articoli/2012/03/08/borsellino.shtml|archive-date=13 October 2012|access-date=9 February 2019|website=Corriere della Sera}}</ref> Voters—disenchanted with political paralysis, massive public debt and extensive corruption uncovered by the ] investigation—demanded radical reform. The Christian Democrats, who had ruled for almost 50 years, underwent a crisis and disbanded, splitting into factions.<ref>The so-called "Second Republic" was born by forceps: not with a revolt of Algiers, but formally under the same Constitution, with the mere replacement of one ruling class by another: {{Cite journal|last=Buonomo|first=Giampiero|year=2015|title=Tovaglie pulite|journal=Mondoperaio Edizione Online}}</ref> The Communists reorganised as a ] force. During the 1990s and 2000s, ] (dominated by media magnate ]) and ] coalitions (led by professor ]) alternately governed. | |||
| Fears of a possible Communist takeover proved crucial for the first universal suffrage electoral outcome on ], when the ], under the leadership of ], obtained a landslide victory.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UV-ti1sYcbcC |title=NATO 1948: The Birth of the Transatlantic Alliance |author1=Lawrence S. Kaplan |author2=Morris Honick |pages=52–55 |date=2007 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0-7425-3917-4}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |author=Robert Ventresca |title=From Fascism to Democracy: Culture and Politics in the Italian Election of 1948 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |date=2004 |pages=236–37}}</ref> Consequently, in 1949 Italy became a member of ]. The ] helped to revive the Italian economy which, until the late 1960s, enjoyed a period of sustained economic growth commonly called the "]". In the 1950's, Italy became one of the six founding countries of the ], following the 1952 establishment of the ], and subsequent 1958 creations of the ] and ]. In 1993, the former two of these were incorporated into the ]. | |||
| In 2011, amidst the ], Berlusconi ] and was replaced by the technocratic cabinet of ].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Hooper|first=John|date=16 November 2011|title=Mario Monti appoints technocrats to steer Italy out of economic crisis|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/nov/16/mario-monti-technocratic-cabinet-italy|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200319230844/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/nov/16/mario-monti-technocratic-cabinet-italy|archive-date=19 March 2020|access-date=19 March 2020|work=The Guardian}}</ref> In 2014, ] became ] and the government started constitutional reform. This was rejected in a 2016 ] and ] became prime minister.<ref>{{Cite news|date=12 December 2016|title=New Italian PM Paolo Gentiloni sworn in|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38295549|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191129122857/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38295549|archive-date=29 November 2019|access-date=19 March 2020|publisher=BBC News}}</ref> | |||
| ] on 25 March 1957, creating the ], forerunner of the present-day ]]] | |||
| From the late 1960s until the early 1980s, the country experienced the ], a period characterised by economic crisis, especially after the ], widespread social conflicts and terrorist massacres carried out by opposing extremist groups, with the alleged involvement of US and Soviet intelligence.<ref>{{cite web |title=Commissione parlamentare d'inchiesta sul terrorismo in Italia e sulle cause della mancata individuazione dei responsabili delle stragi (Parliamentary investigative commission on terrorism in Italy and the failure to identify the perpetrators) |year=1995 |access-date=2 May 2006 |url=http://www.isn.ethz.ch/php/documents/collection_gladio/report_ital_senate.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060819211212/http://www.isn.ethz.ch/php/documents/collection_gladio/report_ital_senate.pdf <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date=19 August 2006 |language=it}}</ref><ref name="Docs">{{in lang|en|it|fr|de}} {{cite web |title=Secret Warfare: Operation Gladio and NATO's Stay-Behind Armies |access-date=2 May 2006 |publisher=Swiss Federal Institute of Technology / International Relation and Security Network |url=http://www.isn.ethz.ch/php/collections/coll_gladio.htm#Documents |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060425182721/http://www.isn.ethz.ch/php/collections/coll_gladio.htm |archive-date=25 April 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cambridgeclarion.org/press_cuttings/us.terrorism_graun_24jun2000.html |title=Clarion: Philip Willan, Guardian, 24 June 2000, p. 19 |publisher=Cambridgeclarion.org |date=24 June 2000 |access-date=24 April 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100329113138/http://www.cambridgeclarion.org/press_cuttings/us.terrorism_graun_24jun2000.html |archive-date=29 March 2010}}</ref> The Years of Lead culminated in the assassination of the Christian Democrat leader ] in 1978 and the ] in 1980, where 85 people died. | |||
| During the ] of the 2010s, Italy was the entry point and leading destination for most asylum seekers entering the EU. Between 2013 and 2018, it took in over 700,000 migrants,<ref>{{Cite news|date=21 May 2018|title=What will Italy's new government mean for migrants?|url=https://www.thelocal.it/20180521/what-will-italys-new-government-mean-for-migrants|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401231010/https://www.thelocal.it/20180521/what-will-italys-new-government-mean-for-migrants|archive-date=1 April 2019|access-date=8 June 2018|work=The Local Italy}}</ref> mainly from sub-Saharan Africa,<ref>{{Cite news|date=18 July 2017|title=African migrants fear for future as Italy struggles with surge in arrivals|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-migrants-africa/african-migrants-fear-for-future-as-italy-struggles-with-surge-in-arrivals-idUSKBN1A30QD|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402002627/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-migrants-africa/african-migrants-fear-for-future-as-italy-struggles-with-surge-in-arrivals-idUSKBN1A30QD|archive-date=2 April 2019|access-date=8 June 2018|work=Reuters}}</ref> which put a strain on the public purse and led to a surge in support for far-right or euro-sceptic parties.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Italy starts to show the strains of migrant influx|url=http://www.thelocal.it/20150519/migrant-surge-tests-italys-humanitarian-instincts|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170429061446/https://www.thelocal.it/20150519/migrant-surge-tests-italys-humanitarian-instincts|archive-date=29 April 2017|access-date=10 January 2017|work=]}}; {{Cite news|title=Italy's far right jolts back from dead|url=http://www.politico.eu/article/italys-other-matteo-salvini-northern-league-politicians-media-effettosalvini|access-date=10 January 2017|work=Politico|date=3 February 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170119122156/http://www.politico.eu/article/italys-other-matteo-salvini-northern-league-politicians-media-effettosalvini|archive-date=19 January 2017}}</ref> After the ], ] became prime minister of a ].<ref>{{Cite news|date=24 May 2018|title=Opinion – The Populists Take Rome|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/24/opinion/populists-rome-five-star-movement.html|url-access=subscription|url-status=live|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220103/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/24/opinion/populists-rome-five-star-movement.html|archive-date=3 January 2022|access-date=2 June 2018|work=The New York Times}}{{Cbignore}}</ref> | |||
| In the 1980s, for the first time since 1945, two governments were led by non-Christian-Democrat premiers: one republican, ], and one socialist, ]; the Christian Democrats remained, however, the main government party. During Craxi's government, the economy recovered and Italy became the world's fifth-largest industrial nation after it gained the entry into the ] in the 1970s. However, as a result of his spending policies, the Italian national debt skyrocketed during the Craxi era, soon passing 100% of the country's GDP. | |||
| With almost 200,000 victims, Italy was one of the countries with the most deaths in the ]<ref>{{Cite news|last=Ellyatt|first=Holly|date=19 March 2020|title=Italy's lockdown will be extended, prime minister says as death toll spikes and hospitals struggle|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/19/italys-death-rate-reaches-record-high-hospitals-in-lombardy-struggle.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200319084719/https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/19/italys-death-rate-reaches-record-high-hospitals-in-lombardy-struggle.html|archive-date=19 March 2020|access-date=19 March 2020|publisher=CNBC}}</ref> and one of the most affected ].<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200527124958/https://www.agi.it/economia/news/2020-04-14/coronavirus-fmi-crisi-economica-8331041|date=27 May 2020}}, AGI</ref> In February 2021, after a ], Conte resigned. ], former president of the ], formed a ] supported by most main parties,<ref>{{Cite news|date=12 February 2021|title=Mario Draghi sworn in as Italy's new prime minister|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56049115|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319075829/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56049115|archive-date=19 March 2022|access-date=13 February 2021}}</ref> pledging to implement an economic stimulus to face the crisis caused by the pandemic.<ref>{{Cite web|date=12 February 2021|title=Mario Draghi's new government to be sworn in on Saturday|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/12/mario-draghis-new-italian-government-to-be-sworn-in-on-saturday|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419104552/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/12/mario-draghis-new-italian-government-to-be-sworn-in-on-saturday|archive-date=19 April 2021|access-date=19 February 2021|website=The Guardian}}</ref> In 2022, ] was sworn in as Italy's first female prime minister.<ref>{{Cite news|date=21 October 2022|title=Who is Giorgia Meloni? The rise to power of Italy's new far-right PM|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63351655|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221024023546/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63351655|archive-date=24 October 2022|access-date=24 October 2022|publisher=BBC News}}</ref> | |||
| ] of 2 August 1980, the deadliest attack ever perpetrated in Italy during the ]]] | |||
| == Geography == | |||
| Italy faced several terror attacks between 1992 and 1993 perpetrated by the ] as a consequence of several life sentences pronounced during the "]", and of the new anti-mafia measures launched by the government. In 1992, two major dynamite attacks killed the judges ] (23 May in the ]) and ] (19 July in the ]).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.corriere.it/International/english/articoli/2012/03/08/borsellino.shtml |title=New Arrests for Via D'Amelio Bomb Attack |publisher=corriere.it |date=8 March 2012}}</ref> One year later (May–July 1993), tourist spots were attacked, such as the ] in Florence, ] in Milan, and the Piazza ] and Via San Teodoro in Rome, leaving 10 dead and 93 injured and causing severe damage to cultural heritage such as the ]. The Catholic Church openly condemned the Mafia, and two churches were bombed and an anti-Mafia priest shot dead in Rome.<ref name=Dickie2007p416>{{cite book|author=John Dickie|title=Cosa Nostra. A History of the Sicilian Mafia|publisher=Hodder & Stoughton|year=2007|page=416|isbn=978-0340935262}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ipezzimancanti.it/download/Tagliavia%20sentenza.pdf|title=Sentenza del processo di 1º grado a Francesco Tagliavia per le stragi del 1993}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.parlamento.it/application/xmanager/projects/parlamento/Reso.steno.26.3.2012Int..pdf|title=Audizione del procuratore Sergio Lari dinanzi alla Commissione Parlamentare Antimafia – XVI LEGISLATURA (PDF).}}</ref> | |||
| ], 2015, during the ].]] | |||
| Also in the early 1990s, Italy faced significant challenges, as voters – disenchanted with political paralysis, massive public debt and the extensive corruption system (known as '']'') uncovered by the ] (''Mani Pulite'') investigation – demanded radical reforms. The scandals involved all major parties, but especially those in the government coalition: the Christian Democrats, who ruled for almost 50 years, underwent a severe crisis and eventually disbanded, splitting up into several factions.<ref>The so-called "Second Republic" was born by forceps: not with a revolt of Algiers, but formally under the same Constitution, with the mere replacement of one ruling class by another: {{cite journal |last1=Buonomo |first1=Giampiero |title=Tovaglie pulite |journal=Mondoperaio Edizione Online |date=2015 }}</ref> The Communists reorganised as a ] force. During the 1990s and the 2000s, ] (dominated by media magnate ]) and ] coalitions (led by university professor ]) alternately governed the country. | |||
| Amidst the ], Berlusconi ] in 2011, and his conservative government was replaced by the technocratic cabinet of ].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hooper |first1=John |title=Mario Monti appoints technocrats to steer Italy out of economic crisis |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/nov/16/mario-monti-technocratic-cabinet-italy |access-date=19 March 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=16 November 2011}}</ref> Following the ], the Vice-Secretary of the ] ] formed a ] at the head of a right-left ]. In 2014, challenged by the new ] of the ] ], Letta resigned and was replaced by Renzi. The new government started constitutional reforms such as the abolition of the ] and a new electoral law. On 4 December the constitutional reform was rejected in a ] and Renzi resigned; the Foreign Affairs Minister ] was appointed new ].<ref>{{cite news |title=New Italian PM Paolo Gentiloni sworn in |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38295549 |access-date=19 March 2020 |work=BBC News |date=12 December 2016}}</ref> | |||
| ]]] | |||
| In the ] of the 2010s, Italy was the entry point and leading destination for most asylum seekers entering the EU. From 2013 to 2018, the country took in over 700,000 migrants and refugees,<ref>{{cite news |title=What will Italy's new government mean for migrants? |url=https://www.thelocal.it/20180521/what-will-italys-new-government-mean-for-migrants |newspaper=The Local Italy |date=21 May 2018}}</ref> mainly from sub-Saharan Africa,<ref>{{cite news |title=African migrants fear for future as Italy struggles with surge in arrivals |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-migrants-africa/african-migrants-fear-for-future-as-italy-struggles-with-surge-in-arrivals-idUSKBN1A30QD |work=Reuters |date=18 July 2017}}</ref> which caused strain on the public purse and a surge in the support for far-right or euro-sceptic political parties.<ref>{{cite news |title=Italy starts to show the strains of migrant influx |url=http://www.thelocal.it/20150519/migrant-surge-tests-italys-humanitarian-instincts |access-date=10 January 2017 |work=]|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170429061446/https://www.thelocal.it/20150519/migrant-surge-tests-italys-humanitarian-instincts |archive-date=29 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Italy's far right jolts back from dead |url=http://www.politico.eu/article/italys-other-matteo-salvini-northern-league-politicians-media-effettosalvini/ |access-date=10 January 2017 |work=Politico |date=3 February 2016|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170119122156/http://www.politico.eu/article/italys-other-matteo-salvini-northern-league-politicians-media-effettosalvini/ |archive-date=19 January 2017}}</ref> The ] was characterised by a strong showing of the ] and the ] and the university professor ] became the Prime Minister at the head of a ] between these two parties.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/24/opinion/populists-rome-five-star-movement.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220103/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/24/opinion/populists-rome-five-star-movement.html |archive-date=3 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Opinion – The Populists Take Rome |newspaper=The New York Times |date=24 May 2018 |access-date=2 June 2018 }}{{cbignore}}</ref> However, after only fourteen months the League withdrew its support to Conte, who formed a new unprecedented government coalition between the Five Star Movement and the centre-left.<ref>{{cite news |title=Italy's Conte forms coalition of bitter rivals, booting far-right from power |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20190905-italy-coalition-conte-five-star-populists-democrats |access-date=9 September 2019 |work=France 24 |date=5 September 2019 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=New Italian government formed, allying M5S and the center-left {{!}} DW {{!}} 4 September 2019 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/new-italian-government-formed-allying-m5s-and-the-center-left/a-50287864 |access-date=9 September 2019 |work=Deutsche Welle |date=4 September 2019}}</ref> | |||
| In 2020, Italy was severely hit by the ].<ref>, ''Minsitero della Salute''</ref> From March to May, Conte's government imposed a ] as a measure to limit the spread of the disease,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51810673|title=Coronavirus: Italy extends emergency measures nationwide|work=BBC News|date=10 March 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Beaumont |first1=Peter |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/10/from-confidence-to-quarantine-how-coronavirus-swept-italy |title=From confidence to quarantine: how coronavirus swept Italy |date=10 March 2020 |work=The Guardian|access-date=12 March 2020 |last2=Sample |first2=Ian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> while further restrictions were introduced during the following winter.<ref>{{cite news |title=Coronavirus, Conte firma il nuovo Dpcm: in semi-lockdown per un mese. Stop a bar e ristoranti alle 18 ma aperti la domenica |url=https://www.repubblica.it/politica/2020/10/25/news/coronavirus_nuovo_dpcm_conte_firma_ristoranti_aperti_domenica-271793108/?ref=RHTP-BH-I271771521-P2-S1-T1 |access-date=25 October 2020 |work=la Repubblica |date=25 October 2020 |language=it}}</ref> The measures, despite being widely approved by the public opinion,<ref>{{cite web |last1=De Feo |first1=Gianluca |title=Sondaggio Demos: gradimento per Conte alle stelle |url=https://www.youtrend.it/2020/03/20/sondaggio-demos-gradimento-per-conte-alle-stelle/ |website=YouTrend |access-date=22 March 2020 |language=it-IT |date=20 March 2020}}</ref> were also described as the largest suppression of ]s in the history of the republic.<ref>{{cite news |title=Blog {{!}} Coronavirus, la sospensione delle libertà costituzionali è realtà. Ma per me ce la stiamo cavando bene |url=https://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2020/03/18/coronavirus-la-sospensione-delle-liberta-costituzionali-e-realta-ma-per-me-ce-la-stiamo-cavando-bene/5739296/ |access-date=22 March 2020 |work=Il Fatto Quotidiano |date=18 March 2020 |language=it-IT}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Un uomo solo è al comando dell'Italia, e nessuno ha niente da ridire |url=https://www.linkiesta.it/2020/03/italia-coronavirus-conte-uomo-solo-al-comando/ |access-date=4 March 2020 |work=Linkiesta |date=24 March 2020 |language=it-IT}}</ref> With more than 155,000 confirmed victims, Italy was one of the countries with the highest total number of deaths in the ].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ellyatt |first1=Holly |title=Italy's lockdown will be extended, prime minister says as death toll spikes and hospitals struggle |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/19/italys-death-rate-reaches-record-high-hospitals-in-lombardy-struggle.html |access-date=19 March 2020 |publisher=CNBC |date=19 March 2020}}</ref> The pandemic caused also a ], in which Italy resulted as one of the most affected countries.<ref>, AGI</ref> | |||
| In February 2021, after a ] within his majority, Conte was forced to resign and ], former president of the ], formed a ] supported by almost all the main parties,<ref>, ''BBC''</ref> pledging to oversee implementation of economic stimulus to face the crisis caused by the pandemic.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/12/mario-draghis-new-italian-government-to-be-sworn-in-on-saturday|title=Mario Draghi's new government to be sworn in on Saturday|date=12 February 2021|website=The Guardian}}</ref> On 22 October 2022, ] was sworn in as Italy's first female prime minister. Her ] party formed a right-wing government with the far-right ] and Berlusconi's {{Lang|it|]|italic=no}}.<ref>{{cite news |title=Who is Giorgia Meloni? The rise to power of Italy's new far-right PM |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63351655 |work=BBC News |date=21 October 2022}}</ref> | |||
| ==Geography== | |||
| {{Main|Geography of Italy}} | {{Main|Geography of Italy}} | ||
| {{ |
{{Further|Geology of Italy|Volcanism of Italy|List of rivers of Italy|List of lakes of Italy|List of islands of Italy|Italy (geographical region)}} | ||
| {{see also|Italy (geographical region)}} | |||
| ] | ] | ||
| Italy, whose territory largely coincides with the ],<ref name="Treccani"/> is located in |
Italy, whose territory largely coincides with the ],<ref name="Treccani"/> is located in Southern Europe (and is also considered part of Western Europe<ref name="DGACM"/>) between latitudes ] and ], and longitudes ] and ]. To the north, from west to east, Italy borders France, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia, and is roughly delimited by the ], enclosing the ] and the ]. It consists of the entirety of the ], Sicily and Sardinia (the ] of the Mediterranean), and ]. Some of Italy's territory extends beyond the Alpine basin, and some islands are located outside the ]n continental shelf. | ||
| The country's area is {{Convert|301230|km2|0|abbr=out}}, of which {{Convert|294020|km2|0|abbr=on}} is land and {{Convert|7210|km2|0|abbr=on}} is water.<ref name="Area">{{Cite web|date=30 October 2014|title=Principali dimensioni geostatistiche e grado di urbanizzazione del Paese|url=https://www.istat.it/it/archivio/137001|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141117054950/https://www.istat.it/it/archivio/137001|archive-date=17 November 2014|access-date=22 March 2019|website=istat.it}}</ref> Including the islands, Italy has a coastline of {{Convert|7600|km|0|abbr=off}} on the ], the ] and ] seas,<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|title=Tyrrhenian Sea|encyclopedia=]|publisher=Cambridge University Press|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Tyrrhenian-Sea|access-date=18 July 2017|editor-last=Chisholm|editor-first=Hugh|editor-link=Hugh Chisholm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180711020502/https://www.britannica.com/place/Tyrrhenian-Sea|archive-date=11 July 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> the ],<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://iho.int/uploads/user/pubs/standards/s-23/S-23_Ed3_1953_EN.pdf|title=Limits of Oceans and Seas|publisher=]|year=1953|edition=3rd|access-date=28 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008191433/http://www.iho.int/iho_pubs/standard/S-23/S-23_Ed3_1953_EN.pdf|archive-date=8 October 2011|issue=28}}</ref> and the ].{{Sfn|Cushman-Roisin|Gačić|Poulain|2001|pp=1–2}} Its border with France runs for {{Convert|488|km|0|abbr=on}}; Switzerland, {{Convert|740|km|0|abbr=on}}; Austria, {{Convert|430|km|0|abbr=on}}; and Slovenia, {{Convert|232|km|0|abbr=on}}. The sovereign states of ] and ] (the smallest country in the world and headquarters of the worldwide ] under the governance of the ]) are ] within Italy,<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|year=2012|title=San Marino|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/521449/San-Marino|access-date=1 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511180105/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/521449/San-Marino|archive-date=11 May 2011|url-status=live}}; {{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17994868|title=Vatican country profile|year=2018|publisher=BBC News|access-date=24 August 2018|archive-date=25 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180825011001/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17994868|url-status=live}}</ref> while ] is an Italian ] in Switzerland.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Democracy in Figures|url=http://demo.istat.it/index_e.php|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126215040/http://demo.istat.it/index_e.php|archive-date=26 January 2021|access-date=28 May 2021|website=]}}</ref> The border with San Marino is {{Convert|39|km|0|abbr=on}} long, that with Vatican City, {{Convert|3.2|km|1|abbr=on}}.<ref name=Area/> | |||
| The country's total area is {{convert|301230|km2|0|abbr=out}}, of which {{convert|294020|km2|0|abbr=on}} is land and {{convert|7210|km2|0|abbr=on}} is water.<ref name=Area>{{Cite web |url=https://www.istat.it/it/archivio/137001 |title=Principali dimensioni geostatistiche e grado di urbanizzazione del Paese |date=30 October 2014 |website=www.istat.it}}</ref> Including the islands, Italy has a coastline and border of {{convert|7600|km|0|abbr=off}} on the ], ], ] seas ({{convert|740|km|0|abbr=on}}), and borders shared with France ({{convert|488|km|0|abbr=on}}), Austria ({{convert|430|km|0|abbr=on}}), Slovenia ({{convert|232|km|0|abbr=on}}) and Switzerland ({{convert|740|km|0|abbr=on}}). San Marino ({{convert|39|km|0|abbr=on}}) and Vatican City ({{convert|3.2|km|1|abbr=on}}), both enclaves, account for the remainder.<ref name=Area /> | |||
| ] (''Monte Bianco'') in ], the highest point in the European Union]] | |||
| {{multiple image | |||
| Over 35% of Italian territory is mountainous.<ref name="eug92">{{Cite book|last=Riganti|first=dir. da Alberto|title=Enciclopedia universale Garzanti.|publisher=Garzanti|year=1991|isbn=8-8115-0459-7|edition=Nuova ed. aggiornata e ampliata.|location=Milano}}</ref> The ] form the peninsula's backbone, and the Alps form most of its northern boundary, where Italy's highest point is located on the summit of ] (''Monte Bianco'') at {{Cvt|4810|m|ft}}. Other well-known mountains include the ] (''Monte Cervino'') in the western Alps, and the ] in the eastern Alps. Many parts of ]. Most small islands and archipelagos in the south are ]s. There are active volcanoes: ] in Sicily (the largest in Europe), ], ], and ]. | |||
| |align=right|direction=vertical|width=225 | |||
| |image1=MontBlancFromENE.jpg | |||
| |caption1=] (Monte Bianco) in ], the highest point in the European Union | |||
| |image2=Valmenocchia.jpg | |||
| |caption2=] landscape in ] | |||
| }} | |||
| Over 35% of the Italian territory is mountainous.<ref name=eug92>{{cite book |last=Riganti |first=dir. da Alberto |title=Enciclopedia universale Garzanti. |year=1991 |publisher=Garzanti |location=Milano |isbn=88-11-50459-7 |edition=Nuova ed. aggiornata e ampliata.}}</ref> The ] form the peninsula's backbone, and the ] form most of its northern boundary, where Italy's highest point is located on ] summit (Monte Bianco) ({{convert|4,810|m|ft|disp=or|abbr=on}}). Other worldwide-known mountains in Italy include the ] (Monte Cervino), ], ] in the West Alps, and ], ] and ] along the eastern side. | |||
| Most ] drain into the Adriatic or Tyrrhenian Sea.<ref>{{Cite web|title=List of Italian rivers|url=http://www.comuni-italiani.it/fiumi|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170916010640/http://www.comuni-italiani.it/fiumi|archive-date=16 September 2017|access-date=30 July 2018|publisher=comuni-italiani.it}}</ref> The longest is the ], which flows from the Alps on the western border, and crosses the ] to the Adriatic.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Zwingle|first=Erla|date=May 2002|title=Italy's Po River Punished for centuries by destructive floods, northern Italians stubbornly embrace their nation's longest river, which nurtures rice fields, vineyards, fisheries—and legends|url=http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0205/feature6|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071223133709/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0205/feature6|archive-date=23 December 2007|access-date=6 April 2009|magazine=National Geographic}}</ref> The Po Valley is the largest plain, with {{Convert|46000|km2|abbr=on}}, and contains over 70% of the country's ].<ref name=eug92/> The largest lakes are, in descending size: ] ({{Convert|367.94|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on|disp=or}}), ] ({{Convert|212.51|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on|disp=or}}), and ] ({{Convert|145.9|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on|disp=or}}).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Morphometric and hydrological characteristics of some important Italian lakes|url=http://www.iii.to.cnr.it/limnol/cicloac/lagit.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100205043503/http://www.iii.to.cnr.it/limnol/cicloac/lagit.htm|archive-date=5 February 2010|access-date=3 March 2010|publisher=Istituto per lo Studio degli Ecosistemi|location=Verbania Pallanza}}</ref> | |||
| The ], Italy's longest river ({{convert|652|km|mi|disp=or|abbr=off}}), flows from the Alps on the western border with France and crosses the ] on its way to the ]. The Po Valley is the largest plain in Italy, with {{convert|46,000|km2|abbr=on}}, and it represents over 70% of the total plain area in the country.<ref name=eug92 /> | |||
| === Climate === | |||
| Many elements of the ]. Most of the small islands and archipelagos in the south, like ], ], ], ], ] and ] are ]s. There are also active volcanoes: ] in Sicily (the largest active volcano in Europe), ], ], and ] (the only active volcano on mainland Europe). | |||
| {{Main|Climate of Italy}} | |||
| ] map of Italy<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Beck|first1=Hylke E.|last2=Zimmermann|first2=Niklaus E.|last3=McVicar|first3=Tim R.|last4=Vergopolan|first4=Noemi|last5=Berg|first5=Alexis|last6=Wood|first6=Eric F.|author-link6=Eric Franklin Wood|date=30 October 2018|title=Present and future Köppen-Geiger climate classification maps at 1-km resolution|journal=Scientific Data|volume=5|page=180214|bibcode=2018NatSD...580214B|doi=10.1038/sdata.2018.214|pmc=6207062|pmid=30375988}}</ref>]] | |||
| The climate is influenced by the seas that surround Italy on every side except the north, which constitute a reservoir of heat and humidity. Within the southern temperate zone, they determine a Mediterranean climate with local differences.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Che cosa significa clima temperato e cosa significa clima continentale|url=https://www.ideegreen.it/cosa-significa-clima-temperato-cosa-significa-clima-continentale-141457.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308180036/https://www.ideegreen.it/cosa-significa-clima-temperato-cosa-significa-clima-continentale-141457.html|archive-date=8 March 2022|access-date=8 March 2022|language=it}}</ref> Because of the length of the peninsula and the mostly mountainous hinterland, the climate is highly diverse. In most inland northern and central regions, the climate ranges from ] to ] and ]. The Po Valley is mostly humid subtropical, with cool winters and hot summers.<ref>Adriana Rigutti, ''Meteorologia'', Giunti, p. 95, 2009.; Thomas A. Blair, ''Climatology: General and Regional'', Prentice Hall pp. 131–132</ref> The coastal areas of ], Tuscany, and most of the south generally fit the Mediterranean climate stereotype, as in the ]. | |||
| The five largest lakes are, in order of diminishing size: ] ({{convert|367.94|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on|disp=or}}), ] ({{convert|212.51|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on|disp=or}}, whose minor northern part is part of Switzerland), ] ({{convert|145.9|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on|disp=or}}), ] ({{convert|124.29|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on|disp=or}}) and ] ({{convert|113.55|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on|disp=or}}).<ref>{{cite web |title=Morphometric and hydrological characteristics of some important Italian lakes |url=http://www.iii.to.cnr.it/limnol/cicloac/lagit.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100205043503/http://www.iii.to.cnr.it/limnol/cicloac/lagit.htm |archive-date=5 February 2010 |access-date=3 March 2010 |publisher=Istituto per lo Studio degli Ecosistemi |location=Verbania Pallanza}}</ref> Four different seas surround the Italian Peninsula in the ] from three sides: the ] in the east,{{sfn|Cushman-Roisin|Gačić|Poulain|2001|pp=1–2}} the ] in the south,<ref>{{cite book |url=https://iho.int/uploads/user/pubs/standards/s-23/S-23_Ed3_1953_EN.pdf |title=Limits of Oceans and Seas |publisher=] |year=1953 |edition=3rd |access-date=28 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008191433/http://www.iho.int/iho_pubs/standard/S-23/S-23_Ed3_1953_EN.pdf |archive-date=8 October 2011 |issue=28}}</ref> and the ] and the ] in the west.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Tyrrhenian Sea |encyclopedia=] |publisher=Cambridge University Press |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Tyrrhenian-Sea |access-date=18 July 2017 |editor-last=Chisholm |editor-first=Hugh |editor-link=Hugh Chisholm}}</ref> The longest Italian river is the ], which flows for either {{cvt|652|km|mi}} or {{cvt|682|km|mi}}.<ref name="NG2002">{{cite magazine |last=Zwingle |first=Erla |date=May 2002 |title=Italy's Po River Punished for centuries by destructive floods, northern Italians stubbornly embrace their nation's longest river, which nurtures rice fields, vineyards, fisheries—and legends |url=http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0205/feature6/ |magazine=National Geographic |access-date=6 April 2009}}</ref> Most of the ] drain either into the Adriatic Sea or the Tyrrhenian Sea.<ref>{{cite web |title=List of Italian rivers |url=http://www.comuni-italiani.it/fiumi/ |access-date=30 July 2018 |publisher=comuni-italiani.it}}</ref> | |||
| Conditions on the coast are different from those in the interior, particularly during winter when the higher altitudes tend to be cold, wet, and often snowy. The coastal regions have mild winters, and hot and generally dry summers; lowland valleys are hot in summer. Winter temperatures vary from {{Convert|0|C}} in the Alps to {{Convert|12|C}} in Sicily; so, average summer temperatures range from {{Convert|20|C}} to over {{Convert|25|C}}. Winters can vary widely with lingering cold, foggy, and snowy periods in the north, and milder, sunnier conditions in the south. Summers are hot across the country, except at high altitude, particularly in the south. Northern and central areas can experience strong thunderstorms from spring to autumn.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Climate Atlas of Italy|url=http://clima.meteoam.it/atlanteClimatico.php?ling=eng|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114223307/http://clima.meteoam.it/atlanteClimatico.php?ling=eng|archive-date=14 November 2012|access-date=30 September 2012|publisher=Network of the Air Force Meteorological Service}}</ref> | |||
| Although the country includes the Italian peninsula, adjacent islands, and most of the southern Alpine basin, some of Italy's territory extends beyond the Alpine basin and some islands are located outside the ]n continental shelf. These territories are the ''comuni'' of: ], ], ], ] (in part), ], ], ] (in part), which are all part of the ], while the ] constitutes part of the ]'s basin and the islands of ] and ] are on the African ]. | |||
| === |
=== Biodiversity === | ||
| {{ |
{{Main|Fauna of Italy|Flora of Italy}} | ||
| {{Further|Italian garden}} | |||
| ] and ] parks in Italy]] | |||
| Italy's varied geography, including the ], ], central Italian woodlands, and southern Italian ] and ], contribute to habitat diversity. As the peninsula is in the centre of the Mediterranean, forming a corridor between Central Europe and North Africa, and having {{Cvt|8,000|km}} of coastline, Italy has received species from the ], Eurasia, and the Middle East. Italy has probably the highest level of ]l ] in Europe, with over 57,000 species recorded, representing more than a third of all European fauna,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Italy's Fifth National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity|url=http://www.minambiente.it/sites/default/files/archivio/allegati/biodiversita/italian_fifth_report_cbd.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518094031/http://www.minambiente.it/sites/default/files/archivio/allegati/biodiversita/italian_fifth_report_cbd.pdf|archive-date=18 May 2015|access-date=17 May 2015|publisher=Italian Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea|page=7}}</ref> and the highest level of biodiversity of animal and plant species within the EU.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Italy – Main Details|url=https://www.cbd.int/countries/profile/?country=it|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120512013114/http://www.cbd.int/countries/profile.shtml?country=it|archive-date=12 May 2012|access-date=10 September 2023|publisher=Convention on Biological Diversity}}</ref> | |||
| ], the national animal of Italy]] | |||
| After its quick industrial growth, Italy took a long time to confront its environmental problems. After several improvements, it now ranks 84th in the world for ecological sustainability.<ref name="dev.prenhall">{{cite web |url=http://dev.prenhall.com/divisions/hss/worldreference/IT/environment.html |title=Italy – Environment |publisher=Dev.prenhall.com |access-date=2 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090701064224/http://dev.prenhall.com/divisions/hss/worldreference/IT/environment.html |archive-date=1 July 2009}}</ref> ] cover about 5% of the country,<ref>{{cite web |title=National Parks in Italy |publisher=Parks.it |date=1995–2010 |url=http://www.parks.it/indice/NatParks.html |access-date=15 March 2010|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100329203159/http://www.parks.it/indice/NatParks.html |archive-date=29 March 2010}}</ref> while the total area protected by national parks, ] and nature reserves covers about 10.5% of the Italian territory,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/regione-e-aree-protette_%28L%27Italia-e-le-sue-Regioni%29/|title=Regione e aree protette|access-date=11 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> to which must be added 12% of coasts protected by ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uccellidaproteggere.it/La-conservazione/Cosa-fa-l-Italia-Le-azioni/Le-aree-protette-in-Italia|title=Le aree protette in Italia|access-date=2 March 2022|language=it}}</ref> | |||
| The ] includes 4,777 ] animal species,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Checklist E Distribuzione Della Fauna Italiana|url=https://faunaitalia.it/documents/CKmap_ITA.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230109172951/https://faunaitalia.it/documents/CKmap_ITA.pdf|archive-date=9 January 2023|access-date=10 March 2022|page=29|language=it}}</ref> which include the ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ]. There are 119 ],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mammiferi d'Italia – Ministero della Transizione Ecologica|url=https://www.mite.gov.it/sites/default/files/archivio/biblioteca/qcn_14.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220529064555/https://www.mite.gov.it/sites/default/files/archivio/biblioteca/qcn_14.pdf|archive-date=29 May 2022|access-date=11 March 2022|page=7|language=it}}</ref> 550 ],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Uccelli|url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/uccelli|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220311153732/https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/uccelli|archive-date=11 March 2022|access-date=11 March 2022|language=it}}</ref> 69 ],<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Peter Uetz|last2=Jakob Hallermann|last3=Jiri Hosek|title=Distribution: italy|url=https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/advanced_search?location=italy&submit=Search|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230109172951/https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/advanced_search?location=italy&submit=Search|archive-date=9 January 2023|access-date=22 June 2021|website=The Reptile Database}}</ref> 39 ],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Quali sono gli anfibi autoctoni?|url=http://www.legambienteanimalhelp.it/anfibi-autoctoni|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319075835/http://www.legambienteanimalhelp.it/anfibi-autoctoni|archive-date=19 March 2022|access-date=11 March 2022|language=it}}</ref> 623 fish species,<ref>{{Cite web|title=All fishes reported from Italy|url=http://www.fishbase.us/country/CountryChecklist.php?what=list&trpp=50&c_code=380&csub_code=&cpresence=present&sortby=alpha2&vhabitat=all2|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240116110724/http://www.fishbase.us/country/CountryChecklist.php?what=list&trpp=50&c_code=380&csub_code=&cpresence=present&sortby=alpha2&vhabitat=all2|archive-date=16 January 2024|access-date=10 March 2022}}</ref> and 56,213 invertebrate species, of which 37,303 are insect species.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Dove operiamo|url=https://www.cittametropolitana.mi.it/gev/dove_operiamo/index.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230109172951/https://www.cittametropolitana.mi.it/gev/dove_operiamo/index.html|archive-date=9 January 2023|access-date=11 March 2022|language=it}}</ref> | |||
| The ] was traditionally estimated to comprise about 5,500 ] species.<ref>Pignatti, S. (1982). ''Flora d'Italia''. Edagricole, Bologna, vol. 1–3, 1982</ref> However, {{As of|2005|lc=y}}, 6,759 species are recorded in the ''Data bank of Italian vascular flora''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Riccardo Guarino, Sabina Addamiano, Marco La Rosa, Sandro Pignatti ''Flora Italiana Digitale'':an interactive identification tool for the Flora of Italy|url=http://www.openstarts.units.it/dspace/bitstream/10077/3767/1/Guarino%20et%20al,%20bioidentify.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161226162840/https://www.openstarts.units.it/dspace/bitstream/10077/3767/1/Guarino%20et%20al%2C%20bioidentify.pdf|archive-date=26 December 2016}}</ref> Italy has 1,371 endemic plant species and subspecies,<ref>{{Cite web|title=An inventory of vascular plants endemic to Italy|url=http://biotaxa.org/Phytotaxa/article/view/phytotaxa.168.1.1|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200624045915/https://www.biotaxa.org/Phytotaxa/article/view/phytotaxa.168.1.1|archive-date=24 June 2020|access-date=12 March 2022}}</ref> which include ], ], ], ], and ]. Italy is a signatory to the ] and the ]. | |||
| In the last decade, Italy has become one of the world's leading producers of ], ranking as the world's fourth largest holder of installed ] capacity<ref name="REN21">{{cite web |url=http://www.ren21.net/Portals/97/documents/GSR/REN21_GSR2011.pdf |title=Renewables 2010 Global Status Report |publisher=] |date=15 July 2010 |access-date=16 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110820095506/http://www.ren21.net/Portals/97/documents/GSR/REN21_GSR2011.pdf |archive-date=20 August 2011}}</ref><ref name="BaroPhoto2010">{{cite web |url=https://www.eurobserv-er.org/pdf/baro196.pdf |title=Photovoltaic energy barometer 2010 – EurObserv'ER |access-date=30 October 2010}}</ref> and the sixth largest holder of ] capacity in 2010.<ref name="wwea">{{cite web |publisher=] |title=World Wind Energy Report 2010 |work=Report |date=February 2011 |url=http://www.wwindea.org/home/images/stories/pdfs/worldwindenergyreport2010_s.pdf |access-date=8 August 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110904232058/http://www.wwindea.org/home/images/stories/pdfs/worldwindenergyreport2010_s.pdf |archive-date=4 September 2011}}</ref> Renewable energies provided approximately 37% Italy's energy consumption in 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|date=25 May 2021|title=Renewables provided 37% of Italy's energy in 2020 – English|url=https://www.ansa.it/english/news/2021/05/25/renewables-provided-37-of-italys-energy-in-2020_1a075060-c823-4076-a338-79367427dfd2.html|access-date=28 May 2021|website=ANSA.it|language=en}}</ref> | |||
| However, air pollution remains a severe problem, especially in the industrialised north, reaching the tenth highest level worldwide of industrial carbon dioxide emissions in the 1990s.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Nations">{{cite web |url=http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Europe/Italy-ENVIRONMENT.html |title=Italy – Environment |publisher=Encyclopedia of the Nations |access-date=7 April 2010|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110104111601/http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Europe/Italy-ENVIRONMENT.html |archive-date=4 January 2011}}</ref> Italy is the ].<ref>United Nations Statistics Division, Millennium Development Goals indicators: {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091225014715/http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/SeriesDetail.aspx?srid=749&crid= |date=25 December 2009 }} (collected by CDIAC)</ref><ref>Human-produced, direct emissions of carbon dioxide only. Excludes other greenhouse gases; land-use, land-use-change and forestry (LULUCF); and natural background flows of {{CO2}} (See also: ])</ref> | |||
| Italy has many botanical and historic gardens.<ref>{{Cite web|title=I parchi fioriti e gli orti botanici più belli d'Italia|url=https://initalia.virgilio.it/i-parchi-fioriti-e-gli-orti-botanici-piu-belli-ditalia-3693|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230109172952/https://initalia.virgilio.it/i-parchi-fioriti-e-gli-orti-botanici-piu-belli-ditalia-3693|archive-date=9 January 2023|access-date=14 March 2022|language=it}}; {{Cite web|url=https://www.casevacanza.it/idee/i-giardini-piu-belli-d-italia|title=Top10: i giardini più belli d'Italia|access-date=15 March 2022|language=it|archive-date=9 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230109172951/https://www.casevacanza.it/idee/i-giardini-piu-belli-d-italia|url-status=live}}</ref> The ] is stylistically based on symmetry, axial geometry, and the principle of imposing order on nature. It influenced the ], especially ] and ] gardens.<ref>{{Cite web|date=11 March 2022|title=Alla scoperta delle meraviglie del giardino all'italiana|url=https://www.tuttogreen.it/giardino-all-italiana|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230109172951/https://www.tuttogreen.it/giardino-all-italiana|archive-date=9 January 2023|access-date=28 March 2022|language=it}}</ref> The Italian garden was influenced by ] and ] gardens. | |||
| Extensive traffic and congestion in the largest metropolitan areas continue to cause severe environmental and health issues, even if smog levels have decreased dramatically since the 1970s and 1980s, and the presence of smog is becoming an increasingly rarer phenomenon and levels of ] are decreasing.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Environment and Health in Italy – Executive Summary|url=https://www.euro.who.int/en/home|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100303051309/http://www.euro.who.int/document/hms/ehiexes_e.pdf|archive-date=3 March 2010|website=www.euro.who.int}}</ref> | |||
| ], established in 1922, is the oldest Italian national park.]] | |||
| Many watercourses and coastal stretches have also been contaminated by industrial and agricultural activity, while because of rising water levels, ] has been regularly flooded throughout recent years. Waste from industrial activity is not always disposed of by legal means and has led to permanent health effects on inhabitants of affected areas, as in the case of the ]. | |||
| The country has also operated several nuclear reactors between 1963 and 1990 but, after the ] and a ] the nuclear programme was terminated, a decision that was overturned by the government in 2008, planning to build up to four nuclear power plants with French technology. This was in turn struck down by a referendum following the ].<ref>{{cite web |author=Duncan Kennedy |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13741105 |title=Italy nuclear: Berlusconi accepts referendum blow |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |date=14 June 2011 |access-date=20 April 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612112154/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13741105 |archive-date=12 June 2011}}</ref> | |||
| The ] is the national animal of Italy,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Sheri Foster|date=January 2021|title=What is Italy national animal?|url=https://it.yourtripagent.com/4052-what-is-italy-s-national-animal|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230109172951/https://it.yourtripagent.com/4052-what-is-italy-s-national-animal|archive-date=9 January 2023|access-date=15 November 2021|website=Yourtrip.com}}; {{Cite web|url=https://www.affaritaliani.it/culturaspettacoli/il-lupo-grigio-degli-appennini-e-l-animale-dell-italia-544778.html|title=Il lupo grigio degli appennini e l animale dell Italia|author=James Hansen|date=June 2018|access-date=15 November 2021|archive-date=26 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221126224852/https://www.affaritaliani.it/culturaspettacoli/il-lupo-grigio-degli-appennini-e-l-animale-dell-italia-544778.html|url-status=live}}</ref> while the national tree is the ].<ref name="altovastese">{{Cite web|date=3 October 2011|title=Il corbezzolo simbolo dell'Unità d'Italia. Una specie che resiste agli incendi|url=http://www.altovastese.it/cultura/il-corbezzolo-simbolo-unita-italia-specie-che-resiste-agli-incendi|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205120852/http://www.altovastese.it/cultura/il-corbezzolo-simbolo-unita-italia-specie-che-resiste-agli-incendi|archive-date=5 February 2016|access-date=25 January 2016|language=it}}</ref> The reasons for this are that the Italian wolf, which inhabits the ] and the Western Alps, features prominently in Latin and Italian cultures, such as the legend of the founding of Rome,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Livy|title=The history of Rome|publisher=Printed for A. Strahan|others=George Baker (trans.)|year=1797}}</ref> while the green leaves, white flowers, and red berries of the strawberry tree, native to the Mediterranean, recall the colours of the flag.<ref name="altovastese"/> The national bird is the ],<ref>{{cite web|title=Passero Italiano: L'uccello nazionale d'Italia|date=18 December 2022|url=https://www.concaternanaoggi.it/passero-italiano-luccello-nazionale-ditalia/|publisher=Conca Ternana Oggi|access-date=22 August 2024|archive-date=22 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240822123815/https://www.concaternanaoggi.it/passero-italiano-luccello-nazionale-ditalia/|url-status=live}}</ref> while the national flower is the flower of the strawberry tree.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.msn.com/it-it/notizie/mondo/qual-%C3%A8-il-fiore-nazionale-dei-paesi-del-mondo/ss-AA1eWqXE#image=25|title=Il fiore nazionale dell'Italia (e quello degli altri Paesi del mondo)|website=]|access-date=26 August 2024|language=it|archive-date=2 October 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241002211951/https://www.msn.com/it-it/notizie/mondo/qual-%C3%A8-il-fiore-nazionale-dei-paesi-del-mondo/ss-AA1eWqXE#image=25|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
| Deforestation, illegal building developments and poor land-management policies have led to significant erosion all over Italy's mountainous regions, leading to major ecological disasters like the 1963 ] flood, the 1998 ]<ref name="Sicily mudslide leaves scores dead">{{cite news |author=Nick Squires |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/6255575/Sicily-mudslide-leaves-scores-dead.html |title=Sicily mudslide leaves scores dead |date=2 October 2009 |access-date=2 October 2009 |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091006082824/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/6255575/Sicily-mudslide-leaves-scores-dead.html |archive-date=6 October 2009}}</ref> and 2009 ] ]s. | |||
| The country had a 2019 ] mean score of 3.65/10, ranking it 142nd globally out of 172 countries.<ref name="FLII-Supplementary">{{cite journal|last1=Grantham|first1=H. S.|last2=Duncan|first2=A.|last3=Evans|first3=T. D.|last4=Jones|first4=K. R.|last5=Beyer|first5=H. L.|last6=Schuster|first6=R.|last7=Walston|first7=J.|last8=Ray|first8=J. C.|last9=Robinson|first9=J. G.|last10=Callow|first10=M.|last11=Clements|first11=T.|last12=Costa|first12=H. M.|last13=DeGemmis|first13=A.|last14=Elsen|first14=P. R.|last15=Ervin|first15=J.|last16=Franco|first16=P.|last17=Goldman|first17=E.|last18=Goetz|first18=S.|last19=Hansen|first19=A.|last20=Hofsvang|first20=E.|last21=Jantz|first21=P.|last22=Jupiter|first22=S.|last23=Kang|first23=A.|last24=Langhammer|first24=P.|last25=Laurance|first25=W. F.|last26=Lieberman|first26=S.|last27=Linkie|first27=M.|last28=Malhi|first28=Y.|last29=Maxwell|first29=S.|last30=Mendez|first30=M.|last31=Mittermeier|first31=R.|last32=Murray|first32=N. J.|last33=Possingham|first33=H.|last34=Radachowsky|first34=J.|last35=Saatchi|first35=S.|last36=Samper|first36=C.|last37=Silverman|first37=J.|last38=Shapiro|first38=A.|last39=Strassburg|first39=B.|last40=Stevens|first40=T.|last41=Stokes|first41=E.|last42=Taylor|first42=R.|last43=Tear|first43=T.|last44=Tizard|first44=R.|last45=Venter|first45=O.|last46=Visconti|first46=P.|last47=Wang|first47=S.|last48=Watson|first48=J. E. M.|title=Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity – Supplementary Material|journal=Nature Communications|volume=11|issue=1|year=2020|page=5978|issn=2041-1723|doi=10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3|pmid=33293507|pmc=7723057|bibcode=2020NatCo..11.5978G }}</ref> | |||
| === |
=== Environment === | ||
| {{ |
{{See also|List of national parks of Italy|List of regional parks of Italy|List of Marine Protected Areas of Italy}} | ||
| ] | |||
| {{further|Italian garden}} | |||
| Italy has one of the highest level of ]l ] in Europe, with over 57,000 species recorded, representing more than a third of all European fauna.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.minambiente.it/sites/default/files/archivio/allegati/biodiversita/italian_fifth_report_cbd.pdf |title=Italy's Fifth National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity |publisher=Italian Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea |access-date=17 May 2015|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518094031/http://www.minambiente.it/sites/default/files/archivio/allegati/biodiversita/italian_fifth_report_cbd.pdf |archive-date=18 May 2015|page=7}}</ref> Italy's varied geological structure contributes to its high climate and habitat diversity. The Italian peninsula is in the centre of the Mediterranean Sea, forming a corridor between central Europe and ], and has {{cvt|8,000|km}} of coastline. Italy also receives species from the ], ], and the ]. Italy's varied geological structure, including the ] and the ], Central Italian woodlands, and Southern Italian ] and ], also contribute to high climate and habitat diversity. | |||
| ], the ] of Italy]] | |||
| After its quick industrial growth, Italy took time to address its environmental problems. After improvements, Italy now ranks 84th in the world for ecological sustainability.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Italy – Environment|url=http://dev.prenhall.com/divisions/hss/worldreference/IT/environment.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090701064224/http://dev.prenhall.com/divisions/hss/worldreference/IT/environment.html|archive-date=1 July 2009|access-date=2 August 2010|publisher=Dev.prenhall.com}}</ref> The total area protected by national parks, regional parks, and nature reserves covers about 11% of Italian territory,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Regione e aree protette|url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/regione-e-aree-protette_%28L%27Italia-e-le-sue-Regioni%29|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220111173345/https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/regione-e-aree-protette_%28L%27Italia-e-le-sue-Regioni%29|archive-date=11 January 2022|access-date=11 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> and 12% of Italy's coastline is ].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Le aree protette in Italia|url=http://www.uccellidaproteggere.it/La-conservazione/Cosa-fa-l-Italia-Le-azioni/Le-aree-protette-in-Italia|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220302220957/http://www.uccellidaproteggere.it/La-conservazione/Cosa-fa-l-Italia-Le-azioni/Le-aree-protette-in-Italia|archive-date=2 March 2022|access-date=2 March 2022|language=it}}</ref> | |||
| The ] includes 4,777 ] animal species,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://faunaitalia.it/documents/CKmap_ITA.pdf|title=CHECKLIST E DISTRIBUZIONE DELLA FAUNA ITALIANA|page=29|access-date=10 March 2022|language=it}}</ref> which include the ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ]. In Italy there are 119 ],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mite.gov.it/sites/default/files/archivio/biblioteca/qcn_14.pdf|title=Mammiferi d'Italia - Ministero della Transizione Ecologica|page=7|access-date=11 March 2022|language=it}}</ref> 550 ],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/uccelli/|title=Uccelli|access-date=11 March 2022|language=it}}</ref> 69 ],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/advanced_search?location=italy&submit=Search |title=Distribution: italy |author=Peter Uetz |author2=Jakob Hallermann |author3=Jiri Hosek |date= |work=The Reptile Database |access-date=22 June 2021}}</ref> 39 ],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legambienteanimalhelp.it/anfibi-autoctoni/|title=Quali sono gli anfibi autoctoni?|access-date=11 March 2022|language=it}}</ref> 623 fish species<ref name="fishbase">{{Cite web|url=http://www.fishbase.us/country/CountryChecklist.php?what=list&trpp=50&c_code=380&csub_code=&cpresence=present&sortby=alpha2&vhabitat=all2|title=All fishes reported from Italy|access-date=10 March 2022}}</ref> and 56,213 invertebrate species, of which 37,303 insect species.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cittametropolitana.mi.it/gev/dove_operiamo/index.html|title=Dove operiamo|access-date=11 March 2022|language=it}}</ref> | |||
| Italy has been one of the world's leading producers of ], in 2010 ranking as the fourth largest provider of installed ] capacity<ref>{{Cite web|date=15 July 2010|title=Renewables 2010 Global Status Report |url=http://www.ren21.net/Portals/97/documents/GSR/REN21_GSR2011.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110820095506/http://www.ren21.net/Portals/97/documents/GSR/REN21_GSR2011.pdf|archive-date=20 August 2011|access-date=16 July 2010|publisher=]}}; {{Cite web|title=Photovoltaic energy barometer 2010 – EurObserv'ER |url=https://www.eurobserv-er.org/pdf/baro196.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101011224419/http://www.eurobserv-er.org/pdf/baro196.pdf|archive-date=11 October 2010|access-date=30 October 2010}}</ref> and sixth largest of ] capacity.<ref>{{Cite web|date=February 2011|title=World Wind Energy Report 2010 |url=http://www.wwindea.org/home/images/stories/pdfs/worldwindenergyreport2010_s.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110904232058/http://www.wwindea.org/home/images/stories/pdfs/worldwindenergyreport2010_s.pdf|archive-date=4 September 2011|access-date=8 August 2011|publisher=]}}</ref> Renewable energy provided approximately 37% Italy's energy consumption in 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|date=25 May 2021|title=Renewables provided 37% of Italy's energy in 2020 – English |url=https://www.ansa.it/english/news/2021/05/25/renewables-provided-37-of-italys-energy-in-2020_1a075060-c823-4076-a338-79367427dfd2.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211023040922/https://www.ansa.it/english/news/2021/05/25/renewables-provided-37-of-italys-energy-in-2020_1a075060-c823-4076-a338-79367427dfd2.html|archive-date=23 October 2021|access-date=28 May 2021|website=ANSA.it}}</ref> | |||
| The ] was traditionally estimated to comprise about 5,500 ] species.<ref>Pignatti, S. (1982). ''Flora d'Italia''. Edagricole, Bologna, vol. 1–3, 1982</ref> However, {{As of|2005|lc=y}}, 6,759 species are recorded in the ''Data bank of Italian vascular flora''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.openstarts.units.it/dspace/bitstream/10077/3767/1/Guarino%20et%20al,%20bioidentify.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161226162840/https://www.openstarts.units.it/dspace/bitstream/10077/3767/1/Guarino%20et%20al%2C%20bioidentify.pdf |url-status=dead |title=Riccardo Guarino, Sabina Addamiano, Marco La Rosa, Sandro Pignatti ''Flora Italiana Digitale'':an interactive identification tool for the Flora of Italy |archive-date=26 December 2016}}</ref> Italy has 1,371 endemic plant species and subspecies,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://biotaxa.org/Phytotaxa/article/view/phytotaxa.168.1.1|title=An inventory of vascular plants endemic to Italy|access-date=12 March 2022}}</ref> which include ], ], ], ] and ]. Italy is a signatory to the ] and the ] both affording protection to Italian fauna and flora. | |||
| The country operated nuclear reactors between 1963 and 1990 but, after the ] and ], the nuclear programme was terminated, a decision overturned by the government in 2008, with plans to build up to four nuclear power plants. This was in turn struck down by a referendum following the ].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Duncan Kennedy|date=14 June 2011|title=Italy nuclear: Berlusconi accepts referendum blow|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13741105|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612112154/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13741105|archive-date=12 June 2011|access-date=20 April 2013|publisher=BBC News}}</ref> | |||
| Italy has many ] and ], some of which are known outside the country.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://initalia.virgilio.it/i-parchi-fioriti-e-gli-orti-botanici-piu-belli-ditalia-3693|title=I parchi fioriti e gli orti botanici più belli d'Italia|access-date=14 March 2022|language=it}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.casevacanza.it/idee/i-giardini-piu-belli-d-italia|title=Top10: i giardini più belli d'Italia|access-date=15 March 2022|language=it}}</ref> The ] is stylistically based on symmetry, axial geometry and on the principle of imposing order over nature. It influenced the ], especially ]s and ]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tuttogreen.it/giardino-all-italiana/|title=Alla scoperta delle meraviglie del giardino all'italiana|date=11 March 2022 |access-date=28 March 2022|language=it}}</ref> The Italian garden was influenced by ]s and ]s. | |||
| Air pollution remains severe, especially in the industrialised north. Italy is the ].<ref>United Nations Statistics Division, Millennium Development Goals indicators: {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091225014715/http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/SeriesDetail.aspx?srid=749&crid=|date=25 December 2009}} (collected by CDIAC); Human-produced, direct emissions of carbon dioxide only. Excludes other greenhouse gases; land-use, land-use-change and forestry (LULUCF); and natural background flows of {{CO2}} (See also: ])</ref> Extensive traffic and congestion in large cities continue to cause environmental and health issues, even if smog levels have decreased since the 1970s and 1980s, with smog becoming an increasingly rare phenomenon and levels of ] decreasing.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Environment and Health in Italy – Executive Summary|url=https://www.euro.who.int/en/home|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100303051309/http://www.euro.who.int/document/hms/ehiexes_e.pdf|archive-date=3 March 2010|publisher=World Health Organization}}</ref> | |||
| The ] is the ] of Italy,<ref>{{cite web|website=Yourtrip.com|url=https://it.yourtripagent.com/4052-what-is-italy-s-national-animal|title=What is Italy national animal?|author=Sheri Foster|date=January 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.affaritaliani.it/culturaspettacoli/il-lupo-grigio-degli-appennini-e-l-animale-dell-italia-544778.html|title= Il lupo grigio degli appennini e l animale dell Italia|author=James Hansen|date=June 2018}}</ref> while the ] of the country is the ].<ref name="altovastese">{{cite web|url=http://www.altovastese.it/cultura/il-corbezzolo-simbolo-unita-italia-specie-che-resiste-agli-incendi/|title=Il corbezzolo simbolo dell'Unità d'Italia. Una specie che resiste agli incendi|date=3 October 2011|access-date=25 January 2016|language=it|archive-date=5 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205120852/http://www.altovastese.it/cultura/il-corbezzolo-simbolo-unita-italia-specie-che-resiste-agli-incendi/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The reasons for this choice are related to the fact that the Italian wolf, which inhabits the ] and the ], features prominently in Latin and Italian cultures, such as in the legend of the ],<ref>{{Cite book |publisher=Printed for A. Strahan |last=Livy |others=George Baker (trans.) |title=The history of Rome |year=1797}}</ref> while the green leaves, white flowers and red berries of the strawberry tree, which is native to the ], recall the colours of the ].<ref name="altovastese"/> | |||
| Deforestation, illegal building, and poor land-management policies have led to significant erosion in Italy's mountainous regions, leading to ecological disasters such as the 1963 ] flood, the 1998 ],<ref>{{Cite news|last=Nick Squires|date=2 October 2009|title=Sicily mudslide leaves scores dead|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/6255575/Sicily-mudslide-leaves-scores-dead.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091006082824/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/6255575/Sicily-mudslide-leaves-scores-dead.html|archive-date=6 October 2009|access-date=2 October 2009|work=The Daily Telegraph|location=London}}</ref> and the 2009 ]s. | |||
| ===Climate=== | |||
| {{Main|Climate of Italy}} | |||
| ] map of Italy<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Beck |first1=Hylke E. |last2=Zimmermann |first2=Niklaus E. |last3=McVicar |first3=Tim R. |last4=Vergopolan |first4=Noemi |last5=Berg |first5=Alexis |last6=Wood |first6=Eric F. |author-link6=Eric Franklin Wood |title=Present and future Köppen-Geiger climate classification maps at 1-km resolution |journal=Scientific Data |date=30 October 2018 |volume=5 |page=180214 |doi=10.1038/sdata.2018.214 |pmid=30375988 |pmc=6207062 |bibcode=2018NatSD...580214B}}</ref>]] | |||
| == Politics == | |||
| The ] is influenced by the large body of water of the ] that surrounds Italy on every side except the north. These seas constitute a reservoir of ] and ] for Italy. Within the southern temperate zone, they determine a ] with local differences due to the ] of the territory, which tends to make its mitigating effects felt, especially in ] conditions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ideegreen.it/cosa-significa-clima-temperato-cosa-significa-clima-continentale-141457.html|title=Che cosa significa clima temperato e cosa significa clima continentale|access-date=8 March 2022|language=it}}</ref> | |||
| Because of the length of the peninsula and the mostly mountainous hinterland, the climate of Italy is highly diverse. In most of the inland northern and central regions, the climate ranges from ] to ] and ]. The climate of the ] geographical region is mostly humid subtropical, with cool winters and hot summers.<ref>Adriana Rigutti, ''Meteorologia'', Giunti, p. 95, 2009.</ref><ref>Thomas A. Blair, ''Climatology: General and Regional'', Prentice Hall pp. 131–132</ref> The coastal areas of ], ] and most of the ] generally fit the Mediterranean climate stereotype (]). | |||
| Conditions on the coast are different from those in the interior, particularly during winter months when the higher altitudes tend to be cold, wet, and often snowy. The coastal regions have mild winters and hot and generally dry summers; lowland valleys are hot in summer. Average winter temperatures vary from around {{convert|0|C|lk=on}} in the Alps to {{convert|12|C}} in Sicily, so average summer temperatures range from {{convert|20|C}} to over {{convert|25|C}}. | |||
| Winters can vary widely across the country with lingering cold, foggy and snowy periods in the north and milder, sunnier conditions in the south. Summers are hot across the country, except for at high altitude, particularly in the south. Northern and central areas can experience occasional strong thunderstorms from spring to autumn.<ref>{{cite web |title=Climate Atlas of Italy |url=http://clima.meteoam.it/atlanteClimatico.php?ling=eng |publisher=Network of the Air Force Meteorological Service |access-date=30 September 2012|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114223307/http://clima.meteoam.it/atlanteClimatico.php?ling=eng |archive-date=14 November 2012}}</ref> | |||
| ==Politics== | |||
| {{Main|Politics of Italy}} | {{Main|Politics of Italy}} | ||
| Italy has been a unitary ] since 1946, when the monarchy ]. The ], ] since 2015, is Italy's head of state. The president is elected for a single seven-year term by the ] and regional voters in joint session. Italy has a written democratic ] that resulted from a ] formed by representatives of the ] forces that contributed to the defeat of Nazi and Fascist forces during the liberation of Italy, in World War II.<ref>Smyth, Howard McGaw Italy: From Fascism to the Republic (1943–1946) ''The Western Political Quarterly'' vol. 1 no. 3 (pp. 205–222), September 1948.{{JSTOR|442274}}</ref> | |||
| === Government === | |||
| Italy has been a ] ] since 2 June 1946, when the monarchy was abolished by a ]. The ] (''Presidente della Repubblica''), currently ] since 2015, is Italy's ]. The President is elected for a single seven years mandate by the ] and some regional voters in ]. Italy has a written democratic ], resulting from the work of a ] formed by the representatives of all the ] forces that contributed to the defeat of Nazi and Fascist forces during the ].<ref>Smyth, Howard McGaw Italy: From Fascism to the Republic (1943–1946) ''The Western Political Quarterly'' vol. 1 no. 3 (pp. 205–222), September 1948.{{JSTOR|442274}}</ref> | |||
| ===Government=== | |||
| {{Main|Government of Italy}} | {{Main|Government of Italy}} | ||
| {{ |
{{Multiple image | ||
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| | caption1 = ]<br |
| caption1 = ]<br/>{{Small|]<br/>since 2015}} | ||
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| caption2 = ]<br/>{{Small|]<br/>since 2022}} | ||
| }} | }} | ||
| Italy has a parliamentary government based on a mixed ] and majoritarian voting system. The parliament is perfectly ]: the two houses, the ] that meets in ], and the ] that meets in ], have the same powers. The Prime Minister, officially ] (''Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri''), is Italy's ]. The Prime Minister and the cabinet are appointed by the President of the Republic of Italy and must pass a vote of confidence in Parliament to come into office. To remain the Prime Minister has to pass also eventual further votes of confidence or no confidence in Parliament. | |||
| Italy has a parliamentary government based on a mixed ] and majoritarian voting system. The parliament is perfectly ]; each house has the same powers. The two houses: the ] meets in ], and the ] in ]. A peculiarity of the ] is the representation given to ] permanently living abroad: 8 Deputies and 4 Senators are elected in four distinct ]. There are ], appointed by the president "for outstanding patriotic merits in the social, scientific, artistic or literary field". Former presidents are ''ex officio'' life senators. | |||
| The prime minister is the President of the ] – which holds effective executive power – and must receive a vote of approval from it to execute most political activities. The office is similar to those in most other ]s, but the head of the Italian government is not authorised to request the dissolution of the ]. | |||
| ] in Rome, seat of the ], the upper house of the ]]] | |||
| The ] is head of government and has executive authority, but must receive a vote of approval from the Council of Ministers to execute most policies. The prime minister and cabinet are appointed by the president, and confirmed by a vote of confidence in parliament. To remain as prime minister, one has to pass votes of confidence. The role of prime minister is similar to most other ]s, but they are not authorised to dissolve parliament. Another difference is that the political responsibility for intelligence is with the prime minister, who has exclusive power to coordinate intelligence policies, determine financial resources, strengthen cybersecurity, apply and protect State secrets, and authorise agents to carry out operations, in Italy or abroad.<ref>{{Cite web|title=About us – Sistema di informazione per la sicurezza della Repubblica|url=http://www.sicurezzanazionale.gov.it/sisr.nsf/english/about-us.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150329090926/http://www.sicurezzanazionale.gov.it/sisr.nsf/english/about-us.html|archive-date=29 March 2015|access-date=19 November 2015|website=sicurezzanazionale.gov.it}}</ref> | |||
| ] is the lower house of Italy.]] | |||
| Another difference with similar offices is that the overall political responsibility for intelligence is vested in the President of the Council of Ministers. By virtue of that, the Prime Minister has exclusive power to coordinate intelligence policies, determine the financial resources and strengthen national cyber security; apply and protect State secrets; authorise agents to carry out operations, in Italy or abroad, in violation of the law.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sicurezzanazionale.gov.it/sisr.nsf/english/about-us.html |title=About us – Sistema di informazione per la sicurezza della Repubblica |website=www.sicurezzanazionale.gov.it|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150329090926/http://www.sicurezzanazionale.gov.it/sisr.nsf/english/about-us.html |archive-date=29 March 2015|access-date=19 November 2015}}</ref> | |||
| The major political parties are the Brothers of Italy, ], and Five Star Movement. During the 2022 general election, these three and their coalitions won 357 of the 400 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, and 187 of 200 in the Senate. The centre-right coalition, which included Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy, ]'s League, Silvio Berlusconi's {{Lang|it|]|italic=no}}, and ]'s ], won most seats in parliament. The rest were taken by the centre-left coalition, which included the Democratic Party, the ], ], ], ], the Five Star Movement, ], ], ], and the ]. | |||
| A peculiarity of the ] is the representation given to ] permanently living abroad: 8 Deputies and 4 Senators elected in four distinct ]. In addition, the Italian Senate is characterised also by a small number of ], appointed by the President "for outstanding patriotic merits in the social, scientific, artistic or literary field". Former Presidents of the Republic are ''ex officio'' life senators. | |||
| === Law and criminal justice === | |||
| Italy's three major political parties are the ], the ] and the ]. During the 2022 general election, these three parties and their coalitions won 357 out of 400 seats available in the Chamber of Deputies and 187 out of 200 in the Senate. The centre-right coalition, which included Giorgia Meloni's ], ]'s ], Silvio Berlusconi's {{Lang|it|]|italic=no}} and ]'s ], won a majority of the seats in parliament. The rest of the seats were taken by the centre-left coalition, which included ]'s ], ]'s ], ], ]'s ] & ]'s ], as well as by ]'s ], ]'s ], ] and Stefan Premstaller's ], ]'s ] and ]'s ]. | |||
| ===Law and criminal justice=== | |||
| {{Main|Law of Italy|Judiciary of Italy|Law enforcement in Italy}} | {{Main|Law of Italy|Judiciary of Italy|Law enforcement in Italy}} | ||
| ], |
], Rome]] | ||
| The |
The law of Italy has several sources. These are hierarchical: the law or regulation from a lower source cannot conflict with the rule of an upper source (hierarchy of sources).<ref>{{Cite web|title=GERARCHIA DELLE FONTI|url=https://www.dirittoeconomia.net/diritto/fonti_diritto/gerarchia_fonti.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220117194800/https://www.dirittoeconomia.net/diritto/fonti_diritto/gerarchia_fonti.htm|archive-date=17 January 2022|access-date=26 March 2022|language=it}}</ref> The ] is the highest source.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Guide to Law Online: Italy | Law Library of Congress|url=https://www.loc.gov/law/help/guide/nations/italy.php|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508132418/https://www.loc.gov/law/help/guide/nations/italy.php|archive-date=8 May 2021|access-date=26 March 2022|website=loc.gov}}</ref> The ] rules on the conformity of laws with the constitution. The judiciary bases their decisions on ] modified by the ] and later statutes. The ] is the highest court for both criminal and civil appeals. | ||
| The ] is based on ] modified by the ] and later statutes. The ] is the highest court in Italy for both criminal and civil appeal cases. The ] (''Corte Costituzionale'') rules on the conformity of laws with the constitution and is a post–World War II innovation. | |||
| Italy lags behind other Western European nations in ].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Country Ranking – Rainbow Europe|url=https://rainbow-europe.org/country-ranking|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190521004552/https://rainbow-europe.org/country-ranking|archive-date=21 May 2019|access-date=28 October 2021|website=rainbow-europe.org}}</ref> Italy's law prohibiting torture is considered behind international standards.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Struggle against Torture in Italy – The Failure of the Italian Law – English|url=https://www.menschenrechte.org/en/2018/03/06/the-struggle-against-torture-in-italy-the-failure-of-the-italian-law|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608005803/https://www.menschenrechte.org/en/2018/03/06/the-struggle-against-torture-in-italy-the-failure-of-the-italian-law|archive-date=8 June 2019|access-date=2019-06-08|website=menschenrechte.org}}</ref> | |||
| Since their appearance in the middle of the 19th century, ] and criminal organisations have infiltrated the social and economic life of many regions in ], the most notorious of which being the ], which would later expand into some foreign countries including the United States. Mafia receipts may reach 9%<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/SoleOnLine4/Economia%20e%20Lavoro/2008/11/confesercenti-mafia-racket-pizzo.shtml?uuid=20ff3b9c-afe7-11dd-8057-9c09c8bfa449 |title=Confesercenti, la crisi economica rende ancor più pericolosa la mafia |author=Claudio Tucci |date=11 November 2008 |work=Confesercenti |publisher=Ilsole24ore.com |language=it |access-date=21 April 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110427081220/http://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/SoleOnLine4/Economia%20e%20Lavoro/2008/11/confesercenti-mafia-racket-pizzo.shtml?uuid=20ff3b9c-afe7-11dd-8057-9c09c8bfa449 |archive-date=27 April 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/6957240/Italy-claims-finally-defeating-the-mafia.html |title=Italy claims finally defeating the mafia |author=Nick Squires |date=9 January 2010 |work=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=21 April 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429173631/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/6957240/Italy-claims-finally-defeating-the-mafia.html |archive-date=29 April 2011}}</ref> of Italy's GDP.<ref name="nytimes.com">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/22/world/europe/22iht-italy.4.8001812.html |work=The New York Times |title=Mafia crime is 7% of GDP in Italy, group reports |first=Peter |last=Kiefer |date=22 October 2007 |access-date=19 April 2011|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501085052/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/22/world/europe/22iht-italy.4.8001812.html |archive-date=1 May 2011}}</ref> | |||
| Law enforcement is complex with multiple police forces.<ref name="Walters">{{Cite journal|last=Reece Walters|year=2013|editor2-last=Matthew Ball|editor3-last=Erin O'Brien|editor4-last=Juan Tauri|title=Eco Mafia and Environmental Crime|journal=Crime, Justice and Social Democracy: International Perspectives|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|page=286|doi=10.1057/9781137008695_19|isbn=978-1-3494-3575-3|editor1=Kerry Carrington}}</ref> The national policing agencies are the '']'' ('State Police'), the ], the '']'' ('Financial Police'), and the '']'' ('Prison Police'),<ref name="BuonannoMastrobuoni">{{Cite book|last1=Paulo Buonanno|title=Lessons from the Economics of Crime: What Reduces Offending?|last2=Giovanni Mastrobuoni|publisher=MIT Press|year=2013|isbn=978-0-2620-1961-3|editor-last=Philip J. Cook|page=193|chapter=Centralized versus Decentralized Police Hiring in Italy and the United States|doi=10.7551/mitpress/9780262019613.001.0001|editor-last2=Stephen Machin|editor-last3=Olivier Marie|editor-last4=Giovanni Mastrobuoni}}</ref> as well as the '']'' (']').<ref name=Walters/> Although policing is primarily provided on a national basis,<ref name="BuonannoMastrobuoni"/> there are also the ] and ] police.<ref name="Walters"/> | |||
| A 2009 report identified 610 ] which have a strong Mafia presence, where 13 million ] live and 14.6% of the Italian GDP is produced.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.antimafiaduemila.com/content/view/20052/78/ |title=Rapporto Censis: 13 milioni di italiani convivono con la mafia |author=Maria Loi |date=1 October 2009 |work=Censis |publisher=Antimafia Duemila |language=it |access-date=21 April 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429082416/http://www.antimafiaduemila.com/content/view/20052/78/ |archive-date=29 April 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/oct/01/mafia-influence-hovers-over-italians |work=The Guardian |location=London |title=Mafia's influence hovers over 13 m Italians, says report |first=Tom |last=Kington |date=1 October 2009 |access-date=5 May 2010| url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130908050448/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/oct/01/mafia-influence-hovers-over-italians |archive-date=8 September 2013 }}</ref> The ]n ], nowadays probably the most powerful crime syndicate of Italy, accounts alone for 3% of the country's GDP.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mafiatoday.com/sicilian-mafia-ndrangheta/italy-anti-mafia-police-arrest-35-suspects-in-northern-lombardy-region/ |title=Italy: Anti-mafia police arrest 35 suspects in northern Lombardy region |author=ANSA |date=14 March 2011 |work=adnkronos.com |publisher=Mafia Today |access-date=21 April 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429100220/http://mafiatoday.com/sicilian-mafia-ndrangheta/italy-anti-mafia-police-arrest-35-suspects-in-northern-lombardy-region/ |archive-date=29 April 2011}}</ref> However, at 0.013 per 1,000 people, Italy has only the 47th highest murder rate<ref name="NationMaster.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_mur_percap-crime-murders-per-capita |title=Crime Statistics – Murders (per capita) (more recent) by country |publisher=NationMaster.com |access-date=4 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080929181837/http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_mur_percap-crime-murders-per-capita |archive-date=29 September 2008 }}</ref> compared to 61 countries and the 43rd highest number of rapes per 1,000 people compared to 64 countries in the world. These are relatively low figures among developed countries. | |||
| Since their appearance in the middle of the 19th century, ] and criminal organisations have infiltrated the social and economic life of many regions in southern Italy; the most notorious is the Sicilian Mafia, which expanded into foreign countries, including the US. Mafia receipts may reach 9%<ref>{{Cite web|last=Claudio Tucci|date=11 November 2008|title=Confesercenti, la crisi economica rende ancor più pericolosa la mafia|url=http://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/SoleOnLine4/Economia%20e%20Lavoro/2008/11/confesercenti-mafia-racket-pizzo.shtml?uuid=20ff3b9c-afe7-11dd-8057-9c09c8bfa449|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110427081220/http://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/SoleOnLine4/Economia%20e%20Lavoro/2008/11/confesercenti-mafia-racket-pizzo.shtml?uuid=20ff3b9c-afe7-11dd-8057-9c09c8bfa449|archive-date=27 April 2011|access-date=21 April 2011|website=Confesercenti|publisher=Ilsole24ore.com|language=it}}; {{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/6957240/Italy-claims-finally-defeating-the-mafia.html|title=Italy claims finally defeating the mafia|author=Nick Squires|date=9 January 2010|work=The Daily Telegraph|location=London|access-date=21 April 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429173631/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/6957240/Italy-claims-finally-defeating-the-mafia.html|archive-date=29 April 2011}}</ref> of GDP.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Kiefer|first=Peter|date=22 October 2007|title=Mafia crime is 7% of GDP in Italy, group reports|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/22/world/europe/22iht-italy.4.8001812.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501085052/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/22/world/europe/22iht-italy.4.8001812.html|archive-date=1 May 2011|access-date=19 April 2011|work=The New York Times}}</ref> A 2009 report identified 610 ] which have a strong Mafia presence, where 13 million Italians live and 15% of GDP is produced.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Maria Loi|date=1 October 2009|title=Rapporto Censis: 13 milioni di italiani convivono con la mafia|url=http://www.antimafiaduemila.com/content/view/20052/78|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429082416/http://www.antimafiaduemila.com/content/view/20052/78|archive-date=29 April 2011|access-date=21 April 2011|website=Censis|publisher=Antimafia Duemila|language=it}}; {{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/oct/01/mafia-influence-hovers-over-italians|work=The Guardian|location=London|title=Mafia's influence hovers over 13{{spaces}}m Italians, says report|first=Tom|last=Kington|date=1 October 2009|access-date=5 May 2010| url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130908050448/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/oct/01/mafia-influence-hovers-over-italians|archive-date=8 September 2013}}</ref> The Calabrian ], probably the most powerful crime syndicate of Italy, accounts alone for 3% of GDP.<ref>{{Cite web|last=ANSA|date=14 March 2011|title=Italy: Anti-mafia police arrest 35 suspects in northern Lombardy region|url=http://mafiatoday.com/sicilian-mafia-ndrangheta/italy-anti-mafia-police-arrest-35-suspects-in-northern-lombardy-region|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429100220/http://mafiatoday.com/sicilian-mafia-ndrangheta/italy-anti-mafia-police-arrest-35-suspects-in-northern-lombardy-region|archive-date=29 April 2011|access-date=21 April 2011|website=adnkronos.com|publisher=Mafia Today}}</ref> | |||
| The ] is complex, with multiple police forces.<ref name=Walters>{{cite encyclopedia |author=Reece Walters |title=Crime, Justice and Social Democracy |chapter=Eco Mafia and Environmental Crime |work=Crime, Justice and Social Democracy: International Perspectives |editor1=Kerry Carrington |editor2=Matthew Ball |editor3=Erin O'Brien |editor4=Juan Tauri |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |date=2013 |page=286 |doi=10.1057/9781137008695_19 |isbn=978-1-349-43575-3}}</ref> The national policing agencies are the ] (State Police), the ], the ] (Financial Guard), and the ] (Prison Police),<ref name=BuonannoMastrobuoni>{{cite encyclopedia |author1=Paulo Buonanno |author2=Giovanni Mastrobuoni |title=Centralized versus Decentralized Police Hiring in Italy and the United States |work=Lessons from the Economics of Crime: What Reduces Offending? |editor1=Philip J. Cook |editor2=Stephen Machin |editor3=Olivier Marie |editor4=Giovanni Mastrobuoni |publisher=MIT Press |page=193 |doi=10.7551/mitpress/9780262019613.001.0001 |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-262-01961-3}}</ref> as well as the ] (]).<ref name=Walters /> Although policing in Italy is primarily provided on a national basis,<ref name="BuonannoMastrobuoni" /> there also exists '']'' (provincial police) and '']'' (municipal police).<ref name="Walters" /> | |||
| At 0.013 per 1,000 people, Italy has the 47th highest murder rate,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Crime Statistics – Murders (per capita) (more recent) by country|url=http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_mur_percap-crime-murders-per-capita|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080929181837/http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_mur_percap-crime-murders-per-capita|archive-date=29 September 2008|access-date=4 April 2010|publisher=NationMaster.com}}</ref> compared to 61 countries, and the 43rd highest number of rapes per 1,000 people, compared to 64 countries in the world. These are relatively low figures among developed countries. | |||
| ===Foreign relations=== | |||
| === Foreign relations === | |||
| {{Main|Foreign relations of Italy}} | {{Main|Foreign relations of Italy}} | ||
| ] leaders at the ] in ]]] | ] leaders at the ] in ], Sicily]] | ||
| Italy is a founding member of the ] (EEC), now the ] (EU), and of ]. Italy was admitted to the United Nations in 1955, and it is a member and a strong supporter of a wide number of international organisations, such as the ] (OECD), the ]/] (GATT/WTO), the ] (OSCE), the ], and the ]. Its recent or upcoming turns in the rotating presidency of international organisations include the ] in 2018, the ] in 2017 and the ] from July to December 2014. Italy is also a recurrent ] of the ], the most recently in 2017. | |||
| Italy is a founding member of the ] (EEC), now the European Union (EU), and of ]. Italy was admitted to the United Nations in 1955, and is a member and strong supporter of international organisations, such as the ], the ]/] (GATT/WTO), the ] (OSCE), the ], and the ]. Its turns in the rotating presidencies of international organisations include the ] in 2018, ] in 2017, and the ] in 2014. Italy is a recurrent ] of the ]. | |||
| Italy strongly supports multilateral international politics, endorsing the UN and its international security activities. In 2013, Italy had 5,296 troops deployed abroad, engaged in 33 UN and NATO missions in 25 countries.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Missioni/Attivita' Internazionali DAL 1 October 2013 AL 31 December 2013 – Situazione AL 11 December 2013 |url=http://www.difesa.it/OperazioniMilitari/Documents/SIT%20ANNO%202013%20al%2011%20dicembre%202013.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201175427/http://www.difesa.it/OperazioniMilitari/Documents/SIT%20ANNO%202013%20al%2011%20dicembre%202013.pdf|archive-date=1 February 2014|access-date=27 January 2014|publisher=Italian Ministry of Defence}}</ref> Italy deployed troops in support of UN peacekeeping missions in ], ], and ]. Italy provides support for NATO and UN operations in ], ], and ], and deployed over 2,000 troops to Afghanistan in support of ] (OEF) from 2003. | |||
| Italy supported international efforts to reconstruct and stabilise Iraq, but it had withdrawn its ] of 3,200 troops by 2006. In August 2006, Italy deployed about 2,450 troops for the ].<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060902001118/http://www.corriere.it/Primo_Piano/Cronache/2006/08_Agosto/29/libano.shtml|date=2 September 2006}} Corriere della Sera, 30 August 2006</ref> Italy is one of the largest financiers of the ], contributing €60 million in 2013 alone.<ref>{{Cite news|date=4 September 2013|title=Italy donates 60 million euros to PA|url=http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=626926|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141018104825/http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=626926|archive-date=18 October 2014|access-date=27 January 2014|agency=]}}</ref> | |||
| === Military === | |||
| Italy strongly supports multilateral international politics, endorsing the United Nations and its ] activities. In 2013, Italy had 5,296 troops deployed abroad, engaged in 33 UN and NATO missions in 25 countries of the world.<ref>{{cite web |title=Missioni/Attivita' Internazionali DAL 1 October 2013 AL 31 December 2013 – Situazione AL 11 December 2013 |url=http://www.difesa.it/OperazioniMilitari/Documents/SIT%20ANNO%202013%20al%2011%20dicembre%202013.pdf |publisher=Italian Ministry of Defence |access-date=27 January 2014|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201175427/http://www.difesa.it/OperazioniMilitari/Documents/SIT%20ANNO%202013%20al%2011%20dicembre%202013.pdf |archive-date=1 February 2014}}</ref> Italy deployed troops in support of UN peacekeeping missions in ], ], and ] and provides support for NATO and UN operations in ], ] and ]. Italy deployed over 2,000 troops in ] in support of ] (OEF) from February 2003. | |||
| {{Main|Italian Armed Forces|Military history of Italy}} | |||
| {{See also|List of wars involving Italy}} | |||
| ], the ] of the ]]] | |||
| ] during a patrol in ] as part of ]]] | |||
| The ] chronicles a vast time period, lasting from the military conflicts fought by the ], most notably the conquest of the Mediterranean world by the ], through the expansion of the Italian ] and ] during the medieval period and the involvement of the ] in the ] and the ], to the Napoleonic period, the ], the campaigns of the ], the two ], and into the modern day, with world ] operations under the aegis of ], the ] or the ]. | |||
| Italy supported international efforts to reconstruct and stabilise ], but it had withdrawn its ] of some 3,200 troops by 2006, maintaining only humanitarian operators and other civilian personnel. | |||
| In August 2006 Italy deployed about 2,450 troops in Lebanon for the United Nations' ] mission ].<ref name="NewsMax"> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060902001118/http://www.corriere.it/Primo_Piano/Cronache/2006/08_Agosto/29/libano.shtml |date=2 September 2006 }} Corriere della Sera, 30 August 2006</ref> Italy is one of the largest financiers of the ], contributing €60 million in 2013 alone.<ref>{{cite news |title=Italy donates 60 million euros to PA |url=http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=626926 |access-date=27 January 2014 |newspaper=] |date=4 September 2013|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141018104825/http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=626926 |archive-date=18 October 2014}}</ref> | |||
| The ], ], ], and ] collectively form the Italian Armed Forces, under the command of the ], presided over by the president, per the ]. According to Article 78, the ] has the authority to declare a state of war and vest the necessary war-making powers in the government. | |||
| ===Military=== | |||
| {{Main|Italian Armed Forces}} | |||
| {{see also|List of wars involving Italy}} | |||
| ]|upright]] | |||
| The ], ], ] and ] collectively form the ], under the command of the ], presided over by the ], as established by article 87 of the ]. According to article 78, the ] has the authority to declare a state of war and vest the necessary powers in the ]. | |||
| Despite not being a branch of the armed forces, the ] |
Despite not being a branch of the armed forces, the '']'' has military status and is organised along military lines.{{Efn|The Guardia di Finanza operates a large fleet of ships, aircraft and helicopters, enabling it to patrol Italy's waters and to participate in warfare scenarios.}} Since 2005, military service has been voluntary.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Law n°226 of August 23, 2004 |url=http://www.camera.it/parlam/leggi/04226l.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117013103/http://www.camera.it/parlam/leggi/04226l.htm|archive-date=17 January 2013|access-date=13 July 2012|publisher=Camera.it}}</ref> In 2010, the Italian military had 293,202 personnel on active duty,<ref>"The Military Balance 2010", pp. 141–145. ], 3 February 2010.</ref> of which 114,778 are Carabinieri.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Italian Ministry of Defence|author-link=Ministry of Defence (Italy)|title=Nota aggiuntiva allo stato di previsione per la Difesa per l'anno 2009 |url=http://www.difesa.it/NR/rdonlyres/5EF11493-59DD-4FB7-8485-F4258D9F5891/0/Nota_Aggiuntiva_2009.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110504073613/http://www.difesa.it/NR/rdonlyres/5EF11493-59DD-4FB7-8485-F4258D9F5891/0/Nota_Aggiuntiva_2009.pdf|archive-date=4 May 2011|access-date=11 July 2014|language=it}}</ref> As part of NATO's ] strategy, Italy hosts 90 US ]s located at the ] and ] air bases.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hans M. Kristensen / Natural Resources Defense Council|year=2005|title=NRDC: U.S. Nuclear Weapons in Europe – part 1|url=http://www.nrdc.org/nuclear/euro/euro_pt1.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110101060355/http://www.nrdc.org/nuclear/euro/euro_pt1.pdf|archive-date=1 January 2011|access-date=30 May 2011}}</ref> | ||
| The |
The Army is the national ground defence force. It was formed in 1946, when Italy became a republic, from what remained of the "]". Its best-known combat vehicles are the ] ], the ] ], and the ] ], and among its aircraft are the ] ], deployed on EU, NATO, and UN missions. It has at its disposal ] and ] armoured vehicles. | ||
| The |
The Italian Navy is a ]. It was also formed in 1946 from what remained of the '']'' (the 'Royal Navy'). The Navy, being a member of the EU and NATO, has taken part in coalition peacekeeping operations around the world. In 2014, the Navy operated 154 vessels in service, including minor auxiliary vessels.<ref>{{Cite web|title=La Marina Militare OGGI|url=http://flpdifesa.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Linee-intervento-del-Capo-di-SMM.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525043355/http://flpdifesa.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Linee-intervento-del-Capo-di-SMM.pdf|archive-date=25 May 2022|access-date=28 April 2022|language=it}}</ref> | ||
| The Italian Air Force was founded as an independent service arm in 1923 by King Victor Emmanuel III as the '']'' ('Royal Air Force'). After World War II, it was renamed as the ''Regia Aeronautica''. In 2021, the Italian Air Force operated 219 combat jets. A transport capability is guaranteed by a fleet of 27 ] and ]. The acrobatic display team is the '']'' ('Tricolour Arrows'). | |||
| An autonomous corps of the military, the Carabinieri are the ] and ] of Italy, policing the military and civilian population alongside ]. While |
An autonomous corps of the military, the Carabinieri are the ] and ] of Italy, policing the military and civilian population alongside ]. While different branches of the Carabinieri report to separate ministries, the corps reports to the Ministry of Internal Affairs when maintaining public order and security.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Carabinieri Force is linked to the Ministry of Defence|url=http://www.carabinieri.it/Internet/Multilingua/EN/GoverningBodies|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430214042/http://www.carabinieri.it/Internet/Multilingua/EN/GoverningBodies|archive-date=30 April 2011|access-date=14 May 2010|publisher=Carabinieri}}</ref> | ||
| ==={{ |
==={{Anchor|Constituent entities}}Administrative divisions=== | ||
| <!-- This Anchor tag serves to provide a permanent target for incoming section links. Please do not remove |
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| {{Main|Regions of Italy|Provinces of Italy|Metropolitan cities of Italy|Comune}} | {{Main|Regions of Italy|Provinces of Italy|Metropolitan cities of Italy|Comune}} | ||
| {{Italy Labelled Map Scalable|image-width=400}} | {{Italy Labelled Map Scalable|image-width=400}} | ||
| Italy is constituted |
Italy is constituted of 20 regions ('']'')—five of which have ] which enables them to enact legislation on additional matters.<ref name="tuttitalia">{{Cite news|title=Regioni italiane|url=http://www.tuttitalia.it/regioni|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509133929/https://www.tuttitalia.it/regioni|archive-date=9 May 2022|access-date=30 April 2022|language=it}}</ref> | ||
| {{Div col}} | |||
| * ] | * ] | ||
| * ] | * ] | ||
| Line 508: | Line 390: | ||
| * ] | * ] | ||
| * ] | * ] | ||
| * ] | * ] | ||
| * ] | * ] | ||
| * ] | * ] | ||
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| {{Div col end}} | |||
| The ''regioni'' contain 107 provinces ('']'') or metropolitan cities ('']''), and 7,904 municipalities ('']'').<ref name="tuttitalia"/> | |||
| ==Economy== | |||
| {{Main|Economy of Italy}} | |||
| {{See also|List of largest Italian companies}} | |||
| ] | |||
| == Demographics == | |||
| Italy has a major advanced<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2017/02/weodata/weoselgr.aspx |title=Select Country or Country Groups |access-date=22 October 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022143402/https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2017/02/weodata/weoselgr.aspx |archive-date=22 October 2017}}</ref> ] ], ranking as the third-largest in the ] and the ] in the world.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://databank.worldbank.org/data/download/GDP.pdf |work=The World Bank: World Development Indicators database |title=Gross domestic product (2015) |date=28 April 2017 |publisher=World Bank |access-date=17 May 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170201165545/http://databank.worldbank.org/data/download/GDP.pdf |archive-date=1 February 2017}}</ref> A founding member of the ], the ] and the ], it is regarded as one of the world's most industrialised nations and a leading country in ].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sensenbrenner |first1=Frank |last2=Arcelli |first2=Angelo Federico |title=Italy's Economy Is Much Stronger Than It Seems |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/frank-sensenbrenner/italy-economy_b_3401988.html |access-date=25 November 2014 |work=The Huffington Post|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141206190937/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frank-sensenbrenner/italy-economy_b_3401988.html |archive-date=6 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Dadush |first1=Uri |title=Is the Italian Economy on the Mend? |url=http://carnegieeurope.eu/publications/?fa=50565&reloadFlag=1 |access-date=25 November 2014 |publisher=]|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713124951/http://carnegieeurope.eu/publications/?fa=50565&reloadFlag=1 |archive-date=13 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Doing Business in Italy: 2014 Country Commercial Guide for U.S. Companies |url=http://www.export.gov/italy/static/2014%20CCG%20Italy_Latest_eg_it_076513.pdf |publisher=] |access-date=25 November 2014|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715152504/http://www.export.gov/italy/static/2014%20CCG%20Italy_Latest_eg_it_076513.pdf |archive-date=15 July 2014}}</ref> It is a highly ]; ranked the 30th ]. It also performs well in ], ]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.photius.com/rankings/healthranks.html |title=The World Health Organization's ranking of the world's health systems |publisher=Photius.com |access-date=7 September 2015}}</ref> and ]. The country is well known for its creative and innovative business,<ref>{{cite web |title=The Global Creativity Index 2011 |url=http://martinprosperity.org/media/GCI%20Report%20Sep%202011.pdf |publisher=Martin Prosperity Institute |access-date=26 November 2014|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140930054555/http://martinprosperity.org/media/GCI%20Report%20Sep%202011.pdf |archive-date=30 September 2014}}</ref> a large and competitive agricultural sector<ref>{{cite web |last1=Aksoy |first1=M. Ataman |last2=Ng |first2=Francis |title=The Evolution of Agricultural Trade Flows |url=https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/3793/WPS5308.pdf?sequence=1 |publisher=] |access-date=25 November 2014|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129120448/https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/3793/WPS5308.pdf?sequence=1 |archive-date=29 November 2014}}</ref> (with the world's largest wine production),<ref>{{cite news |last=Pisa |first=Nick |title=Italy overtakes France to become world's largest wine producer |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/wine/8571222/Italy-overtakes-France-to-become-worlds-largest-wine-producer.html |access-date=17 August 2011 |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=12 June 2011|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903021833/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/wine/8571222/Italy-overtakes-France-to-become-worlds-largest-wine-producer.html |archive-date=3 September 2011}}</ref> and for its influential and high-quality automobile, machinery, food, design and fashion industry.<ref>{{cite web |title=Automotive Market Sector Profile – Italy |url=http://www.enterprisecanadanetwork.ca/_uploads/resources/Automotive-Market-Sector-Profile-Italy.pdf |publisher=] |access-date=26 November 2014|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141205163959/http://www.enterprisecanadanetwork.ca/_uploads/resources/Automotive-Market-Sector-Profile-Italy.pdf |archive-date=5 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Data & Trends of the European Food and Drink Industry 2013–2014 |url=http://www.fooddrinkeurope.eu/uploads/publications_documents/Data__Trends_of_the_European_Food_and_Drink_Industry_2013-2014.pdf |publisher=] |access-date=26 November 2014|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141206010318/http://www.fooddrinkeurope.eu/uploads/publications_documents/Data__Trends_of_the_European_Food_and_Drink_Industry_2013-2014.pdf |archive-date=6 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Italy fashion industry back to growth in 2014 |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-italy-fashion-growth-idUKBREA0912220140110 |newspaper=Reuters |access-date=26 November 2014|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141205114140/http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/01/10/uk-italy-fashion-growth-idUKBREA0912220140110 |archive-date=5 December 2014 |date=10 January 2014}}</ref> | |||
| {{Main|Demographics of Italy}} | |||
| {{See also|Italians|Internal migration in Italy|Italian diaspora|Genetic history of Italy|List of cities in Italy}} | |||
| ] | |||
| ] in the world]] | |||
| In 2020, Italy had 60,317,116 inhabitants.<ref>{{Cite web|date=8 April 2022|title=Indicatori demografici|url=https://www.istat.it/it/archivio/269158|access-date=27 July 2022|website=istat.it|language=it|archive-date=13 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220713112932/https://www.istat.it/it/archivio/269158|url-status=live}}</ref> The population density, of {{Convert|202|PD/km2}}, is higher than most West European countries. However, distribution is uneven: the most densely populated areas are the Po Valley (almost half the population) and the metropolitan areas of Rome and Naples, while vast regions such as the Alps and Apennine highlands, the plateaus of Basilicata, and the island of Sardinia, as well as much of Sicily, are sparsely populated. | |||
| Italy is the world's sixth-largest ] country,<ref>" {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010152014/http://databank.worldbank.org/data/reports.aspx?source=2&series=NV.IND.MANF.KD&country= |date=10 October 2017 }}". accessed on 17 May 2017.</ref> characterised by a smaller number of global multinational corporations than other economies of comparable size and many dynamic ], notoriously clustered in several ]s, which are the backbone of the ]. This has produced a manufacturing sector often focused on the export of ] and luxury products, that if on one side is less capable to compete on the quantity, on the other side is more capable of facing the competition from China and other emerging Asian economies based on lower labour costs, with higher quality products.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/ECAEXT/0,,contentMDK:21808326~menuPK:258604~pagePK:2865106~piPK:2865128~theSitePK:258599,00.html |title=Knowledge Economy Forum 2008: Innovative Small And Medium Enterprises Are Key To Europe & Central Asian Growth |publisher=The World Bank |date=19 May 2005 |access-date=17 June 2008|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080623065619/http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/ECAEXT/0,,contentMDK:21808326~menuPK:258604~pagePK:2865106~piPK:2865128~theSitePK:258599,00.html |archive-date=23 June 2008}}</ref> Italy was the world's tenth-largest ] in 2019. Its closest trade ties are with the other countries of the European Union. Its largest export partners in 2019 were Germany (12%), France (11%), and the United States (10%).<ref name="cia.gov">{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/italy/ |title=The World Factbook |publisher=CIA |access-date=28 May 2021 }}</ref> | |||
| ] is the economic capital of Italy,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.prologis.it/en/industrial-logistics-warehouse-space/europe/italy/milan-italys-industrial-and-financial-capital|title=Milan, Italy's Industrial and Financial Capital|date=18 May 2018 |access-date=27 May 2022}}</ref> and is a global ] and a ] of the world.]] | |||
| ] quarry]] | |||
| Italy's population almost doubled during the 20th century, but the pattern of growth was uneven because of large-scale ], a consequence of the ] of the 1950–1960s. High fertility and birth rates persisted until the 1970s, after which they started to decline; the ] (TFR) reached an all-time low of 1.2 children per woman in 1995, well below the replacement rate of 2.1 and considerably below the high of 5 in 1883.<ref>{{Citation|last=Max Roser|title=Total Fertility Rate around the world over the last centuries|work=], ]|year=2014|url=https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/children-born-per-woman?year=1800&country=ITA|access-date=7 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180807185906/https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/children-born-per-woman?year=1800&country=ITA|archive-date=7 August 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> Since 2008, when the rate climbed slightly to 1.4,<ref>{{Cite web|last=ISTAT|author-link=Istituto Nazionale di Statistica|title=Average number of children born per woman 2005–2008 |url=http://demo.istat.it/altridati/indicatori/2008/Tab_4.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810171708/http://demo.istat.it/altridati/indicatori/2008/Tab_4.pdf|archive-date=10 August 2011|access-date=3 May 2009|language=it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=ISTAT|author-link=Istituto Nazionale di Statistica|title=Crude birth rates, mortality rates and marriage rates 2005–2008 |url=http://demo.istat.it/altridati/indicatori/2008/Tab_1.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810171721/http://demo.istat.it/altridati/indicatori/2008/Tab_1.pdf|archive-date=10 August 2011|access-date=10 May 2009|language=it}}</ref> the number of births has consistently declined every year, reaching a record low of 379,000 in 2023—the fewest since 1861.<ref name="www.reuters.com">| Reuters</ref> Although the TFR was expected to reach 1.6–1.8 in 2030,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Previsioni della popolazione, 2011–2065, dati al 1° gennaio |url=http://demo.istat.it/uniprev2011/index.html?lingua=ita|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130306125456/http://demo.istat.it/uniprev2011/index.html?lingua=ita|archive-date=6 March 2013|access-date=12 March 2013|publisher=Demo.istat.it}}</ref> as of 2024, it stood at 1.2.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Jones|first=Tobias|date=2024-01-03|title=Boosting Italy's birthrate has become a patriotic cause for the far right. But it's an idea that's doomed|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/jan/03/italy-birthrate-far-right-population-immigration-giorgia-meloni|access-date=2024-05-29|work=The Guardian|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> | |||
| The ] is a significant part of the Italian manufacturing sector, with over 144,000 firms and almost 485,000 employed people in 2015,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.adnkronos.com/soldi/economia/2015/09/23/auto-settore-mila-imprese-italia-mld-fatturato_WooBmrBqxgxO7mOvIRXUBI.html |title=Auto: settore da 144mila imprese in Italia e 117 mld fatturato |access-date=23 September 2015 |work=adnkronos.com|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925121926/http://www.adnkronos.com/soldi/economia/2015/09/23/auto-settore-mila-imprese-italia-mld-fatturato_WooBmrBqxgxO7mOvIRXUBI.html |archive-date=25 September 2015}}</ref> and a contribution of 8.5% to Italian ].<ref name="acea.thisconnect.com">{{cite web |url=http://acea.thisconnect.com/index.php/country_profiles/detail/italy |title=Country Profiles – Italy |access-date=9 February 2008 |work=acea.thisconnect.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080211190839/http://acea.thisconnect.com/index.php/country_profiles/detail/italy |archive-date=11 February 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> ] is currently the world's ].<ref>{{cite web |title=Global Auto Market 2021. General Motors Is The Only Group To Report Double-digit Losses |url=https://www.focus2move.com/world-car-group-ranking/ |access-date=27 May 2022}}</ref> The country boasts a wide range of acclaimed products, from compact city cars to luxury supercars such as ], ], ], and ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://brandfinance.com/news/ferrari--the-worlds-most-powerful-brand/ |title=Ferrari – The World's Most Powerful Brand |last=Haigh |first=Robert |date=18 February 2014 |publisher=Brand Finance |access-date = 9 February 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202035054/http://brandfinance.com/news/ferrari--the-worlds-most-powerful-brand/ |archive-date=2 February 2016 }}</ref> | |||
| As a result of these trends, Italy's population is rapidly aging and gradually shrinking. Nearly one in four Italians is over 65,<ref name="www.reuters.com" /> and the country has the ], with a median age of 48 and an average age of 46.6.<ref name="cia.gov" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Aging population of Italy|url=https://www.statista.com/topics/8379/aging-population-of-italy/|access-date=2024-05-29|website=Statista|language=en|archive-date=29 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240529041428/https://www.statista.com/topics/8379/aging-population-of-italy/|url-status=live}}</ref> The overall population has been falling steadily since 2014 and is estimated to have fallen just below 59 million in 2024, representing a cumulative loss of more than 1.36 million people over the span of a decade.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Mortensen|first=Barbie Latza Nadeau, Valentina Di Donato, Antonia|date=2023-05-17|title='Low fertility trap': Why Italy's falling birth rate is causing alarm|url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/17/europe/italy-record-low-birth-rate-intl-cmd/index.html|access-date=2024-05-29|website=CNN|language=en|archive-date=29 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240529041430/https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/17/europe/italy-record-low-birth-rate-intl-cmd/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
| The ] is the world's ] in continuous operation, depending on the definition, and the fourth-largest Italian commercial and retail bank.<ref name="veconomist" >{{cite news|title=Italy's fourth-biggest bank returns to the stockmarket|url=https://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21730672-shares-bailed-out-bank-start-trading-again-italys-fourth-biggest-bank|newspaper=]|date=26 October 2017}}</ref> Italy has a strong ] sector, with the largest share of the population (4.5%) employed by a cooperative in the EU.<ref>{{Cite web|date=April 2016|title=The Power of Cooperation – Cooperatives Europe key statistics 2015|url=https://coopseurope.coop/sites/default/files/The%20power%20of%20Cooperation%20-%20Cooperatives%20Europe%20key%20statistics%202015.pdf|access-date=28 May 2021|website=]}}</ref> The ] area, ], hosts the largest ] ] in Europe.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.eni.com/en-IT/operations/italy-val-agri-upstream-activities.html |title=In Val d'Agri with Upstream activities |publisher=] |access-date=3 February 2021 |archive-date=16 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220516034214/https://www.eni.com/en-IT/operations/italy-val-agri-upstream-activities.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Moderate natural gas reserves, mainly in the ] and offshore ], have been discovered in recent years and constitute the country's most important mineral resource. Italy is one of the world's leading producers of ], ], and ].<ref name="nat_resources">{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/297474/Italy/26994/Forestry#toc26986 |title=Italy, the economy: Resources and power|encyclopedia=]|date=3 February 2015 |access-date=9 February 2015}}</ref> Another notable mineral resource is ], especially the world-famous white ] from the ] quarries in ]. | |||
| From the late 19th century to the 1960s, Italy was a country of mass emigration. Between 1898 and 1914, the peak years of ], approximately 750,000 Italians emigrated annually.<ref>{{Cite web|date=15 August 1999|title=Causes of the Italian mass emigration|url=http://library.thinkquest.org/26786/en/articles/view.php3?arKey=4&paKey=7&loKey=0&evKey=&toKey=&torKey=&tolKey=|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090701010600/http://library.thinkquest.org/26786/en/articles/view.php3?arKey=4&paKey=7&loKey=0&evKey=&toKey=&torKey=&tolKey=|archive-date=1 July 2009|access-date=11 August 2014|publisher=ThinkQuest Library}}</ref> The diaspora included more than 25 million Italians and is considered the greatest mass migration of recent times.<ref>Favero, Luigi e Tassello, Graziano. ''Cent'anni di emigrazione italiana (1861–1961)'' Introduction</ref> | |||
| Italy is part of a monetary union, the ], and of the ], which represents more than 500 million consumers. Several domestic commercial policies are determined by agreements among European Union (EU) members and by EU legislation. Italy introduced the common European currency, the ] in 2002.<ref name="euroc">{{cite news |title=Germans Say Goodbye to the Mark, a Symbol of Strength and Unity |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=18 March 2011 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/01/world/germans-say-goodbye-to-the-mark-a-symbol-of-strength-and-unity.html |first=Edmund L. |last=Andrews |date=1 January 2002 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501031330/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/01/world/germans-say-goodbye-to-the-mark-a-symbol-of-strength-and-unity.html |archive-date=1 May 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=On Jan. 1, out of many arises one Euro |newspaper=] |first=Susan |last=Taylor Martin |date=28 December 1998 |page=National, 1.A}}</ref> It is a member of the Eurozone which represents around 330 million citizens. Its monetary policy is set by the ]. | |||
| === Largest cities === | |||
| Italy was hit hard by the ], that exacerbated the country's structural problems.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Orsi |first1=Roberto |title=The Quiet Collapse of the Italian Economy |date=23 April 2013 |url=http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/eurocrisispress/2013/04/23/the-quiet-collapse-of-the-italian-economy/ |publisher=] |access-date=24 November 2014|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141119075748/http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/eurocrisispress/2013/04/23/the-quiet-collapse-of-the-italian-economy/ |archive-date=19 November 2014}}</ref> Effectively, after a strong GDP growth of 5–6% per year from the 1950s to the early 1970s,<ref>{{cite book |author=Nicholas Crafts, Gianni Toniolo |title=Economic growth in Europe since 1945 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1996 |page=428 |isbn=978-0-521-49627-8}}</ref> and a progressive slowdown in the 1980–90s, the country virtually stagnated in the 2000s.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Balcerowicz |first1=Leszek |title=Economic Growth in the European Union |url=http://www.lisboncouncil.net/growth/documents/LISBON_COUNCIL_Economic_Growth_in_the_EU%20(1).pdf |publisher=The Lisbon Council |access-date=8 October 2014|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714205108/http://www.lisboncouncil.net/growth/documents/LISBON_COUNCIL_Economic_Growth_in_the_EU%20(1).pdf |archive-date=14 July 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title="Secular stagnation" in graphics |url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2014/11/secular-stagnation-graphics |newspaper=The Economist |access-date=24 November 2014|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141123234145/http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2014/11/secular-stagnation-graphics |archive-date=23 November 2014}}</ref> The political efforts to revive growth with massive government spending eventually produced a severe rise in ], that stood at over 131.8% of GDP in 2017,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.investireoggi.it/economia/debito-pubblico-oltre-2-300-miliardi-e-litalia-e-sulla-strada-dellautarchia-finanziaria/ |title=Debito pubblico oltre 2.300 miliardi e all'estero non lo comprano |date=15 May 2018 |access-date=1 June 2018 |archive-date=21 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221072720/https://www.investireoggi.it/economia/debito-pubblico-oltre-2-300-miliardi-e-litalia-e-sulla-strada-dellautarchia-finanziaria/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> ranking second in the EU only after the Greek one.<ref>{{cite web |title=Government debt increased to 93.9% of GDP in euro area and to 88.0% in EU28 |url=http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_PUBLIC/2-22072014-AP/EN/2-22072014-AP-EN.PDF |publisher=] |access-date=24 November 2014|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021162159/http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_PUBLIC/2-22072014-AP/EN/2-22072014-AP-EN.PDF |archive-date=21 October 2014}}</ref> For all that, the largest chunk of ] is owned by national subjects, a major difference between Italy and Greece,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cnbc.com/id/37207942/Could_Italy_Be_Better_Off_than_its_Peers |title=Could Italy Be Better Off than its Peers? |publisher=CNBC |date=18 May 2010 |access-date=30 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430030613/http://www.cnbc.com/id/37207942/Could_Italy_Be_Better_Off_than_its_Peers |archive-date=30 April 2011}}</ref> and the level of ] is much lower than the OECD average.<ref>{{cite web |title=Household debt and the OECD's surveillance of member states |url=http://www.nationalbanken.dk/da/om_nationalbanken/oekonomisk_forskning/Documents/4_Household%20debt%20and%20the%20OECD's%20surveillance%20of%20member%20states%20by%20Christophe%20Andr%C3%A9.pdf |publisher=] Economics Department |access-date=26 November 2014|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150109041518/http://www.nationalbanken.dk/da/om_nationalbanken/oekonomisk_forskning/Documents/4_Household%20debt%20and%20the%20OECD%27s%20surveillance%20of%20member%20states%20by%20Christophe%20Andr%C3%A9.pdf |archive-date=9 January 2015}}</ref> | |||
| {{Largest cities of Italy}} | |||
| === Immigration === | |||
| A gaping ] is a major factor of socio-economic weakness.<ref>{{cite news |title=Oh for a new risorgimento |url=https://www.economist.com/node/18780831 |newspaper=The Economist |access-date=24 November 2014|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141024163715/http://www.economist.com/node/18780831 |archive-date=24 October 2014}}</ref> It can be noted by the huge difference in statistical income between the northern and southern regions and municipalities.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lastampa.it/economia/speciali/redditi-italia |title=Comune per Comune, ecco la mappa navigabile dei redditi dichiarati in Italia |website=www.lastampa.it|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150405032750/http://www.lastampa.it/economia/speciali/redditi-italia |archive-date=5 April 2015|access-date=4 April 2015}}</ref> The richest province, ], earns 152% of the national GDP per capita, while the poorest region, Calabria, 61%.<ref>{{cite web |title=GDP per capita at regional level |url=https://www.istat.it/it/files/2016/12/Conti-regionali_2015.pdf?title=Conti+economici+territoriali+-+12%2Fdic%2F2016+-+Testo+integrale+e+nota+metodologica.pdf |publisher=] |access-date=25 October 2017|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026054135/https://www.istat.it/it/files/2016/12/Conti-regionali_2015.pdf?title=Conti+economici+territoriali+-+12%2Fdic%2F2016+-+Testo+integrale+e+nota+metodologica.pdf |archive-date=26 October 2017}}</ref> The ] rate (11.1%) stands slightly above the Eurozone average,<ref>{{cite web |title=Euro area unemployment rate at 11% |url=http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/2995521/8121455/3-31072017-AP-EN.pdf/ |publisher=] |access-date=26 October 2017|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170731232352/http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/2995521/8121455/3-31072017-AP-EN.pdf |archive-date=31 July 2017}}</ref> but the disaggregated figure is 6.6% in the North and 19.2% in the South.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.istat.it/it/files/2017/09/Mercato-del-lavoro-II-trim-2017.pdf?title=Il+mercato+del+lavoro+-+12%2Fset%2F2017+-+Testo+integrale+e+nota+metodologica.pdf |title=Employment and unemployment: second quarter 2017 |author=Istat |access-date=26 October 2017|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026054033/http://www.istat.it/it/files/2017/09/Mercato-del-lavoro-II-trim-2017.pdf?title=Il+mercato+del+lavoro+-+12%2Fset%2F2017+-+Testo+integrale+e+nota+metodologica.pdf |archive-date=26 October 2017|author-link=National Institute of Statistics (Italy)}}</ref> The ] (31.7% in March 2018) is extremely high compared to EU standards.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/266228/youth-unemployment-rate-in-eu-countries/ |title=Youth unemployment rate in EU member states as of March 2018 |website=Statista}}</ref> | |||
| {{Main|Immigration to Italy}} | |||
| ] | |||
| In the 1980s, until then a linguistically and culturally homogeneous society, Italy began to attract substantial flows of immigrants.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Allen|first=Beverly|url=https://archive.org/details/revisioningitaly00beve|title=Revisioning Italy national identity and global culture|date=1997|publisher=University of Minnesota Press|isbn=978-0-8166-2727-1|location=Minneapolis|page=|url-access=registration}}</ref> After the ], and enlargements of the EU, waves of migration originated from the former socialist countries of East Europe. Another source of immigration is neighbouring North Africa, with arrivals soaring as a consequence of the ]. Growing migration fluxes from Asia-Pacific (notably China<ref>" {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010205822/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6550725.stm|date=10 October 2017}}". BBC News. 13 April 2007.</ref> and the Philippines) and Latin America have been recorded. | |||
| ===Agriculture=== | |||
| {{Main|Agriculture in Italy}} | |||
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| | footer = ], ] (''above'') and ] (''below''). Italy is the ], as well as the country with the widest variety of indigenous ] in the world.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.inumeridelvino.it/2018/11/la-produzione-di-vino-nel-mondo-2018-prima-stima-oiv.html|title=L'Italia è il maggiore produttore di vino|access-date=11 November 2021|language=it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://giornalevinocibo.com/2017/06/03/italia-prima-assoluta-per-vitgni-autoctoni-ecco-i-dati-dei-vari-stati/|title=L'Italia è il paese con più vitigni autoctoni al mondo|date=3 June 2017|access-date=11 November 2021|language=it}}</ref> | |||
| }} | |||
| According to the last national agricultural census, there were 1.6 million farms in 2010 (−32.4% since 2000) covering {{convert|12700000|ha|0|abbr=on|disp=or}} (63% of which are located in ]).<ref name="agrocensus">{{cite web |url=http://dati-censimentoagricoltura.istat.it/ |title=Censimento Agricoltura 2010 |date=24 October 2010 |publisher=] |access-date=11 February 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150213021626/http://dati-censimentoagricoltura.istat.it/ |archive-date=13 February 2015}}</ref> The vast majority (99%) are family-operated and small, averaging only {{convert|8|ha|0|abbr=on}} in size.<ref name="agrocensus" /> Of the total surface area in agricultural use (forestry excluded), ] fields take up 31%, ] orchards 8.2%, ]s 5.4%, ] orchards 3.8%, ]s 1.7%, and ] 2.4%. The remainder is primarily dedicated to pastures (25.9%) and feed grains (11.6%).<ref name="agrocensus" /> | |||
| As of 2010, the foreign-born population was from the following regions: Europe (54%), Africa (22%), Asia (16%), the Americas (8%), and Oceania (0.06%). The distribution of the foreign population is geographically varied: in 2020, 61% of foreign citizens lived in the north, 24% in the centre, 11% in the south, and 4% on the islands.<ref>{{Cite web|title=XXIX Rapporto Immigrazione 2020|url=https://www.migrantes.it/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2020/10/RICM_2020_DEF.pdf|access-date=31 December 2021|language=it|archive-date=31 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211231222417/https://www.migrantes.it/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2020/10/RICM_2020_DEF.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
| Italy is the ],<ref name=OIVstats>{{cite web |title=OIV report on the State of the vitiviniculture world market |url=http://news.reseau-concept.net/images/oiv_es/Client/DIAPORAMA_STATISTIQUES_Tbilissi_2010_EN.ppt |website=news.reseau-concept.net |publisher=Réseau-CONCEPT |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728145648/http://news.reseau-concept.net/images/oiv_es/Client/DIAPORAMA_STATISTIQUES_Tbilissi_2010_EN.ppt |archive-date=28 July 2011 |format=PowerPoint presentation |date=2010}}</ref> and one of the leading in ], fruits (]s, ]s, ]s, ], ]s, ]s, ]s, ]s, ]es, ], ]s, ] and ]s), and vegetables (especially ]s and ]es). The most famous ]s are probably the ] ] and the ] ]. Other famous wines are ], ], ], ], ], ], and the ]s ] and ]. | |||
| In 2021, Italy had about 5.2 million foreign residents,<ref name="id2020"/><ref>{{Cite web|title=Population on 1 January by sex, country of birth and broad group of citizenship|url=https://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/submitViewTableAction.do|access-date=28 August 2023|archive-date=21 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230121154457/https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/main/eurostat/web/main/help/faq/data-services|url-status=live}}</ref> making up 9% of the population. The figures include more than half a million children born in Italy to foreign nationals, but exclude foreign nationals who have subsequently acquired Italian citizenship;<ref>{{Cite web|title=Immigrants.Stat|url=http://stra-dati.istat.it/Index.aspx|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709143540/http://stra-dati.istat.it/Index.aspx|archive-date=9 July 2017|access-date=15 June 2017|publisher=]}}</ref> in 2016, about 201,000 people became Italian citizens.<ref>{{Cite web|title=National demographic balance 2016|url=https://www.istat.it/en/archive/201143|access-date=15 June 2017|publisher=]|archive-date=10 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010180410/https://www.istat.it/en/archive/201143|url-status=live}}</ref> The official figures also exclude illegal immigrants, which was estimated to be 670,000 as of 2008.<ref>Elisabeth Rosenthal, " {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130821061114/http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2008/05/16/italy_cracks_down_on_illegal_immigration|date=21 August 2013}}". '']''. 16 May 2008.</ref> About one million ] citizens are registered as living in Italy, representing the largest migrant population. | |||
| Quality goods in which Italy specialises, particularly the already mentioned wines and ], are often protected under the quality assurance labels ]. This ], which is attributed by the ], is considered important in order to avoid confusion with low-quality mass-produced ]. | |||
| === |
=== Languages === | ||
| {{Main|Languages of Italy|Italian language|Regional Italian|Geographical distribution of Italian speakers}} | |||
| {{Main|Transport in Italy}} | |||
| ]]] | |||
| {{See also|Railway stations in Italy}} | |||
| ]' ] high speed train, with a maximum speed of {{convert|400|km/h|0|abbr=on}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Frecciarossa 1000 in Figures |url=http://www.fsitaliane.it/fsi-en/GROUP/Safety-and-Technology/Frecciarossa1000:-the-train-of-the-future/Frecciarossa-1000-in-Figures |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141218192603/http://www.fsitaliane.it/fsi-en/GROUP/Safety-and-Technology/Frecciarossa1000%3A-the-train-of-the-future/Frecciarossa-1000-in-Figures |archive-date=18 December 2014 |access-date=24 November 2014 |publisher=Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane}}</ref>]]{{Anchor|Infrastructure}}Italy was the first country in the world to build ]s, the so-called '']'', reserved for fast traffic and for motor vehicles only.<ref name="independent">{{Cite news |last=Lenarduzzi |first=Thea |date=30 January 2016 |title=The motorway that built Italy: Piero Puricelli's masterpiece |newspaper=] |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/europe/the-worlds-first-motorway-piero-puricellis-masterpiece-is-the-focus-of-an-unlikely-pilgrimage-a6840816.html |access-date=12 May 2022}}</ref> Regarding the national road network, in 2002 there were {{convert|668721|km|mi|abbr=on}} of serviceable roads in Italy, including {{convert|6487|km|mi|abbr=on}} of motorways, state-owned but privately operated by ]. In 2005, about 34,667,000 ] (590 cars per 1,000 people) and 4,015,000 goods vehicles circulated on the national road network.<ref name="European Commission">{{cite web |url=http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-DA-07-001/EN/KS-DA-07-001-EN.PDF |title=Panorama of Transport |author=European Commission |access-date=3 May 2009|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090407142402/http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-DA-07-001/EN/KS-DA-07-001-EN.PDF |archive-date=7 April 2009|author-link=European Commission}}</ref>], the main port of the northern Adriatic and starting point of the ]]] | |||
| Italy's official language is Italian.<ref name="lang">{{Cite web|title=Legge 15 Dicembre 1999, n. 482 "Norme in materia di tutela delle minoranze linguistiche storiche" pubblicata nella Gazzetta Ufficiale n. 297 del 20 dicembre 1999 |url=http://www.camera.it/parlam/leggi/99482l.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150512051856/http://www.camera.it/parlam/leggi/99482l.htm|archive-date=12 May 2015|access-date=2 December 2014|publisher=]}}</ref><ref>Statuto Speciale per il Trentino-Alto Adige, Art. 99</ref> There are an estimated 64 million native Italian speakers around the world,<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150730230004/http://www.ethnologue.com/language/ita|date=30 July 2015}} Ethnologue.com; {{Cite web|date=February 2006|title=Eurobarometer – Europeans and their languages|url=http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_243_sum_en.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430202903/http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_243_sum_en.pdf|archive-date=30 April 2011|format=485{{spaces}}KB}}; ] "Världens 100 största språk 2007" The World's 100 Largest Languages in 2007</ref> and another 21 million use it as a second language.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502004444/http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/modern-languages/lal/languages%20at%20lal/italian|date=2 May 2014}} University of Leicester</ref> Italian is often natively spoken as a ], not to be confused with Italy's regional and minority languages;<ref>{{Cite web|title=UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in danger|url=http://www.unesco.org/languages-atlas/index.php|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161218184822/http://www.unesco.org/languages-atlas/index.php|archive-date=18 December 2016|access-date=2 January 2018|publisher=UNESCO}}; {{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/297241/Italian-language|title=Italian language|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|date=3 November 2008|access-date=19 November 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091129081859/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/297241/Italian-language|archive-date=29 November 2009}}</ref> however, during the 20th century, the establishment of a national education system led to a decrease in regional dialects. Standardisation was further expanded in the 1950s and 1960s, due to economic growth and the rise of ] and television. | |||
| The ], state-owned and operated by ] (FSI), in 2008 totalled {{convert|16,529|km|mi|abbr=on}} of which {{convert|11,727|km|0|abbr=on}} is electrified, and on which 4,802 locomotives and railcars run. The main public operator of high-speed trains is ], part of FSI. Higher-speed trains are divided into three categories: ] ({{lang-en|red arrow}}) trains operate at a maximum speed of 300 km/h on dedicated high-speed tracks; ] ({{lang-en|silver arrow}}) trains operate at a maximum speed of 250 km/h on both high-speed and mainline tracks; and ] ({{lang-en|white arrow}}) trains operate on high-speed regional lines at a maximum speed of 200 km/h. Italy has 11 rail border crossings over the Alpine mountains with its neighbouring countries. | |||
| Twelve "historical minority languages" are formally recognised: Albanian, ], German, Greek, Slovene, Croatian, French, Franco-Provençal, Friulian, ], ], and Sardinian.<ref name="lang"/> Four of these enjoy co-official status in their respective regions: French in the Aosta Valley;<ref>L.cost. 26 febbraio 1948, n. 4, Statuto speciale per la Valle d'Aosta</ref> German in ], and ] as well in some parts of the same province and in parts of the neighbouring Trentino;<ref>L.cost. 26 febbraio 1948, n. 5, Statuto speciale per il Trentino-Alto Adige</ref> and ] in the provinces of ], ], and ].<ref>L. cost. 31 gennaio 1963, n. 1, Statuto speciale della Regione Friuli-Venezia Giulia</ref> Other Ethnologue, ISO, and UNESCO languages are not recognised under Italian law. Like France, Italy has signed the ], but has not ratified it.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ready for Ratification|url=https://rm.coe.int/European-centre-for-minority-issues-vol-1-/1680737191|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180103133317/https://rm.coe.int/European-centre-for-minority-issues-vol-1-/1680737191|archive-date=3 January 2018|publisher=European Centre for Minority Issues}}</ref> | |||
| Italy is the fifth in Europe by the number of passengers by air transport, with about 148 million passengers or about 10% of the European total in 2011.<ref>{{cite web |date=7 January 2013 |title=Trasporto aereo in Italia (PDF) |url=http://www.istat.it/it/archivio/78802 |access-date=5 August 2013 |publisher=ISTAT}}</ref> In 2022 there were 45 civil airports in Italy, including the two ] of ] in Milan and ] in Rome.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://gliaeroporti.it/|title=Aeroporti in Italia: quanti sono? Elenco per regione|access-date=17 November 2022|language=it|archive-date=17 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221117184416/https://gliaeroporti.it/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Since October 2021, Italy's ] airline is ], which took over the brand, the IATA ticketing code, and many assets belonging to the former flag carrier ], after its bankruptcy.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Buckley |first1=Julia |title=Italy reveals its new national airline |url=https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/ita-airways-launch/index.html |access-date=18 October 2021 |work=CNN |date=18 October 2021 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Villamizar |first1=Helwing |title=Italian Flag Carrier ITA Airways Is Born |url=https://airwaysmag.com/airlines/ita-airways-is-born/ |access-date=18 October 2021 |work=Airways Magazine |date=15 October 2021 |archive-date=16 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016100028/https://airwaysmag.com/airlines/ita-airways-is-born/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> | |||
| Due to recent immigration, Italy has sizeable populations whose native language is not Italian, nor a regional language. According to the ], Romanian is the most common mother tongue among foreign residents: almost 800,000 people speak Romanian as their first language (22% of foreign residents aged 6 and over). Other prevalent mother tongues are Arabic (spoken by over 475,000; 13% of foreign residents), Albanian (380,000), and Spanish (255,000).<ref>{{Cite web|date=24 July 2014|title=Linguistic diversity among foreign citizens in Italy|url=http://www.istat.it/en/archive/129304|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140730134706/http://www.istat.it/en/archive/129304|archive-date=30 July 2014|access-date=27 July 2014|publisher=Italian National Institute of Statistics}}</ref> | |||
| In 2004 there were 43 major seaports, including the seaport of ], the country's largest and second-largest in the ]. In 2005 Italy maintained a civilian air fleet of about 389,000 units and a merchant fleet of 581 ships.<ref name="European Commission" /> The national inland ] network has a length of {{convert|2400|km|0|abbr=on}} for commercial traffic in 2012.<ref name="cia.gov" /> | |||
| === Religion === | |||
| Italy has been the final destination of the ] for many centuries. In particular, the construction of the ] intensified sea trade with ] and ] from the 19th century. Since the end of the Cold War and increasing European integration, the trade relations, which were often interrupted in the 20th century, have intensified again and the northern Italian ports such as the deep-water port of ] in the northernmost part of the Mediterranean with its extensive rail connections to ] and ] are once again the destination of government subsidies and significant foreign investment.<ref>Marcus Hernig: Die Renaissance der Seidenstraße (2018) pp 112.</ref><ref>Bernhard Simon: Can The New Silk Road Compete With The Maritime Silk Road? in The Maritime Executive, 1 January 2020.</ref><ref>Chazizam, M. (2018). The Chinese Maritime Silk Road Initiative: The Role of the Mediterranean. Mediterranean Quarterly, 29(2), 54–69.</ref><ref>Guido Santevecchi: Di Maio e la Via della Seta: «Faremo i conti nel 2020», siglato accordo su Trieste in Corriere della Sera: 5. November 2019.</ref><ref>Linda Vierecke, Elisabetta Galla "Triest und die neue Seidenstraße" In: Deutsche Welle, 8 December 2020.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/hhla-plt-italy-starting-on-schedule/|title=HHLA PLT Italy starting on schedule | Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide|website=www.hellenicshippingnews.com}}</ref> | |||
| {{Main|Religion in Italy}} | |||
| {{See also|List of cathedrals in Italy}} | |||
| ], viewed from the ], the ] in the back and ] to the right, ] (both the basilica and the hill are part of the ] of ], the ] of the ])]] | |||
| The ], the ], contains the government of ] and the worldwide ]. It is recognised as a ] entity, headed by the pope, who is also the Bishop of Rome, with which diplomatic relations can be maintained.<ref>Text taken directly from {{Cite web|title=Country Profile: Vatican City State|url=http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/country-profile/europe/holy-see|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101231084624/http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/country-profile/europe/holy-see|archive-date=31 December 2010|access-date=5 February 2016}} (viewed on 14 December 2011), on the website of the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office.</ref>{{Efn|The Holy See's sovereignty has been recognised explicitly in many international agreements and is particularly emphasised in article 2 of the ] of 11 February 1929, in which "Italy recognises the sovereignty of the Holy See in international matters as an inherent attribute in conformity with its traditions and the requirements of its mission to the world" ().}} | |||
| ===Energy=== | |||
| {{main|Energy in Italy}} | |||
| {{further|Renewable energy in Italy}} | |||
| {{see also|Electricity sector in Italy}}]. Italy is one of the world's largest producers of renewable energy.<ref name="legambiente2015">{{cite web |date=18 May 2015 |title=Il rapporto Comuni Rinnovabili 2015 |url=http://www.comunirinnovabili.it/il-rapporto-comuni-rinnovabili-2015/ |access-date=13 March 2016 |website=Comuni Rinnovabili |publisher=Legambiente |language=it}}</ref>]] | |||
| Although historically dominated by Catholicism, ] is declining.<ref name="Dell'orto">{{Cite web|last=Dell'orto|first=Giovanna|date=5 October 2023|title=The Nones: Italy|url=https://projects.apnews.com/features/2023/the-nones/the-nones-italy.html|access-date=6 October 2023|work=]|archive-date=5 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231005133701/https://projects.apnews.com/features/2023/the-nones/the-nones-italy.html|url-status=live}}; {{Cite web|last=Dell'orto|first=Giovanna|date=2023-10-05|title=From cradle to casket, life for Italians changes as Catholic faith loses relevance|url=https://apnews.com/article/italy-nonreligious-catholic-life-changes-fb808ce37daba3ce222e57a51c7d9187|access-date=2023-10-06|work=Associated Press News|archive-date=7 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007220721/https://apnews.com/article/italy-nonreligious-catholic-life-changes-fb808ce37daba3ce222e57a51c7d9187|url-status=live}}</ref> Most Catholics are nominal; the Associated Press describes ] as "nominally embraced but rarely lived".<ref name="Dell'orto"/> Italy has the world's ] and the largest in Europe.<ref>{{Cite web|date=13 February 2013|title=The Global Catholic Population|url=https://www.pewforum.org/2013/02/13/the-global-catholic-population|website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project|access-date=21 November 2020|archive-date=25 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125003604/https://www.pewforum.org/2013/02/13/the-global-catholic-population/|url-status=live}}</ref> Since 1985, Catholicism is no longer the official religion.<ref>{{Cite news|date=4 June 1985|title=Catholicism No Longer Italy's State Religion|url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1985-06-04/news/8501220260_1_italian-state-new-agreement-church|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020143004/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1985-06-04/news/8501220260_1_italian-state-new-agreement-church|archive-date=20 October 2013|access-date=7 September 2013|work=]}}</ref> | |||
| In the last decade, Italy has become one of the world's ], ranking as the second largest producer in the European Union and the ninth in the world. ], ], and ] are also significant ]. ] account for 27.5% of all electricity produced in Italy, with hydro alone reaching 12.6%, followed by solar at 5.7%, wind at 4.1%, bioenergy at 3.5%, and geothermal at 1.6%.<ref name="gse">{{cite web |url=http://www.gse.it/it/Statistiche/RapportiStatistici/Pagine/default.aspx |title=Rapporto Statistico sugli Impianti a fonti rinnovabili |date=19 December 2013 |publisher=Gestore dei Servizi Energetici |format=PDF |access-date=11 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018022905/http://www.gse.it/it/Statistiche/RapportiStatistici/Pagine/default.aspx |archive-date=18 October 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The rest of the national demand is covered by fossil fuels (38.2% natural gas, 13% coal, 8.4% oil) and by imports.<ref name="gse" /> ], with operations in 79 countries, is considered one of the seven "]" oil companies in the world, and one of the world's largest industrial companies.<ref name="Eni">{{cite web |title=Summary for Eni SpA |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=E |access-date=1 July 2020}}</ref> | |||
| In 2011, minority Christian faiths included an estimated 1.5 million Orthodox Christians, while ] has been growing.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Leustean|first=Lucian N.|title=Eastern Christianity and Politics in the Twenty-First Century|date=2014|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-4156-8490-3|page=723}}</ref> Italy has for centuries welcomed Jews expelled from other countries, notably Spain. However, about 20% of Italian Jews were killed during ].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Dawidowicz, Lucy S.|title=The war against the Jews, 1933–1945 |publisher=Bantam Books|year=1986|isbn=978-0-5533-4302-1|location=New York}} p. 403</ref> This, together with emigration before and after World War II, has left around 28,000 Jews.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Jewish Community of Italy (Unione delle Comunita Ebraiche Italiane)|url=http://www.eurojewcong.org/communities/italy.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130313095857/http://www.eurojewcong.org/communities/italy.html|archive-date=13 March 2013|access-date=25 August 2014|publisher=The European Jewish Congress}}</ref> There are 120,000 Hindus<ref>{{Cite web|date=4 November 2019|title=Eurispes, risultati del primo Rapporto di ricerca su "L'Induismo in Italia"|url=https://eurispes.eu/news/eurispes-risultati-del-primo-rapporto-di-ricerca-su-linduismo-in-italia|access-date=31 December 2021|language=it|archive-date=31 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211231223926/https://eurispes.eu/news/eurispes-risultati-del-primo-rapporto-di-ricerca-su-linduismo-in-italia/|url-status=live}}</ref> and 70,000 Sikhs.<ref>{{Cite web|date=15 November 2004|title=NRI Sikhs in Italy|url=http://www.nriinternet.com/EUROPE/ITALY/2004/111604Gurdwara.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110207031755/http://nriinternet.com/EUROPE/ITALY/2004/111604Gurdwara.htm|archive-date=7 February 2011|access-date=30 October 2010|publisher=Nriinternet.com}}</ref> | |||
| ] production alone accounted for almost 9% of the total electric production in the country in 2014, making Italy the country with the highest contribution from solar energy in the world.<ref name="legambiente2015" /> The ], completed in 2010, is the largest photovoltaic power station in Italy with 85 MW. Other examples of large PV plants in Italy are San Bellino (70.6 MW), Cellino san Marco (42.7 MW) and Sant' Alberto (34.6 MW).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.solarserver.com/solar-magazine/solar-energy-system-of-the-month/the-italian-montalto-di-castro-and-rovigo-pv-plants.html|title=The Italian Montalto di Castro and Rovigo PV plants|website=www.solarserver.com|access-date=8 May 2018|archive-date=9 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180509012719/https://www.solarserver.com/solar-magazine/solar-energy-system-of-the-month/the-italian-montalto-di-castro-and-rovigo-pv-plants.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Italy was the ].<ref name="UNMIG">{{cite web |date=2011 |title=Inventario delle risorse geotermiche nazionali |url=http://unmig.sviluppoeconomico.gov.it/unmig/geotermia/inventario/inventario.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722034736/http://unmig.sviluppoeconomico.gov.it/unmig/geotermia/inventario/inventario.asp |archive-date=22 July 2011 |access-date=14 September 2011 |publisher=UNMIG}}</ref> Italy had managed four nuclear reactors until the 1980s. However, ] has been abandoned following a ] (in the wake of the 1986 ] in Soviet Ukraine), though Italy still imports nuclear energy from Italy-owned reactors in foreign territories. | |||
| The state devolves shares of income tax to recognised religious communities, under a regime known as ]. Donations are allowed to Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, and Hindu communities; however, Islam remains excluded, as no Muslim communities have signed a concordat.<ref>{{Cite web|date=7 April 2003|title=Italy: Islam denied income tax revenue – Adnkronos Religion|url=http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Religion/?id=3.1.880028077|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130620070907/http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Religion/?id=3.1.880028077|archive-date=20 June 2013|access-date=2 June 2013|publisher=Adnkronos.com}}</ref> Taxpayers who do not wish to fund a religion contribute their share to the welfare system.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927211619/http://documenti.camera.it/Leg16/dossier/Testi/BI0350.htm|date=27 September 2013}}. Documenti.camera.it (10 March 1998). Retrieved 12 July 2013.</ref> | |||
| ===Science and technology=== | |||
| {{Main|Science and technology in Italy}} | |||
| ], the father of modern science, physics and astronomy<ref name="Singer"/><ref name="Whitehouse"/><ref name="Weidhorn"/><ref name="Hobbes"/><ref name="Disraeli"/>]] | |||
| ], creator of the world's ]<ref name="history"/><ref name="obit"/>]] | |||
| Through the centuries, Italy has fostered the scientific community that produced many major discoveries in physics and other sciences. During the ] Italian polymaths such as ] (1452–1519), ] (1475–1564) and ] (1404–1472) made contributions in a variety of fields, including biology, architecture, and engineering. ] (1564–1642), an ], ], ], and ], played a major role in the ]. He is considered the "father" of ],<ref name="Singer">{{Cite book |last=Singer |first=C. |date=1941 |title=A Short History of Science to the Nineteenth Century |publisher=Clarendon Press |page=217 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mPIgAAAAMAAJ }}</ref> modern physics,<ref name="Whitehouse">{{cite book |last=Whitehouse |first=D. |date=2009 |title=Renaissance Genius: Galileo Galilei & His Legacy to Modern Science |publisher=Sterling Publishing |isbn=978-1-4027-6977-1 |page= |url=https://archive.org/details/renaissancegeniu0000whit }}</ref><ref name="Weidhorn">{{cite book |last=Weidhorn |first=Manfred |title=The Person of the Millennium: The Unique Impact of Galileo on World History |date=2005 |isbn=978-0-595-36877-8 |page= |url=https://archive.org/details/personofmillenni0000weid }}</ref> the ],<ref name="Hobbes">''Thomas Hobbes: Critical Assessments'', Volume 1. Preston King. 1993. p. 59</ref> and ].<ref name="Disraeli">{{cite book |last=Disraeli |first=I.|title=Curiosities of Literature |date=1835 |publisher=W. Pearson & Company |page=371}}</ref> | |||
| === Education === | |||
| Other astronomers such as ] (1625–1712) and ] (1835–1910) made discoveries about the ]. In mathematics, ] (born Giuseppe Lodovico Lagrangia, 1736–1813) was active before leaving Italy. ] (c. 1170 – c. 1250), and ] (1501–1576) made fundamental advances in mathematics.<ref>{{Citation|year=1970|title=Cardano, Gerolamo|encyclopedia=Dizionario enciclopedico italiano|volume=II|page=777|publisher=]|language=it}}</ref> ] established ] to the world. Physicist ] (1901–1954), a Nobel prize laureate, led the team in Chicago that developed the ]. He is considered the "architect of the ]"<ref name="history">{{cite news|url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/enrico-fermi-architect-of-the-nuclear-age-dies|title=Enrico Fermi, architect of the nuclear age, dies|date=Autumn 1954|access-date=2 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117014820/http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/enrico-fermi-architect-of-the-nuclear-age-dies|archive-date=17 November 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> and the "architect of the ]".<ref name="obit">{{cite news|last=|first=|date=29 November 1954|title=Enrico Fermi Dead at 53; Architect of Atomic Bomb|newspaper=]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0929.html|url-status=dead|access-date=21 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190314034514/https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0929.html|archive-date=14 March 2019}}</ref> He, ] (1905–1989) who discovered the elements ] and ], and the ]), ] (1905–1993) a pioneer in Cosmic Rays and X-ray astronomy) and a number of Italian physicists were forced to leave Italy in the 1930s by ].<ref>Lucia Orlando, "Physics in the 1930s: Jewish Physicists' Contribution to the Realization of the" New Tasks" of Physics in Italy." ''Historical studies in the physical and biological sciences'' (1998): 141–181. {{JSTOR|27757806}}</ref> | |||
| {{Main|Education in Italy}} | |||
| ], established in 1088 AD, is the world's ].]] | |||
| Education is mandatory and free from ages six to sixteen,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Law 27 December 2007, n.296 |url=http://www.camera.it/parlam/leggi/06296l.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121206012402/http://www.camera.it/parlam/leggi/06296l.htm|archive-date=6 December 2012|access-date=30 September 2012|publisher=Italian Parliament}}</ref> and consists of five stages: kindergarten, primary school, lower secondary school, upper secondary school, and university.<ref>{{Cite web|title=| Human Development Reports|url=http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_20072008_EN_Complete.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429033726/http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_20072008_EN_Complete.pdf|archive-date=29 April 2011|access-date=18 January 2014|publisher=Hdr.undp.org}}</ref> | |||
| Other prominent physicists include: ] (most noted for his contributions to ], in particular, the ] and the ]), ] (inventor of ]), ] (inventor of ]), ] (inventor of ]), ] and ], pioneers of the induction motor, ], pioneer of light bulb and ], eclectic pioneer of auto and robotics, ] (who discovered the ]s), ] (1984 Nobel Prize in Physics for work leading to the discovery of the ] at ]). ] is known for developing a voice-communication device which is often credited as the first ].<ref>Wheen, Andrew. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160429211228/https://books.google.com/books?id=B6shu_hAiGkC&pg=PA45& |date=29 April 2016 }} Springer, 2010. p. 45. Web. 23 September 2011.</ref><ref>Cleveland, Cutler (Lead Author); Saundry, Peter (Topic Editor). {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130526094228/http://www.eoearth.org/article/Meucci,_Antonio |date=26 May 2013 }} ''Encyclopedia of Earth, 2006.'' Web. 22 July 2012.</ref> ] in 1964 designed one of the first desktop ]s, the ].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.oldcalculatormuseum.com/c-programma101.html |title=Olivetti Programma 101 Electronic Calculator |website=The Old Calculator Web Museum |quote=technically, the machine was a programmable calculator, not a computer.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=2008/107/1 Computer, Programma 101, and documents (3), plastic / metal / paper / electronic components, hardware architect Pier Giorgio Perotto, designed by Mario Bellini, made by Olivetti, Italy, 1965–1971 |website=www.powerhousemuseum.com |language=en |url=http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/collection/database/?irn=378406 | access-date= 20 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.oldcalculatormuseum.com/c-programma101.html |title=Olivetti Programma 101 Electronic Calculator |website=The Old Calculator Web Museum |quote=It appears that the Mathatronics Mathatron calculator {{sic|prec|eeded|nolink=y}} the Programma 101 to market.}}</ref> | |||
| Primary school lasts eight years. Students are given a basic education in Italian, English, mathematics, natural sciences, history, geography, social studies, physical education, and visual and musical arts. Secondary school lasts for five years and includes three traditional types of schools focused on different academic levels: the '']'' prepares students for university studies with a classical or scientific curriculum, while the '']'' and the '']'' prepare pupils for vocations. | |||
| In biology, ] has been the first to challenge the theory of spontaneous generation by demonstrating that maggots come from eggs of flies and he described 180 parasites in detail and ] founded ], ] conducted research in bodily functions, animal reproduction, and cellular theory, ], whose many achievements include the discovery of the ], paved the way to the acceptance of the ], ] discovered the ] (awarded 1986 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine). In chemistry, ] received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1963 for his work on high ]. ] received the ] for the discovery of the ] or pi-] decay in 1947. ], a ] recipient in 1990, solved ] about ]s and the ] on the regularity of solutions of ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/ennio-de-giorgi_%28Dizionario-Biografico%29/|title=DE GIORGI, Ennio|access-date=31 December 2021|language=it}}</ref> | |||
| In 2018, secondary education was evaluated as being below the average among ] countries.<ref name="oecd.org">{{Cite web|title=PISA 2018 results|url=https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/pisa-2018-results.htm|access-date=6 April 2021|website=oecd.org|archive-date=3 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191203141933/https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/pisa-2018-results.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Italy scored below the OECD average in reading and science, and near the OECD average in maths.<ref name="oecd.org"/> A wide gap exists between northern schools, which perform near average, and the south, which had much poorer results.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The literacy divide: territorial differences in the Italian education system|url=http://new.sis-statistica.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/CO09-The-literacy-divide-territorial-differences-in-the-Italian.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117015624/http://new.sis-statistica.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/CO09-The-literacy-divide-territorial-differences-in-the-Italian.pdf|archive-date=17 November 2015|access-date=16 November 2015|publisher=Parthenope University of Naples}}</ref> | |||
| ] (LNGS) is the largest underground research centre in the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lngs.infn.it/it/descrizione-generale|title=I Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso|access-date=15 January 2018|language=it}}</ref> ], ], ], ], ], ] and the ] conduct basic research. ] has the highest percentage of researchers in Europe in relation to the population.<ref>G. Bar "Trieste, è record europeo di ricercatori: 37 ogni mille abitanti. Più della Finlandia", In: il Fatto Quotidiano, 26 April 2018.</ref> Italy was ranked 28th in the ] in 2022.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.wipo.int/global_innovation_index/en/2022/index.html |title=Global Innovation Index 2022, 15th Edition |website=WIPO |publisher=] |year=2022 |isbn=9789280534320 |series=Global Innovation Index |language=en |doi=10.34667/tind.46596 |access-date=2022-11-16|last1=Dutta |first1=Soumitra |last2=Lanvin |first2=Bruno |last3=Wunsch-Vincent |first3=Sacha |last4=León |first4=Lorena Rivera |last5=World Intellectual Property Organization }}</ref> There are numerous ]s in Italy such as the Science and Technology Parks Kilometro Rosso (Bergamo), the ] (Trieste), The VEGA-Venice Gateway for Science and Technology (Venezia), the Toscana Life Sciences (Siena), the Technology Park of Lodi Cluster (Lodi), and the Technology Park of Navacchio (Pisa),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://easst.net/science-and-technology-parks-in-italy/|title=Science and Technology Parks in Italy}}</ref> as well as ]s such as the ] in ], the ] in ] and the ] in ]. | |||
| Tertiary education is divided between ], private universities, and the prestigious and selective ], such as the ]. 33 Italian universities were ranked among the world's top 500 in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|year=2019|title=Number of top-ranked universities by country in Europe|url=https://jakubmarian.com/number-of-top-ranked-universities-by-country-in-europe|publisher=jakubmarian.com|access-date=18 May 2019|archive-date=18 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190518113438/https://jakubmarian.com/number-of-top-ranked-universities-by-country-in-europe/|url-status=live}}</ref> ], founded in 1088, is the ] still in operation,<ref>Nuria Sanz, Sjur Bergan: "The heritage of European universities", 2nd edition, Higher Education Series No. 7, Council of Europe, 2006, ISBN 978-92-871-6121-5, p. 136</ref> and one of the leading academic institutions in Europe.<ref>{{Cite news|date=3 July 2017|title=Censis, la classifica delle università: Bologna ancora prima|url=http://bologna.repubblica.it/cronaca/2017/07/03/news/censis_la_classifica_delle_universita_bologna_ancora_prima-169846308|work=La Repubblica|access-date=10 September 2018|archive-date=10 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180910204704/https://bologna.repubblica.it/cronaca/2017/07/03/news/censis_la_classifica_delle_universita_bologna_ancora_prima-169846308/|url-status=live}}</ref> ], the ], ], the ], the ], the ], and the ] are also ranked among the best.<ref>{{Cite web|year=2015|title=Academic Ranking of World Universities 2015 |url=http://www.shanghairanking.com/ARWU2015.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151030134046/http://www.shanghairanking.com/ARWU2015.html|archive-date=30 October 2015|access-date=29 October 2015|publisher=Shanghai Ranking Consultancy}}</ref> | |||
| Within this great Italian History of Science and Technology, modern times tell a different and more technologically divergent story. The ] is a significant factor that leads to a vast difference in income between the Northern and Southern regions, which brings up the topic of the Digital Divide in Italy. The long history of this divided peninsula, now a unified nation-state, details the complex problems of underdeveloped areas in the South.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Alampi |first=Matteo |date=December 2007 |title=Underdevelopment in Southern Italy: Traditional Setbacks and Modern Solutions |url=https://fisherpub.sjf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1047&context=intlstudies_masters |journal=Fisher Digital Publications |via=International Studies Masters}}</ref> As expected, these problems of underdevelopment and poverty still linger today, also reflected in the concept of the digital divide between the North and South. The ] is broadly described as the technological differences between underdeveloped and developed countries. While this does not necessarily mean that people have no access to technology, it is made clear that this equates to differences in technology, such as the Internet and household electronics.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Di Pietro |first=Giorgio |date=June 2021 |title=Changes in Italy's education‐related digital divide |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ecaf.12471 |journal=Economic Affairs |language=en |volume=41 |issue=2 |pages=252–270 |doi=10.1111/ecaf.12471 |s2cid=237848271 |issn=0265-0665}}</ref> Digital inequalities between Northern and Southern Italy exist and are still prevalent, especially when related to education. | |||
| === |
=== Health === | ||
| {{Main| |
{{Main|Health in Italy|Healthcare in Italy}} | ||
| ] and vegetables are central to the Mediterranean diet.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Duarte, A.|last2=Fernandes, J.|last3=Bernardes, J.|last4=Miguel, G.|year=2016|title=Citrus as a Component of the Mediterranean Diet|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311911612|journal=Journal of Spatial and Organizational Dynamics – JSOD|volume=4|pages=289–304|access-date=26 January 2021|archive-date=1 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001220519/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311911612|url-status=live}}</ref>]] | |||
| ] of ] with ] in the distance. Pompeii is one of Italy's major tourist destinations.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://viaggioincoppia.com/classifica-musei-piu-visitati-in-italia/|title=La classifica dei 30 musei più visitati in Italia|date=3 March 2021 |access-date=22 April 2022}}</ref>]] | |||
| ] is one of Italy's major tourist destinations.<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170601184213/http://www.italy24.ilsole24ore.com/art/business-and-economy/2017-05-04/turismo-stranieri-124013.php?uuid=AEVg9GGB |date=1 June 2017 }}, Retrieved 21 May 2017.</ref>]] | |||
| People have visited Italy for centuries, yet the first to ] were aristocrats during the ], beginning in the 17th century, and flourishing in the 18th and the 19th century.<ref name="grand-tour">{{cite web|url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/grand-tour/|title=Grand Tour|access-date=6 May 2022|language=it}}</ref> This was a period in which European aristocrats, many of whom were British, visited parts of Europe, with Italy as a key destination.<ref name="grand-tour"/> For Italy, this was in order to study ancient architecture, local culture and to admire the natural beauties.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/grand_tour/what.html|title=Italy on the Grand Tour (Getty Exhibitions)|access-date=9 June 2015}}</ref> | |||
| Italy's life expectancy in 2015 was 80.5 years for men and 84.8 for women, placing the country ].<ref>{{Cite web|year=2016|title=World Health Statistics 2016: Monitoring health for the SDGs Annex B: tables of health statistics by country, WHO region and globally |url=https://www.who.int/gho/publications/world_health_statistics/2016/Annex_B/en|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160623023234/http://www.who.int/gho/publications/world_health_statistics/2016/Annex_B/en|archive-date=23 June 2016|access-date=27 June 2016|publisher=World Health Organization}}</ref> Compared to other Western countries, Italy has a low rate of adult obesity (below 10%<ref>{{Cite web|title=Global Prevalence of Adult Obesity|url=http://www.iotf.org/database/documents/GlobalPrevalenceofAdultObesity16thDecember08.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327044232/http://www.iotf.org/database/documents/GlobalPrevalenceofAdultObesity16thDecember08.pdf|archive-date=27 March 2009|access-date=29 January 2008|publisher=]}}</ref>), as the health benefits of the ] are very significant.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Dinu|first1=M|last2=Pagliai|first2=G|last3=Casini|first3=A|author-link3=Angela Casini|last4=Sofi|first4=F|date=10 May 2017|title=Mediterranean diet and multiple health outcomes: an umbrella review of meta-analyses of observational studies and randomised trials.|journal=European Journal of Clinical Nutrition|volume=72|issue=1|pages=30–43|doi=10.1038/ejcn.2017.58|pmid=28488692|s2cid=7702206|hdl-access=free|hdl=2158/1081996}}</ref> In 2013, ], prompted by Italy, added the Mediterranean diet to the ] of Italy, Morocco, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, and Croatia.<ref>{{Cite web|title=UNESCO Culture Sector, Eighth Session of the Intergovernmental Committee (8.COM) – from 2 to 7 December 2013 |url=http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?lg=en&pg=00473|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220125948/http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?lg=en&pg=00473|archive-date=20 December 2013|access-date=3 April 2014}}; {{Cite web|url=http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?lg=en&pg=00011&RL=00884|access-date=3 April 2014|title=UNESCO – Culture – Intangible Heritage – Lists & Register – Inscribed Elements – Mediterranean Diet| url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140415064011/http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?lg=en&pg=00011&RL=00884|archive-date=15 April 2014}}</ref> | |||
| Nowadays Italy is the ] in ], with a total of 52.3 million international arrivals in 2016.<ref name="WTO Tourism Highlights 2016 Edition">{{cite web |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ST.INT.ARVL |title=International tourism, number of arrivals |publisher=] |access-date=4 August 2016}}</ref> The total contribution of travel & tourism to GDP (including wider effects from investment, the supply chain and induced income impacts) was EUR162.7bn in 2014 (10.1% of GDP) and generated 1,082,000 jobs directly in 2014 (4.8% of total employment).<ref>{{cite web |title=Travel & Tourism Economic Impact 2015 Italy |url=https://www.wttc.org/-/media/files/reports/economic%20impact%20research/countries%202015/italy2015.pdf |publisher=] |access-date=20 May 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010152616/https://www.wttc.org/-/media/files/reports/economic%20impact%20research/countries%202015/italy2015.pdf |archive-date=10 October 2017 }}</ref> | |||
| The proportion of daily smokers was 22% in 2012, down from 24% in 2000 but above the OECD average.<ref>{{Cite web|year=2014|title=OECD Health Statistics 2014 How Does Italy Compare? |url=http://www.oecd.org/els/health-systems/Briefing-Note-ITALY-2014.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924133234/http://www.oecd.org/els/health-systems/Briefing-Note-ITALY-2014.pdf|archive-date=24 September 2015|publisher=OECD}}</ref> Since 2005, smoking in public places has been restricted to "specially ventilated rooms".<ref>{{Cite news|title=Smoking Ban Begins in Italy {{!}} Europe {{!}} DW.COM {{!}} 10 January 2005|url=http://www.dw.com/en/smoking-ban-begins-in-italy/a-1453590|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150621143640/http://www.dw.com/en/smoking-ban-begins-in-italy/a-1453590|archive-date=21 June 2015|access-date=1 August 2010|publisher=]}}</ref> | |||
| Factors of tourist interest in Italy are mainly ], ], ], ], ], ], religious sites and routes, wedding tourism, naturalistic beauties, nightlife, underwater sites and spas.<ref name="turismo-wedding">{{cite web|url=https://www.ansa.it/canale_viaggiart/it/notizie/speciali/2023/02/01/turismo-wedding-2-milioni-presenze-e-fatturato-599-mln_dcec4ad9-3ab8-4677-a303-6378020ac3a7.html|title=In Italia 11mila matrimoni stranieri, un turismo da 599 milioni|date=February 2023 |access-date=2 February 2023|language=it}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.travel365.it/migliori-destinazioni-italiane-per-vita-notturna.htm|title=10 Migliori destinazioni italiane per vita notturna|access-date=28 December 2021|language=it}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.paesionline.it/articoli/turismo-naturalistico-definizione-e-dove-praticarlo-in-italia|title=Turismo naturalistico: cos'è e dove praticarlo in Italia|access-date=5 May 2022|language=it}}</ref><ref name="studiare">{{cite web|url=https://www.studiare-in-italia.it/php5/study-italy.php?idorizz=6&idvert=84|title=Viaggiare in Italia: giro turistico|access-date=31 December 2021|language=it}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/il-benessere-genera-53percento-pil-mondiale-e-italia-e-boom-spa-e-turismo-wellness-AEeHWMLG|title=Il benessere genera il 5,3% del Pil mondiale: e in Italia è boom per Spa e turismo "wellness"|date=11 October 2018 |access-date=8 January 2022|language=it}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.adnkronos.com/turismo-religioso-in-italia-3-milioni-di-pellegrini-lanno-e-8-6-milioni-di-presenze_4xRvus8qO3yR7wEXF8bhrF#:~:text=Turismo-,Turismo%20religioso%2C%20in%20Italia%203%20milioni%20di%20pellegrini%20l'anno,8%2C6%20milioni%20di%20presenze&text=Dai%20cammini%20ai%20santuari%2C%20dalle,vacanze%20all'insegna%20della%20spiritualit%C3%A0.|title=Turismo religioso, in Italia 3 milioni di pellegrini l'anno e 8,6 milioni di presenze|date=24 July 2021 |access-date=5 May 2022|language=it}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.viaggiarenews.com/2021/03/il-meglio-per-il-turismo-subacqueo-in-italia/|title=Il meglio per il turismo subacqueo in Italia|date=27 March 2021 |access-date=19 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> Winter and summer tourism are present in many locations in the ] and the ],<ref name="alloggitaly">{{cite web|url=https://www.alloggitaly.it/vacanze-in-montagna-in-italia/|title=VACANZE IN MONTAGNA IN ITALIA: IN INVERNO E IN ESTATE|date=30 July 2017 |access-date=1 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> while seaside tourism is widespread in coastal locations on the ].<ref name="turismo-oggi">{{cite web|url=https://www.turismo-oggi.com/il-turismo-balneare.html|title=Il turismo balneare|date=14 February 2018 |access-date=1 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> Italy is the leading cruise tourism destination in the Mediterranean Sea.<ref name="lagenziadiviaggi">{{cite web|url=https://www.lagenziadiviaggi.it/crociere-cemar-88-milioni-di-passeggeri-nei-porti-italiani/|title=Crociere, Cemar: 8,8 milioni di passeggeri nei porti italiani|date=27 April 2022 |access-date=13 May 2022|language=it}}</ref> | |||
| Since 1978, the state has run a universal public healthcare system.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Italy – Health|url=http://dev.prenhall.com/divisions/hss/worldreference/IT/health.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090701064229/http://dev.prenhall.com/divisions/hss/worldreference/IT/health.html|archive-date=1 July 2009|access-date=2 August 2010|publisher=Dev.prenhall.com}}</ref> However, healthcare is provided to all citizens and residents by a mixed public-private system. The public part is the ], which is organised under the Ministry of Health and administered on a devolved regional basis. Healthcare spending accounted for 10% of GDP in 2020. Italy's healthcare system has been consistently ranked among the best in the world;<ref>{{Cite web|title=The World Health Organization's ranking of the world's health systems|url=http://www.photius.com/rankings/healthranks.html|access-date=7 September 2015|publisher=Photius.com|archive-date=5 January 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100105190014/http://www.photius.com/rankings/healthranks.html|url-status=live}}; {{Cite news|date=20 March 2017|title=Italy's Struggling Economy Has World's Healthiest People|publisher=Bloomberg News|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-20/italy-s-struggling-economy-has-world-s-healthiest-people|access-date=9 December 2020|archive-date=6 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221006112037/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-20/italy-s-struggling-economy-has-world-s-healthiest-people|url-status=live}}</ref> according to research by the ] (WHO) dating back to 2000, Italy had the second best healthcare system in the world in terms of spending efficiency and access to public care for citizens, after France.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Maio |first1=Vittorio |last2=Manzoli |first2=L |date=2002 |title=The Italian health care system: W.H.O. Ranking versus public perception. |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/285698246 |journal=P and T |volume=27 |pages=301–308}}</ref> | |||
| The most visited ], measured by nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments, are ], ], ], ] and ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=File:Number_of_nights_spent_in_tourist_accommodation_establishments_in_the_top_20_EU-28_tourist_regions,_by_NUTS_2_regions,_2015_(million_nights_spent)_RYB17.png|title=Number of nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments in the top 20 EU-28 tourist regions, by NUTS 2 regions, 2015 (million nights spent) RYB17 – Statistics Explained|website=ec.europa.eu|access-date=17 April 2022}}</ref> ] is the 3rd most visited city in Europe and the 12th in the world, with 9.4 million arrivals in 2017 while ] is the 27th worldwide with 6.8 million tourists.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.travelpulse.com/news/destinations/ranking-the-30-most-visited-cities-in-the-world.html|title=Ranking the 30 Most-Visited Cities in the World|website=TravelPulse}}{{Dead link|date=May 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In addition, ] and ] are also among the world's top 100 destinations. | |||
| == Economy == | |||
| Italy is also the ] of ] in the world (58).<ref name=convention>{{cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/convention/ |title=The World Heritage Convention |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=1 August 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827065310/https://whc.unesco.org/en/convention/ |archive-date=27 August 2016}}</ref> Out of Italy's 58 heritage sites, ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/it/|title=Italy|publisher=UNESCO World Heritage Centre|access-date=9 April 2019|archive-date=1 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201134320/http://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/it|url-status=live}}</ref> In Italy there is a broad variety of hotels, going from 1–5 stars. According to ], in 2017, there were 32,988 hotels with 1,133,452 rooms and 2,239,446 beds.<ref name="hotel">{{cite web|url=https://www.istat.it/it/files//2019/12/C19.pdf|title=Turismo|access-date=2 April 2022|language=it|page=3}}</ref> As for non-hotel facilities (campsites, tourist villages, accommodations for rent, agritourism, etc.), in 2017 their number was 171,915 with 2,798,352 beds.<ref name="hotel"/> | |||
| {{Main|Economy of Italy}} | |||
| {{See also|List of largest Italian companies}} | |||
| Italy has an advanced<ref>{{Cite web|title=Select Country or Country Groups|url=https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2017/02/weodata/weoselgr.aspx|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022143402/https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2017/02/weodata/weoselgr.aspx|archive-date=22 October 2017|access-date=22 October 2017}}</ref> ] that is the third-largest in the ] and ] in the world by ]-adjusted GDP.<ref>{{Cite web|date=28 April 2017|title=Gross domestic product (2015) |url=http://databank.worldbank.org/data/download/GDP.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170201165545/http://databank.worldbank.org/data/download/GDP.pdf|archive-date=1 February 2017|access-date=17 May 2017|website=The World Bank: World Development Indicators database|publisher=World Bank}}</ref> It has the ] and the ]. As a founding member of the ], the eurozone, and the ], it is one of the most industrialised nations and a leading country in ].<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Sensenbrenner|first1=Frank|last2=Arcelli|first2=Angelo Federico|title=Italy's Economy Is Much Stronger Than It Seems|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/frank-sensenbrenner/italy-economy_b_3401988.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141206190937/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frank-sensenbrenner/italy-economy_b_3401988.html|archive-date=6 December 2014|access-date=25 November 2014|work=HuffPost}}; {{Cite news|last1=Dadush|first1=Uri|title=Is the Italian Economy on the Mend?|url=http://carnegieeurope.eu/publications/?fa=50565&reloadFlag=1|access-date=25 November 2014|publisher=]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713124951/http://carnegieeurope.eu/publications/?fa=50565&reloadFlag=1|archive-date=13 July 2015}}; {{Cite web|title=Doing Business in Italy: 2014 Country Commercial Guide for U.S. Companies |url=http://www.export.gov/italy/static/2014%20CCG%20Italy_Latest_eg_it_076513.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715152504/http://www.export.gov/italy/static/2014%20CCG%20Italy_Latest_eg_it_076513.pdf|archive-date=15 July 2014|access-date=25 November 2014|publisher=]}}</ref> It is a ] ranked 30th on the ]. It performs well in ], ],<ref>{{Cite web|title=The World Health Organization's ranking of the world's health systems|url=http://www.photius.com/rankings/healthranks.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100105190014/http://www.photius.com/rankings/healthranks.html|archive-date=5 January 2010|access-date=7 September 2015|publisher=Photius.com}}</ref> and ]. The country is well known for its creative and innovative businesses,<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Global Creativity Index 2011 |url=http://martinprosperity.org/media/GCI%20Report%20Sep%202011.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140930054555/http://martinprosperity.org/media/GCI%20Report%20Sep%202011.pdf|archive-date=30 September 2014|access-date=26 November 2014|publisher=Martin Prosperity Institute}}</ref> a competitive agricultural sector<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Aksoy|first1=M. Ataman|last2=Ng|first2=Francis|title=The Evolution of Agricultural Trade Flows|url=https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/3793/WPS5308.pdf?sequence=1|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129120448/https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/3793/WPS5308.pdf?sequence=1|archive-date=29 November 2014|access-date=25 November 2014|publisher=]}}</ref> (with the world's ]),<ref>{{Cite news|last=Pisa|first=Nick|date=12 June 2011|title=Italy overtakes France to become world's largest wine producer|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/wine/8571222/Italy-overtakes-France-to-become-worlds-largest-wine-producer.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903021833/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/wine/8571222/Italy-overtakes-France-to-become-worlds-largest-wine-producer.html|archive-date=3 September 2011|access-date=17 August 2011|work=The Telegraph}}</ref> and for its influential and high-quality automobile, machinery, food, design, and fashion industries.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Automotive Market Sector Profile – Italy|url=http://www.enterprisecanadanetwork.ca/_uploads/resources/Automotive-Market-Sector-Profile-Italy.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141205163959/http://www.enterprisecanadanetwork.ca/_uploads/resources/Automotive-Market-Sector-Profile-Italy.pdf|archive-date=5 December 2014|access-date=26 November 2014|publisher=]}}; {{Cite web|title=Data & Trends of the European Food and Drink Industry 2013–2014 |url=http://www.fooddrinkeurope.eu/uploads/publications_documents/Data__Trends_of_the_European_Food_and_Drink_Industry_2013-2014.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141206010318/http://www.fooddrinkeurope.eu/uploads/publications_documents/Data__Trends_of_the_European_Food_and_Drink_Industry_2013-2014.pdf|archive-date=6 December 2014|access-date=26 November 2014|publisher=]}}; {{Cite news|date=10 January 2014|title=Italy fashion industry back to growth in 2014 |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-italy-fashion-growth-idUKBREA0912220140110|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141205114140/http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/01/10/uk-italy-fashion-growth-idUKBREA0912220140110|archive-date=5 December 2014|access-date=26 November 2014|work=Reuters}}</ref> | |||
| ] and ] of the world.]] | |||
| ], founded in 1472, is the world's ].]] | |||
| ] is considered one of the world's oil and gas ].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/oil-gas-and-mining/spotlight-sharpens/|title=The spotlight sharpens: Eni and corruption in Republic of Congo's oil sector|website=Global Witness|access-date=27 April 2020|archive-date=25 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230725204616/https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/oil-gas-and-mining/spotlight-sharpens/|url-status=dead}}</ref>]] | |||
| Italy is the ],<ref>" {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010152014/http://databank.worldbank.org/data/reports.aspx?source=2&series=NV.IND.MANF.KD&country=|date=10 October 2017}}". Retrieved 17 May 2017.</ref> characterised by fewer multinational corporations than other economies of comparable size and many dynamic ], clustered in industrial districts, which are the backbone of Italian industry. This has produced a niche-markets manufacturing sector often focused on the export of luxury products. While less capable of competing on quantity, it can compete with Asian economies that have lower labor costs through higher-quality products.<ref>{{Cite news|date=19 May 2005|title=Knowledge Economy Forum 2008: Innovative Small And Medium Enterprises Are Key To Europe & Central Asian Growth |url=http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/ECAEXT/0,,contentMDK:21808326~menuPK:258604~pagePK:2865106~piPK:2865128~theSitePK:258599,00.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080623065619/http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/ECAEXT/0,,contentMDK:21808326~menuPK:258604~pagePK:2865106~piPK:2865128~theSitePK:258599,00.html|archive-date=23 June 2008|access-date=17 June 2008|publisher=The World Bank}}</ref> Italy was the world's ] in 2019. Its closest trade ties are with other EU countries and largest export partners in 2019 were Germany (12%), France (11%), and the US (10%).<ref name="cia.gov">{{Cite web|title=The World Factbook|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/italy|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210701235642/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/italy|archive-date=1 July 2021|access-date=28 May 2021|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency}}</ref> | |||
| ==Demographics== | |||
| {{Main|Demographics of Italy}} | |||
| {{see also|Italians|Italian diaspora|Genetic history of Italy|List of cities in Italy|Racism in Italy}} | |||
| ] is a significant part of the manufacturing sector with over 144,000 firms, and almost 485,000 employees in 2015,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Auto: settore da 144mila imprese in Italia e 117 mld fatturato|url=http://www.adnkronos.com/soldi/economia/2015/09/23/auto-settore-mila-imprese-italia-mld-fatturato_WooBmrBqxgxO7mOvIRXUBI.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925121926/http://www.adnkronos.com/soldi/economia/2015/09/23/auto-settore-mila-imprese-italia-mld-fatturato_WooBmrBqxgxO7mOvIRXUBI.html|archive-date=25 September 2015|access-date=23 September 2015|website=adnkronos.com}}</ref> contributing 9% to GDP.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Country Profiles – Italy|url=http://acea.thisconnect.com/index.php/country_profiles/detail/italy|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080211190839/http://acea.thisconnect.com/index.php/country_profiles/detail/italy|archive-date=11 February 2008|access-date=9 February 2008|website=acea.thisconnect.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Global Auto Market 2021. General Motors Is The Only Group To Report Double-digit Losses |url=https://www.focus2move.com/world-car-group-ranking|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210701010705/https://www.focus2move.com/world-car-group-ranking|archive-date=1 July 2021|access-date=27 May 2022}}</ref> The country boasts a wide range of products, from city cars to luxury supercars such as ], ], ], and ].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Haigh|first=Robert|date=18 February 2014|title=Ferrari – The World's Most Powerful Brand|url=http://brandfinance.com/news/ferrari--the-worlds-most-powerful-brand|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202035054/http://brandfinance.com/news/ferrari--the-worlds-most-powerful-brand|archive-date=2 February 2016|access-date=9 February 2015|publisher=Brand Finance}}</ref> | |||
| ] | |||
| The ] is the world's oldest or second oldest bank in continuous operation, depending on the definition, and the fourth-largest Italian commercial and retail bank.<ref>{{Cite news|date=26 October 2017|title=Italy's fourth-biggest bank returns to the stockmarket|url=https://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21730672-shares-bailed-out-bank-start-trading-again-italys-fourth-biggest-bank|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180215112321/https://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21730672-shares-bailed-out-bank-start-trading-again-italys-fourth-biggest-bank|archive-date=15 February 2018|access-date=26 October 2021|newspaper=]}}</ref> Italy has a strong ] sector with the largest share in the EU of the population (4.5%) employed by a cooperative.<ref>{{Cite web|date=April 2016|title=The Power of Cooperation – Cooperatives Europe key statistics 2015 |url=https://coopseurope.coop/sites/default/files/The%20power%20of%20Cooperation%20-%20Cooperatives%20Europe%20key%20statistics%202015.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112034412/https://coopseurope.coop/sites/default/files/The%20power%20of%20Cooperation%20-%20Cooperatives%20Europe%20key%20statistics%202015.pdf|archive-date=12 November 2020|access-date=28 May 2021|website=]}}</ref> The ] area, Basilicata, hosts the largest ] ] in Europe.<ref>{{Cite web|title=In Val d'Agri with Upstream activities|url=https://www.eni.com/en-IT/operations/italy-val-agri-upstream-activities.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220516034214/https://www.eni.com/en-IT/operations/italy-val-agri-upstream-activities.html|archive-date=16 May 2022|access-date=3 February 2021|publisher=]}}</ref> Moderate natural gas reserves, mainly in the ] and offshore under the Adriatic, have been discovered and constitute the country's most important mineral resource. Italy is one of the world's leading producers of ], ], and ].<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|title=Italy, the economy: Resources and power|encyclopedia=]|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/297474/Italy/26994/Forestry#toc26986|access-date=9 February 2015|date=3 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150209194536/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/297474/Italy/26994/Forestry#toc26986|archive-date=9 February 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Another notable resource is marble, especially the famous white ] from Tuscany. | |||
| At the beginning of 2020, Italy had 60,317,116 inhabitants.<ref name="istat.it">{{cite web |title=Indicatori demografici |url=https://www.istat.it/it/archivio/269158 |website=www.istat.it |access-date=27 July 2022 |language=it |date=8 April 2022}}</ref> The resulting population density, at {{convert|202|PD/km2}}, is higher than that of most Western European countries. However, the distribution of the population is widely uneven. The most densely populated areas are the Po Valley (that accounts for almost a half of the national population) and the metropolitan areas of Rome and Naples, while vast regions such as the Alps and Apennines highlands, the plateaus of Basilicata and the island of Sardinia, as well as much of Sicily, are sparsely populated. | |||
| Italy is part of a monetary union, the eurozone, which represents around 330 million citizens, and of the ], which represents more than 500 million consumers. Several domestic commercial policies are determined by agreements among EU members and EU legislation. Italy joined the common European currency, the ], in 2002.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Andrews|first=Edmund L.|date=1 January 2002|title=Germans Say Goodbye to the Mark, a Symbol of Strength and Unity|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/01/world/germans-say-goodbye-to-the-mark-a-symbol-of-strength-and-unity.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501031330/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/01/world/germans-say-goodbye-to-the-mark-a-symbol-of-strength-and-unity.html|archive-date=1 May 2011|access-date=18 March 2011|work=The New York Times}}; {{Cite news|last=Taylor Martin|first=Susan|date=28 December 1998|title=On Jan.{{spaces}}1, out of many arises one Euro|work=]|page=National, 1.A}}</ref> Its monetary policy is set by the ]. | |||
| The population of Italy almost doubled during the 20th century, but the pattern of growth was extremely uneven because of large-scale ] from the rural South to the industrial cities of the North, a phenomenon which happened as a consequence of the ] of the 1950–1960s. High fertility and birth rates persisted until the 1970s, after which they started to decline. The population rapidly ]; by 2010, one in five ] was over 65 years old, and the country currently has the fifth oldest population in the world, with a ] of 46.5 years.<ref name="cia.gov" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-SF-08-072/EN/KS-SF-08-072-EN.PDF |title=Ageing characterises the demographic perspectives of the European societies – Issue number 72/2008 |author=EUROSTAT |access-date=28 April 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090102184227/http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-SF-08-072/EN/KS-SF-08-072-EN.PDF |archive-date=2 January 2009 |author-link=EUROSTAT}}</ref> However, in recent years Italy has experienced significant growth in birth rates.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://demo.istat.it/altridati/indicatori/2008/Tab_1.pdf |title=Crude birth rates, mortality rates and marriage rates 2005–2008 |author=ISTAT |access-date=10 May 2009 |language=it|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810171721/http://demo.istat.it/altridati/indicatori/2008/Tab_1.pdf |archive-date=10 August 2011|author-link=Istituto Nazionale di Statistica}}</ref> The total fertility rate has also climbed from an all-time low of 1.18 children per woman in 1995 to 1.41 in 2008,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://demo.istat.it/altridati/indicatori/2008/Tab_4.pdf |title=Average number of children born per woman 2005–2008 |author=ISTAT |access-date=3 May 2009 |language=it|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810171708/http://demo.istat.it/altridati/indicatori/2008/Tab_4.pdf |archive-date=10 August 2011|author-link=Istituto Nazionale di Statistica}}</ref> albeit still below the ] of 2.1 and considerably below the high of 5.06 children born per woman in 1883.<ref>{{citation |url=https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/children-born-per-woman?year=1800&country=ITA |title=Total Fertility Rate around the world over the last centuries |author=Max Roser |date=2014 |work=], ]|access-date=7 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180807185906/https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/children-born-per-woman?year=1800&country=ITA|archive-date=7 August 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> Nevertheless, the ] is expected to reach 1.6–1.8 in 2030.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://demo.istat.it/uniprev2011/index.html?lingua=ita |title=Previsioni della popolazione, 2011–2065, dati al 1° gennaio |publisher=Demo.istat.it |access-date=12 March 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130306125456/http://demo.istat.it/uniprev2011/index.html?lingua=ita |archive-date=6 March 2013}}</ref> | |||
| Italy was hit hard by the ], which exacerbated structural problems.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Orsi|first=Roberto|date=23 April 2013|title=The Quiet Collapse of the Italian Economy|url=http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/eurocrisispress/2013/04/23/the-quiet-collapse-of-the-italian-economy|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141119075748/http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/eurocrisispress/2013/04/23/the-quiet-collapse-of-the-italian-economy|archive-date=19 November 2014|access-date=24 November 2014|publisher=]}}</ref> After strong GDP growth of 5–6% per year from the 1950s to the early 1970s,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Nicholas Crafts, Gianni Toniolo|title=Economic growth in Europe since 1945 |publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1996|isbn=978-0-5214-9627-8|page=428}}</ref> and a progressive slowdown in the 1980–90s, the country stagnated in the 2000s.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Balcerowicz|first=Leszek|title=Economic Growth in the European Union|url=http://www.lisboncouncil.net/growth/documents/LISBON_COUNCIL_Economic_Growth_in_the_EU%20(1).pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714205108/http://www.lisboncouncil.net/growth/documents/LISBON_COUNCIL_Economic_Growth_in_the_EU%20(1).pdf|archive-date=14 July 2014|access-date=8 October 2014|publisher=The Lisbon Council}}; {{Cite news|title="Secular stagnation" in graphics|url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2014/11/secular-stagnation-graphics|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141123234145/http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2014/11/secular-stagnation-graphics|archive-date=23 November 2014|access-date=24 November 2014|newspaper=The Economist}}</ref> Political efforts to revive growth with massive government spending produced a severe rise in ], that stood at over 132% of GDP in 2017,<ref>{{Cite web|date=15 May 2018|title=Debito pubblico oltre 2.300 miliardi e all'estero non lo comprano|url=https://www.investireoggi.it/economia/debito-pubblico-oltre-2-300-miliardi-e-litalia-e-sulla-strada-dellautarchia-finanziaria|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221072720/https://www.investireoggi.it/economia/debito-pubblico-oltre-2-300-miliardi-e-litalia-e-sulla-strada-dellautarchia-finanziaria|archive-date=21 February 2020|access-date=1 June 2018}}</ref> the second highest in the EU, after Greece.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Government debt increased to 93.9% of GDP in euro area and to 88.0% in EU28|url=http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_PUBLIC/2-22072014-AP/EN/2-22072014-AP-EN.PDF|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021162159/http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_PUBLIC/2-22072014-AP/EN/2-22072014-AP-EN.PDF|archive-date=21 October 2014|access-date=24 November 2014|publisher=]}}</ref> The largest portion of ] is owned by national subjects, a major difference between Italy and Greece,<ref>{{Cite web|date=18 May 2010|title=Could Italy Be Better Off than its Peers?|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2010/05/18/could-italy-be-better-off-than-its-peers.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430030613/http://www.cnbc.com/id/37207942/Could_Italy_Be_Better_Off_than_its_Peers|archive-date=30 April 2011|access-date=30 May 2011|publisher=CNBC}}</ref> and the level of ] is much lower than the OECD average.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Household debt and the OECD's surveillance of member states|url=http://www.nationalbanken.dk/da/om_nationalbanken/oekonomisk_forskning/Documents/4_Household%20debt%20and%20the%20OECD's%20surveillance%20of%20member%20states%20by%20Christophe%20Andr%C3%A9.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150109041518/http://www.nationalbanken.dk/da/om_nationalbanken/oekonomisk_forskning/Documents/4_Household%20debt%20and%20the%20OECD%27s%20surveillance%20of%20member%20states%20by%20Christophe%20Andr%C3%A9.pdf|archive-date=9 January 2015|access-date=26 November 2014|publisher=] Economics Department}}</ref> | |||
| From the late 19th century until the 1960s Italy was a country of mass ]. Between 1898 and 1914, the peak years of ], approximately 750,000 ] emigrated each year.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://library.thinkquest.org/26786/en/articles/view.php3?arKey=4&paKey=7&loKey=0&evKey=&toKey=&torKey=&tolKey= |title=Causes of the Italian mass emigration |publisher=ThinkQuest Library |date=15 August 1999 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090701010600/http://library.thinkquest.org/26786/en/articles/view.php3?arKey=4&paKey=7&loKey=0&evKey=&toKey=&torKey=&tolKey= |archive-date=1 July 2009 |access-date=11 August 2014}}</ref> The diaspora concerned more than 25 million Italians and it is considered the biggest mass migration of contemporary times.<ref>Favero, Luigi e Tassello, Graziano. ''Cent'anni di emigrazione italiana (1861–1961)'' Introduction</ref> As a result, today more than 4.1 million Italian citizens are living abroad,<ref name=aire>{{cite web |url=http://www.interno.it/mininterno/export/sites/default/it/sezioni/servizi/legislazione/elezioni/0947_2010_02_01_DM27012010.html |title=Statistiche del Ministero dell'Interno|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100227045432/http://www.interno.it/mininterno/export/sites/default/it/sezioni/servizi/legislazione/elezioni/0947_2010_02_01_DM27012010.html |archive-date=27 February 2010}}</ref> while at least 60 million people of full or part Italian ancestry live outside of Italy, most notably in ],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.asteriscos.tv/dossier-3.html |title=Unos 20 millones de personas que viven en la Argentina tienen algún grado de descendencia italiana |access-date=27 June 2008 |last=Lee |first=Adam |date=3 April 2006 |language=es |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080611032202/http://www.asteriscos.tv/dossier-3.html |archive-date=11 June 2008}}</ref> ],<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212103430/http://www.consultanazionaleemigrazione.it/itestero/Gli_italiani_in_Brasile.pdf |date=12 February 2012 }}. Retrieved 10 September 2008.</ref> ],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hotelsclick.com/hoteles/UY/Uruguay-DEMOGRAF%C3%ADA-5.html |title=Ethnic origins, 2006 counts, for Uruguay, provinces and territories – 20% sample data|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511132255/http://www.hotelsclick.com/hoteles/UY/Uruguay-DEMOGRAF%C3%ADA-5.html |archive-date=11 May 2011}}</ref> ],<ref>Santander Laya-Garrido, Alfonso. ''Los Italianos forjadores de la nacionalidad y del desarrollo economico en Venezuela''. Editorial Vadell. Valencia, 1978</ref> the ],<ref>{{cite web |author=American FactFinder, United States Census Bureau |url=http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/IPTable?_bm=y&-reg=ACS_2006_EST_G00_S0201:543;ACS_2006_EST_G00_S0201PR:543;ACS_2006_EST_G00_S0201T:543;ACS_2006_EST_G00_S0201TPR:543&-qr_name=ACS_2006_EST_G00_S0201&-qr_name=ACS_2006_EST_G00_S0201PR&-qr_name=ACS_2006_EST_G00_S0201T&-qr_name=ACS_2006_EST_G00_S0201TPR&-ds_name=ACS_2006_EST_G00_&-TABLE_NAMEX=&-ci_type=A&-redoLog=true&-charIterations=047&-geo_id=01000US&-geo_id=NBSP&-format=&-_lang=en |title=U.S. Census Bureau – Selected Population Profile in the United States |publisher=American FactFinder, United States Census Bureau |access-date=30 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200210232035/http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/IPTable?_bm=y&-reg=ACS_2006_EST_G00_S0201:543;ACS_2006_EST_G00_S0201PR:543;ACS_2006_EST_G00_S0201T:543;ACS_2006_EST_G00_S0201TPR:543&-qr_name=ACS_2006_EST_G00_S0201&-qr_name=ACS_2006_EST_G00_S0201PR&-qr_name=ACS_2006_EST_G00_S0201T&-qr_name=ACS_2006_EST_G00_S0201TPR&-ds_name=ACS_2006_EST_G00_&-TABLE_NAMEX=&-ci_type=A&-redoLog=true&-charIterations=047&-geo_id=01000US&-geo_id=NBSP&-format=&-_lang=en |archive-date=10 February 2020}}</ref> ],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/highlights/ethnic/pages/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo=PR&Code=01&Data=Count&Table=2&StartRec=1&Sort=3&Display=All&CSDFilter=5000 |title=Ethnic origins, 2006 counts, for Canada, provinces and territories – 20% sample data |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091101151108/http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/highlights/ethnic/pages/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo=PR&Code=01&Data=Count&Table=2&StartRec=1&Sort=3&Display=All&CSDFilter=5000 |archive-date=1 November 2009 |date=2 April 2008}}</ref> ]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/ViewData?action=404&documentproductno=0&documenttype=Details&order=1&tabname=Details&areacode=0&issue=2006&producttype=Census%20Tables&javascript=true&textversion=false&navmapdisplayed=true&breadcrumb=LPTD&&collection=Census&period=2006&productlabel=Ancestry%20by%20Country%20of%20Birth%20of%20Parents%20-%20Time%20Series%20Statistics%20(2001,%202006%20Census%20Years)&producttype=Census%20Tables&method=Place%20of%20Usual%20Residence&topic=Ancestry& |title=20680-Ancestry by Country of Birth of Parents – Time Series Statistics (2001, 2006 Census Years) – Australia |publisher=] |date=27 June 2007 |access-date=30 December 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001032237/http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/ViewData?action=404&documentproductno=0&documenttype=Details&order=1&tabname=Details&areacode=0&issue=2006&producttype=Census%20Tables&javascript=true&textversion=false&navmapdisplayed=true&breadcrumb=LPTD&&collection=Census&period=2006&productlabel=Ancestry%20by%20Country%20of%20Birth%20of%20Parents%20-%20Time%20Series%20Statistics%20%282001%2C%202006%20Census%20Years%29&producttype=Census%20Tables&method=Place%20of%20Usual%20Residence&topic=Ancestry& |archive-date=1 October 2007}}</ref> and ].<ref>"'' {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413151427/https://books.google.com/books?id=BLo2RqGdv_wC&pg=PA143 |date=13 April 2016 }}''". Robin Cohen (1995). ]. p. 143. {{ISBN|0-521-44405-5}}</ref> | |||
| A gaping ] is a major factor of socio-economic weakness;<ref>{{Cite news|title=Oh for a new risorgimento|url=https://www.economist.com/node/18780831|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141024163715/http://www.economist.com/node/18780831|archive-date=24 October 2014|access-date=24 November 2014|newspaper=The Economist}}</ref> there is a huge difference in official income between northern and southern regions and municipalities.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Comune per Comune, ecco la mappa navigabile dei redditi dichiarati in Italia|url=http://www.lastampa.it/economia/speciali/redditi-italia|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150405032750/http://www.lastampa.it/economia/speciali/redditi-italia|archive-date=5 April 2015|access-date=4 April 2015|website=lastampa.it}}</ref> The richest province, ], earns 152% of the national GDP per capita, while the poorest region, Calabria, earns 61%.<ref>{{Cite web|title=GDP per capita at regional level|url=https://www.istat.it/it/files/2016/12/Conti-regionali_2015.pdf?title=Conti+economici+territoriali+-+12%2Fdic%2F2016+-+Testo+integrale+e+nota+metodologica.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026054135/https://www.istat.it/it/files/2016/12/Conti-regionali_2015.pdf?title=Conti+economici+territoriali+-+12%2Fdic%2F2016+-+Testo+integrale+e+nota+metodologica.pdf|archive-date=26 October 2017|access-date=25 October 2017|publisher=]}}</ref> The unemployment rate (11%) is above the eurozone average,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Euro area unemployment rate at 11%|url=http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/2995521/8121455/3-31072017-AP-EN.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170731232352/http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/2995521/8121455/3-31072017-AP-EN.pdf|archive-date=31 July 2017|access-date=26 October 2017|publisher=]}}</ref> but the disaggregated figure is 7% in the north and 19% in the south.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Istat|author-link=National Institute of Statistics (Italy)|title=Employment and unemployment: second quarter 2017 |url=http://www.istat.it/it/files/2017/09/Mercato-del-lavoro-II-trim-2017.pdf?title=Il+mercato+del+lavoro+-+12%2Fset%2F2017+-+Testo+integrale+e+nota+metodologica.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026054033/http://www.istat.it/it/files/2017/09/Mercato-del-lavoro-II-trim-2017.pdf?title=Il+mercato+del+lavoro+-+12%2Fset%2F2017+-+Testo+integrale+e+nota+metodologica.pdf|archive-date=26 October 2017|access-date=26 October 2017}}</ref> The ] (32% in 2018) is extremely high. | |||
| === Largest cities === | |||
| {{Largest cities of Italy}} | |||
| === |
=== Agriculture === | ||
| {{Main| |
{{Main|Agriculture in Italy}} | ||
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| | image1 = Vineyards in Piemonte, Italy.jpg | |||
| | footer = ]. Italy is the world's ], and has the widest variety of indigenous ]s.<ref>{{Cite web|date=25 November 2018|title=L'Italia è il maggiore produttore di vino|url=http://www.inumeridelvino.it/2018/11/la-produzione-di-vino-nel-mondo-2018-prima-stima-oiv.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211111224545/http://www.inumeridelvino.it/2018/11/la-produzione-di-vino-nel-mondo-2018-prima-stima-oiv.html|archive-date=11 November 2021|access-date=11 November 2021|language=it}}; {{Cite web|date=3 June 2017|title=L'Italia è il paese con più vitigni autoctoni al mondo|url=https://giornalevinocibo.com/2017/06/03/italia-prima-assoluta-per-vitgni-autoctoni-ecco-i-dati-dei-vari-stati|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211101044918/https://giornalevinocibo.com/2017/06/03/italia-prima-assoluta-per-vitgni-autoctoni-ecco-i-dati-dei-vari-stati|archive-date=1 November 2021|access-date=11 November 2021|language=it}}</ref> | |||
| }} | |||
| According to the last agricultural census, there were 1.6 million farms in 2010 (−32% since 2000) covering {{Convert|12700000|ha|0|abbr=on|disp=or}} (63% are in south Italy).<ref name="agrocensus">{{Cite web|date=24 October 2010|title=Censimento Agricoltura 2010 |url=http://dati-censimentoagricoltura.istat.it|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150213021626/http://dati-censimentoagricoltura.istat.it|archive-date=13 February 2015|access-date=11 February 2015|publisher=]}}</ref> 99% are family-operated and small, averaging only {{Convert|8|ha|0|abbr=on}}.<ref name="agrocensus"/> Of the area in agricultural use, grain fields take up 31%, ] orchards 8%, ]s 5%, ] orchards 4%, ]s 2%, and horticulture 2%. The remainder is primarily dedicated to pastures (26%) and feed grains (12%).<ref name="agrocensus"/> | |||
| ] | |||
| Italy is the world's ],<ref>{{Cite web|year=2010|title=OIV report on the State of the vitiviniculture world market|url=http://news.reseau-concept.net/images/oiv_es/Client/DIAPORAMA_STATISTIQUES_Tbilissi_2010_EN.ppt|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728145648/http://news.reseau-concept.net/images/oiv_es/Client/DIAPORAMA_STATISTIQUES_Tbilissi_2010_EN.ppt|archive-date=28 July 2011|website=news.reseau-concept.net|publisher=Réseau-CONCEPT|format=PowerPoint presentation}}</ref> and a leading producer of ], fruits (apples, olives, grapes, oranges, lemons, pears, apricots, hazelnuts, peaches, cherries, plums, strawberries, and kiwifruits), and vegetables (especially artichokes and tomatoes). The most famous ]s are the ] ] and the ] ]. Other famous wines are ], ], ], ], ], ], and the ]s ] and ]. | |||
| In 2021, Italy had about 5.17 million foreign residents,<ref name="id2020">{{cite web|access-date=3 May 2021|url=https://www.istat.it/it/files//2021/05/REPORT_INDICATORI-DEMOGRAFICI-2020.pdf|title=Indicatori demografici, anno 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Population on 1 January by sex, country of birth and broad group of citizenship |url=https://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/submitViewTableAction.do}}</ref> making up 8.7% of the total population. The figures include more than half a million children born in Italy to foreign nationals (second generation immigrants) but exclude foreign nationals who have subsequently acquired Italian citizenship;<ref>{{cite web |title=Immigrants.Stat |url=http://stra-dati.istat.it/Index.aspx |publisher=] |access-date=15 June 2017|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709143540/http://stra-dati.istat.it/Index.aspx |archive-date=9 July 2017}}</ref> in 2016, about 201,000 people became Italian citizens.<ref>{{cite web |title=National demographic balance 2016 |url=https://www.istat.it/en/archive/201143 |publisher=] |access-date=15 June 2017}}</ref> The official figures also exclude ], who estimated to number at least 670,000 as of 2008.<ref>Elisabeth Rosenthal, " {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130821061114/http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2008/05/16/italy_cracks_down_on_illegal_immigration/ |date=21 August 2013 }}". '']''. 16 May 2008.</ref> | |||
| Quality goods in which Italy specialises, particularly wines and ], are often protected under the quality assurance labels ]. This ], accredited by the EU, is considered important to avoid confusion with ]s. | |||
| Starting from the early 1980s, until then a linguistically and culturally homogeneous society, Italy begun to attract substantial flows of foreign immigrants.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Allen |first1=Beverly |title=Revisioning Italy national identity and global culture |url=https://archive.org/details/revisioningitaly00beve|url-access=registration |date=1997 |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |location=Minneapolis |isbn=978-0-8166-2727-1 |page=}}</ref> After the ] and, more recently, the ] and ] enlargements of the European Union, large waves of migration originated from the former socialist countries of ] (especially ], ], ] and ]). Another source of immigration is neighbouring North Africa (in particular, ], Egypt and ]), with soaring arrivals as a consequence of the ]. Furthermore, in recent years, growing migration fluxes from Asia-Pacific (notably ]<ref>" {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010205822/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6550725.stm |date=10 October 2017 }}". BBC News. 13 April 2007.</ref> and the ]) and Latin America have been recorded. | |||
| === Transport === | |||
| Currently, about one million ] citizens (around 10% of them being ethnic ]<ref>"". ] ipsnews.net. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305064429/http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42404 |date=5 March 2012 }}</ref>) are officially registered as living in Italy, representing the largest migrant population, followed by ] and ] with about 500,000 people each. The number of unregistered Romanians is difficult to estimate, but the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network suggested in 2007 that there might have been half a million or more.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.birn.eu.com/en/111/15/5745/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081029110649/http://www.birn.eu.com/en/111/15/5745/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=29 October 2008 |title=Balkan Investigative Reporting Network |publisher=Birn.eu.com |date=8 November 2007 |access-date=4 November 2008}}</ref>{{refn|According to Mitrica, an October 2005 Romanian report estimates that 1,061,400 Romanians are living in Italy, constituting 37% of 2.8 million immigrants in that country<ref>Mitrica, Mihai ("One million Romanians have moved to Italy"). ''Evenimentul Zilei'', 31 October 2005. Visited 11 April 2006.</ref> but it is unclear how the estimate was made, and therefore whether it should be taken seriously.|group=note}} | |||
| {{Main|Transport in Italy}} | |||
| {{See also|Railway stations in Italy}} | |||
| ] and ]), the first motorway built in the world<ref name="independent"/>]] | |||
| {{Anchor|Infrastructure}}Italy was the first country to build motorways, the '']'', reserved for fast traffic and motor vehicles.<ref name="independent">{{Cite news|last=Lenarduzzi|first=Thea|date=30 January 2016|title=The motorway that built Italy: Piero Puricelli's masterpiece|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/europe/the-worlds-first-motorway-piero-puricellis-masterpiece-is-the-focus-of-an-unlikely-pilgrimage-a6840816.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220526/http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/europe/the-worlds-first-motorway-piero-puricellis-masterpiece-is-the-focus-of-an-unlikely-pilgrimage-a6840816.html|archive-date=26 May 2022|access-date=12 May 2022|work=]}}</ref> In 2002 there were {{Convert|668721|km|mi|abbr=on}} of serviceable ], including {{Convert|6487|km|mi|abbr=on}} of motorways, state-owned but privately operated by ]. In 2005, about 34,667,000 cars (590 per 1,000 people) and 4,015,000 goods vehicles circulated on the network.<ref name="European Commission">{{Cite web|last=European Commission|author-link=European Commission|title=Panorama of Transport|url=http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-DA-07-001/EN/KS-DA-07-001-EN.PDF|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090407142402/http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-DA-07-001/EN/KS-DA-07-001-EN.PDF|archive-date=7 April 2009|access-date=3 May 2009}}</ref> | |||
| As of 2010, the foreign born population of Italy was from the following regions: Europe (54%), Africa (22%), Asia (16%), the Americas (8%) and Oceania (0.06%). The distribution of foreign population is geographically varied in Italy: in 2020, 61.2% of foreign citizens lived in Northern Italy (in particular 36.1% in the North West and 25.1% in the North East), 24.2% in the centre, 10.8% in the South and 3.9% in the Islands.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.migrantes.it/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2020/10/RICM_2020_DEF.pdf|title=XXIX Rapporto Immigrazione 2020|access-date=31 December 2021|language=it}}</ref> | |||
| ] train on the ], the first high-speed railway built in Europe<ref>{{Cite web|title=Special report: A European high-speed rail network|url=https://op.europa.eu/webpub/eca/special-reports/high-speed-rail-19-2018/en/|access-date=2023-07-22|website=op.europa.eu|language=en-GB|archive-date=17 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240317233927/https://op.europa.eu/webpub/eca/special-reports/high-speed-rail-19-2018/en/|url-status=live}}</ref>]] | |||
| The ], state-owned and operated by ] (FSI), in 2008 totalled {{Convert|16529|km|mi|abbr=on}}, of which {{Convert|11727|km|0|abbr=on}} is electrified, and on which 4,802 locomotives and railcars run. The main public operator of high-speed trains is ], part of FSI. High-speed trains are in three categories: ] ('red arrow') trains operate at a maximum 300{{spaces}}km/h on dedicated high-speed tracks; ] ('silver arrow') operate at a maximum 250{{spaces}}km/h on high-speed and mainline tracks; and ] ('white arrow') operate on high-speed regional lines at a maximum 200{{spaces}}km/h. Italy has 11 rail border crossings over the Alpine mountains with neighbouring countries. | |||
| ===Languages=== | |||
| {{Main|Languages of Italy|Italian language|Regional Italian|Geographical distribution of Italian speakers}} | |||
| ]]] | |||
| Italy is fifth in Europe by number of passengers using air transport, with about 148 million passengers, or about 10% of the European total in 2011.<ref>{{Cite web|date=7 January 2013|title=Trasporto aereo in Italia (PDF)|url=http://www.istat.it/it/archivio/78802|access-date=5 August 2013|publisher=ISTAT|archive-date=13 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130113035254/http://www.istat.it/it/archivio/78802|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2022, there were 45 civil airports, including the hubs of ] and ].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Aeroporti in Italia: quanti sono? Elenco per regione|url=https://gliaeroporti.it|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221117184416/https://gliaeroporti.it|archive-date=17 November 2022|access-date=17 November 2022|language=it}}</ref> Since 2021, Italy's flag carrier has been ], which took over from ].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Buckley|first=Julia|date=18 October 2021|title=Italy reveals its new national airline|url=https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/ita-airways-launch/index.html|access-date=18 October 2021|publisher=CNN|archive-date=18 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211018100255/https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/ita-airways-launch/index.html|url-status=live}}; {{Cite news|last=Villamizar|first=Helwing|date=15 October 2021|title=Italian Flag Carrier ITA Airways Is Born|url=https://airwaysmag.com/airlines/ita-airways-is-born|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016100028/https://airwaysmag.com/airlines/ita-airways-is-born|archive-date=16 October 2021|access-date=18 October 2021|work=Airways Magazine}}</ref> | |||
| Italy's official language is ], as stated by the framework law no. 482/1999<ref name="lang">{{cite web |title=Legge 15 Dicembre 1999, n. 482 "Norme in materia di tutela delle minoranze linguistiche storiche" pubblicata nella Gazzetta Ufficiale n. 297 del 20 dicembre 1999 |url=http://www.camera.it/parlam/leggi/99482l.htm |publisher=] |access-date=2 December 2014|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150512051856/http://www.camera.it/parlam/leggi/99482l.htm |archive-date=12 May 2015}}</ref> and Trentino Alto-Adige's special Statute,<ref>Statuto Speciale per il Trentino-Alto Adige, Art. 99</ref> which is adopted with a ]. Around the world there are an estimated 64 million native Italian speakers<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150730230004/http://www.ethnologue.com/language/ita |date=30 July 2015 }} Ethnologue.com</ref><ref name="europa2006">{{cite web |url=http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_243_sum_en.pdf |title=Eurobarometer – Europeans and their languages |format=485 KB |date=February 2006|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430202903/http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_243_sum_en.pdf |archive-date=30 April 2011}}</ref><ref>] "Världens 100 största språk 2007" The World's 100 Largest Languages in 2007</ref> and another 21 million who use it as a second language.<ref name="Italian language"> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502004444/http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/modern-languages/lal/languages%20at%20lal/italian |date=2 May 2014 }} University of Leicester</ref> Italian is often natively spoken in a ], not to be confused with Italy's regional and minority languages;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unesco.org/languages-atlas/index.php |title=UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in danger |website=www.unesco.org |language=en|access-date=2 January 2018|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161218184822/http://www.unesco.org/languages-atlas/index.php |archive-date=18 December 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/297241/Italian-language |title=Italian language |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |date=3 November 2008 |access-date=19 November 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091129081859/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/297241/Italian-language |archive-date=29 November 2009}}</ref> however, the establishment of a national education system led to a decrease in variation in the languages spoken across the country during the 20th century. Standardisation was further expanded in the 1950s and 1960s due to economic growth and the rise of ] and television (the state broadcaster ] helped set a standard Italian). | |||
| In 2004, there were 43 major seaports, including ], the country's largest and second-largest in the Mediterranean. In 2005, Italy maintained a civilian air fleet of about 389,000 units and a merchant fleet of 581 ships.<ref name="European Commission"/> The national inland waterways network had a length of {{Convert|2400|km|0|abbr=on}} for commercial traffic in 2012.<ref name="cia.gov"/> North Italian ports, such as the deep-water port of Trieste, with its extensive rail connections to Central and Eastern Europe, are the destination of subsidies and significant foreign investment.<ref>Marcus Hernig: Die Renaissance der Seidenstraße (2018) pp 112.; Bernhard Simon: Can The New Silk Road Compete with the Maritime Silk Road? in The Maritime Executive, 1 January 2020.; Chazizam, M. (2018). The Chinese Maritime Silk Road Initiative: The Role of the Mediterranean. Mediterranean Quarterly, 29(2), 54–69.; Guido Santevecchi: Di Maio e la Via della Seta: «Faremo i conti nel 2020», siglato accordo su Trieste in Corriere della Sera: 5. November 2019.; Linda Vierecke, Elisabetta Galla "Triest und die neue Seidenstraße" In: Deutsche Welle, 8 December 2020.; {{Cite web|title=HHLA PLT Italy starting on schedule | Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide|url=https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/hhla-plt-italy-starting-on-schedule|website=hellenicshippingnews.com|access-date=11 January 2021|archive-date=11 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111105059/https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/hhla-plt-italy-starting-on-schedule/|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
| Twelve "historical ]s" (''minoranze linguistiche storiche'') are formally recognised: ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ].<ref name="lang" /> Four of these also enjoy a co-official status in their respective region: French in the ];<ref>L.cost. 26 febbraio 1948, n. 4, Statuto speciale per la Valle d'Aosta</ref> German in ], and ] as well in some parts of the same province and in parts of the neighbouring ];<ref>L.cost. 26 febbraio 1948, n. 5, Statuto speciale per il Trentino-Alto Adige</ref> and ] in the provinces of ], ] and ].<ref>L. cost. 31 gennaio 1963, n. 1, Statuto speciale della Regione Friuli Venezia Giulia</ref> A number of other Ethnologue, ISO and UNESCO languages are not recognised by Italian law. Like France, Italy has signed the ], but has not ratified it.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://rm.coe.int/European-centre-for-minority-issues-vol-1-/1680737191 |title=Ready for Ratification |publisher=European Centre for Minority Issues|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180103133317/https://rm.coe.int/European-centre-for-minority-issues-vol-1-/1680737191 |archive-date=3 January 2018}}</ref> | |||
| === Energy === | |||
| Because of recent immigration, Italy has sizeable populations whose native language is not Italian, nor a regional language. According to the ], ] is the most common mother tongue among foreign residents in Italy: almost 800,000 people speak Romanian as their first language (21.9% of the foreign residents aged 6 and over). Other prevalent mother tongues are ] (spoken by over 475,000 people; 13.1% of foreign residents), ] (380,000 people) and ] (255,000 people).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.istat.it/en/archive/129304 |title=Linguistic diversity among foreign citizens in Italy |publisher=] |access-date=27 July 2014|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140730134706/http://www.istat.it/en/archive/129304 |archive-date=30 July 2014 |date=24 July 2014}}</ref> | |||
| {{Main|Energy in Italy}} | |||
| {{Further|Renewable energy in Italy|Electricity sector in Italy}} | |||
| ], Tuscany. Italy is one of the world's largest producers of renewable energy.<ref name="legambiente2015">{{Cite web|date=18 May 2015|title=Il rapporto Comuni Rinnovabili 2015|url=http://www.comunirinnovabili.it/il-rapporto-comuni-rinnovabili-2015|access-date=13 March 2016|website=Comuni Rinnovabili|publisher=Legambiente|language=it|archive-date=14 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314011841/http://www.comunirinnovabili.it/il-rapporto-comuni-rinnovabili-2015/|url-status=live}}</ref>]] | |||
| Italy has become one of the world's ], ranking as the second largest producer in the EU and the ninth in the world. ], ], and ] are significant ]. ] account for 28% of all electricity produced, with hydro alone reaching 13%, followed by solar at 6%, wind at 4%, bioenergy at 3.5%, and geothermal at 1.6%.<ref name="gse">{{Cite web|date=19 December 2013|title=Rapporto Statistico sugli Impianti a fonti rinnovabili|url=http://www.gse.it/it/Statistiche/RapportiStatistici/Pagine/default.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018022905/http://www.gse.it/it/Statistiche/RapportiStatistici/Pagine/default.aspx|archive-date=18 October 2017|access-date=11 February 2015|publisher=Gestore dei Servizi Energetici}}</ref> The rest of the national demand is supplied by fossil fuels (natural gas 38%, coal 13%, oil 8%) and imports.<ref name="gse"/> ], operating in 79 countries, is one of the seven "]" companies, and one of the world's largest industrial companies.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Summary for Eni SpA|url=https://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=E|access-date=1 July 2020|archive-date=4 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604184217/http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=e|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
| ===Religion=== | |||
| {{Main|Religion in Italy}} | |||
| ], the largest church of ], in ], the ]'s sovereign territory within Rome]] | |||
| In 2017, the proportion of ] who identified themselves as ] was 74.4%.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.acli.it/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Cattolici-e-politica-analisi-Ipsos-novembre-2017.pdf |title=I cattolici tra presenza nel sociale e nuove domande alla politica – novembre 2017 |publisher=Ipsos MORI |date=17 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180124122738/http://www.acli.it/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Cattolici-e-politica-analisi-Ipsos-novembre-2017.pdf|archive-date=24 January 2018}}</ref> Since 1985, Catholicism is no longer officially the ].<ref>{{cite news |title=Catholicism No Longer Italy's State Religion |url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1985-06-04/news/8501220260_1_italian-state-new-agreement-church |access-date=7 September 2013 |newspaper=] |date=4 June 1985|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020143004/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1985-06-04/news/8501220260_1_italian-state-new-agreement-church |archive-date=20 October 2013}}</ref> Italy has the ], and is the largest Catholic nation in Europe.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Global Catholic Population|url=https://www.pewforum.org/2013/02/13/the-global-catholic-population/|website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project|date=13 February 2013 }}</ref> | |||
| ] production alone accounted for 9% of electricity in 2014, making Italy the country with the highest contribution from solar energy in the world.<ref name="legambiente2015"/> The ], completed in 2010, is the largest photovoltaic (PV) power station in Italy.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Italian Montalto di Castro and Rovigo PV plants|url=https://www.solarserver.com/solar-magazine/solar-energy-system-of-the-month/the-italian-montalto-di-castro-and-rovigo-pv-plants.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180509012719/https://www.solarserver.com/solar-magazine/solar-energy-system-of-the-month/the-italian-montalto-di-castro-and-rovigo-pv-plants.html|archive-date=9 May 2018|access-date=8 May 2018|website=solarserver.com}}</ref> Italy was the first country to exploit ] to produce electricity.<ref>{{Cite web|year=2011|title=Inventario delle risorse geotermiche nazionali|url=http://unmig.sviluppoeconomico.gov.it/unmig/geotermia/inventario/inventario.asp|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722034736/http://unmig.sviluppoeconomico.gov.it/unmig/geotermia/inventario/inventario.asp|archive-date=22 July 2011|access-date=14 September 2011|publisher=UNMIG}}</ref> ] was abandoned after ] (in the wake of the 1986 ]), although Italy still imports nuclear energy from Italy-owned reactors in foreign territories. | |||
| The ], the ], contains the central government of the ]. It is recognised by other subjects of international law as a ] entity, headed by the ], who is also the ], with which ] can be maintained.<ref>Text taken directly from {{cite web |url=http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/country-profile/europe/holy-see/ |title=Country Profile: Vatican City State |access-date=5 February 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101231084624/http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/country-profile/europe/holy-see/ |archive-date=31 December 2010}} (viewed on 14 December 2011), on the website of the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office.</ref>{{refn|The Holy See's sovereignty has been recognized explicitly in many international agreements and is particularly emphasized in article 2 of the ] of 11 February 1929, in which "Italy recognizes the sovereignty of the Holy See in international matters as an inherent attribute in conformity with its traditions and the requirements of its mission to the world" ().|group=note}} Often incorrectly referred to as "the Vatican", the Holy See is not the same entity as the ] State because the Holy See is the jurisdiction and administrative entity of the Pope.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-is-the-difference-between-vatican-city-and-the-holy-see.html|title = What is the Difference Between the Vatican City and the Holy See?|date = 5 January 2021}}</ref> The Vatican City came into existence only in 1929. | |||
| === Science and technology === | |||
| In 2011, minority Christian faiths in Italy included an estimated 1.5 million Orthodox Christians, or 2.5% of the population;<ref>{{cite book |last1=Leustean |first1=Lucian N. |title=Eastern Christianity and Politics in the Twenty-First Century |date=2014 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-68490-3 |page=723}}</ref> 500,000 ] and ] (of whom 400,000 are members of the ]), 251,192 ],<ref>2017 Service Year Report of Jehovah's Witnesses</ref> 30,000 Waldensians,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chiesavaldese.org/pages/storia/dove_viviamo.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060211233818/http://www.chiesavaldese.org/pages/storia/dove_viviamo.php |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 February 2006 |title=Chiesa Evangelica Valdese – Unione delle chiese Metodiste e Valdesi (Waldensian Evangelical Church – Union of Waldensian and Methodist churches) |language=it |publisher=Chiesa Evangelica Valdese – Unione delle chiese Metodiste e Valdesi (Waldensian Evangelical Church – Union of Waldensian and Methodist churches) |access-date=30 May 2011}}</ref> 25,000 ], 26,925 ], 15,000 Baptists (plus some 5,000 Free Baptists), 7,000 ], 4,000 ] (]).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/regions/europe/italy/evangelical-methodist-church-in-italy.html |title=World Council of Churches – Evangelical Methodist Church in Italy |publisher=World Council of Churches |access-date=30 October 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080709033652/http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/regions/europe/italy/evangelical-methodist-church-in-italy.html |archive-date=9 July 2008}}</ref> | |||
| {{Main|Science and technology in Italy}} | |||
| {{See also|List of Italian inventions and discoveries}} | |||
| ], widely considered the father of modern science, physics and astronomy]] | |||
| Through the centuries, Italy has fostered a scientific community that produced major discoveries the sciences. ] played a major role in the ] and is considered the "father" of ],<ref>{{Cite book|last=Singer|first=C.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mPIgAAAAMAAJ|title=A Short History of Science to the Nineteenth Century|date=1941|publisher=Clarendon Press|page=217|access-date=22 March 2023|archive-date=2 October 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241002213513/https://books.google.com/books?id=mPIgAAAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> modern physics,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Whitehouse|first=D.|url=https://archive.org/details/renaissancegeniu0000whit|title=Renaissance Genius: Galileo Galilei & His Legacy to Modern Science|date=2009|publisher=Sterling Publishing|isbn=978-1-4027-6977-1|page=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Weidhorn|first=Manfred|url=https://archive.org/details/personofmillenni0000weid|title=The Person of the Millennium: The Unique Impact of Galileo on World History|date=2005|publisher=iUniverse|isbn=978-0-5953-6877-8|page=}}</ref> and the ].<ref>''Thomas Hobbes: Critical Assessments'', Volume 1. Preston King. 1993. p. 59</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Disraeli|first=I.|title=Curiosities of Literature|date=1835|publisher=W. Pearson & Company|page=371}}</ref> | |||
| One of the longest-established minority religious faiths in Italy is ], ] having been present in ] since before the birth of Christ. Italy has for centuries welcomed Jews expelled from other countries, notably Spain. However, about 20% of Italian Jews were killed during the ].<ref name=isbn0553343025>{{cite book |author=Dawidowicz, Lucy S. |title=The war against the Jews, 1933–1945 |publisher=Bantam Books |location=New York |year=1986 |isbn=978-0-553-34302-1}} p. 403</ref> This, together with the emigration which preceded and followed World War II, has left only around 28,400 Jews in Italy.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Jewish Community of Italy (Unione delle Comunita Ebraiche Italiane) |url=http://www.eurojewcong.org/communities/italy.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130313095857/http://www.eurojewcong.org/communities/italy.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 March 2013 |publisher=The European Jewish Congress |access-date=25 August 2014}}</ref> | |||
| The ] (LNGS) is the largest underground research centre in the world.<ref>{{Cite web|title=I Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso|url=https://www.lngs.infn.it/it/descrizione-generale|access-date=15 January 2018|language=it}}</ref> ], ], ], ], ], ], and the ] conduct basic research. Trieste has the highest percentage of researchers in Europe, in relation to the population.<ref>G. Bar "Trieste, è record europeo di ricercatori: 37 ogni mille abitanti. Più della Finlandia", In: il Fatto Quotidiano, 26 April 2018.</ref> Italy was ranked 26th in the ] in 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Global Innovation Index 2024 : Unlocking the Promise of Social Entrepreneurship |url=https://www.wipo.int/web-publications/global-innovation-index-2024/en/ |access-date=2024-11-29 |website=www.wipo.int |language=en}}</ref> There are ]s in Italy such as the Science and Technology Parks Kilometro Rosso (Bergamo), the ] (Trieste), The VEGA-Venice Gateway for Science and Technology (Venezia), the Toscana Life Sciences (Siena), the Technology Park of Lodi Cluster (Lodi), and the Technology Park of Navacchio (Pisa),<ref>{{Cite web|title=Science and Technology Parks in Italy|url=https://www.easst.net/science-and-technology-parks-in-italy|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719154033/https://www.easst.net/science-and-technology-parks-in-italy|archive-date=19 July 2023|access-date=28 August 2023}}</ref> as well as ]s such as the ] in Milan. | |||
| Soaring immigration in the last two decades has been accompanied by an increase in non-Christian faiths. Following immigration from the Indian subcontinent, in Italy there are 120,000 ],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://eurispes.eu/news/eurispes-risultati-del-primo-rapporto-di-ricerca-su-linduismo-in-italia/|title=Eurispes, risultati del primo Rapporto di ricerca su "L'Induismo in Italia"|date=4 November 2019 |access-date=31 December 2021|language=it}}</ref> 70,000 ] and 22 ] across the country.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nriinternet.com/EUROPE/ITALY/2004/111604Gurdwara.htm |title=NRI Sikhs in Italy |publisher=Nriinternet.com |date=15 November 2004 |access-date=30 October 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110207031755/http://nriinternet.com/EUROPE/ITALY/2004/111604Gurdwara.htm |archive-date=7 February 2011}}</ref> | |||
| The north–south large difference in income leads to a "digital divide".<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Alampi|first=Matteo|date=December 2007|title=Underdevelopment in Southern Italy: Traditional Setbacks and Modern Solutions|url=https://fisherpub.sjf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1047&context=intlstudies_masters|journal=Fisher Digital Publications|via=International Studies Masters}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Di Pietro|first=Giorgio|date=June 2021|title=Changes in Italy's education-related digital divide|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ecaf.12471|journal=Economic Affairs|volume=41|issue=2|pages=252–270|doi=10.1111/ecaf.12471|issn=0265-0665|s2cid=237848271}}</ref> | |||
| The Italian state, as a measure to protect religious freedom, devolves shares of income tax to recognised religious communities, under a regime known as ]. Donations are allowed to Christian, Jewish, Buddhist and Hindu communities; however, Islam remains excluded, since no Muslim communities have yet signed a concordat with the Italian state.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Religion/?id=3.1.880028077 |title=Italy: Islam denied income tax revenue – Adnkronos Religion |publisher=Adnkronos.com |date=7 April 2003 |access-date=2 June 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130620070907/http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Religion/?id=3.1.880028077 |archive-date=20 June 2013}}</ref> Taxpayers who do not wish to fund a religion contribute their share to the state welfare system.<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927211619/http://documenti.camera.it/Leg16/dossier/Testi/BI0350.htm |date=27 September 2013 }}. Documenti.camera.it (10 March 1998). Retrieved on 12 July 2013.</ref> | |||
| === |
=== Tourism === | ||
| {{Main| |
{{Main|Tourism in Italy}} | ||
| ] is one of Italy's major tourist destinations.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170601184213/http://www.italy24.ilsole24ore.com/art/business-and-economy/2017-05-04/turismo-stranieri-124013.php?uuid=AEVg9GGB|date=1 June 2017}}. Retrieved 21 May 2017.</ref>]] | |||
| ], established in AD 1088, is the ]]] | |||
| Education in Italy is free and mandatory from ages six to sixteen,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.camera.it/parlam/leggi/06296l.htm |title=Law 27 December 2007, n.296 |publisher=Italian Parliament |access-date=30 September 2012|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121206012402/http://www.camera.it/parlam/leggi/06296l.htm |archive-date=6 December 2012}}</ref> and consists of five stages: kindergarten (''scuola dell'infanzia''), primary school (''scuola primaria''), ] (''scuola secondaria di primo grado''), ] (''scuola secondaria di secondo grado'') and university (''università'').<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_20072008_EN_Complete.pdf |title=| Human Development Reports |publisher=Hdr.undp.org |access-date=18 January 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429033726/http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_20072008_EN_Complete.pdf |archive-date=29 April 2011}}</ref> | |||
| People have visited Italy for centuries, yet the first to ] were aristocrats during the ], which began in the 17th century, and flourished in the 18th and the 19th centuries.<ref name="grand-tour">{{Cite web|title=Grand Tour|url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/grand-tour|access-date=6 May 2022|language=it}}</ref> This was a period in which European aristocrats, many of whom were British, visited parts of Europe, with Italy as a key destination.<ref name="grand-tour"/> For Italy, this was in order to study ancient architecture, local culture, and admire its natural beauty.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Italy on the Grand Tour (Getty Exhibitions)|url=http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/grand_tour/what.html|access-date=9 June 2015}}</ref> | |||
| Primary education lasts eight years. Students are given a basic education in Italian, English, mathematics, natural sciences, history, geography, social studies, physical education and visual and musical arts. Secondary education lasts for five years and includes three traditional types of schools focused on different academic levels: the '']'' prepares students for university studies with a classical or scientific ], while the '']'' and the '']'' prepare pupils for vocational education. | |||
| Italy is the ], with a total of 57 million arrivals in 2023.<ref>{{cite web |title=World Tourism Barometer |url=https://pre-webunwto.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/2024-06/Barom_PPT_May_2024.pdf?VersionId=U7O62HatlG4eNAj.wcmuQG1PMCjK.Yss |publisher=] |access-date=24 June 2024 |date=May 2024 |page=19}}</ref> In 2014, the income from travel and tourism was EUR163{{spaces}}billion (10% of GDP) and 1,082,000 jobs were directly related to it (5% of employment).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Travel & Tourism Economic Impact 2015 Italy |url=https://www.wttc.org/-/media/files/reports/economic%20impact%20research/countries%202015/italy2015.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010152616/https://www.wttc.org/-/media/files/reports/economic%20impact%20research/countries%202015/italy2015.pdf|archive-date=10 October 2017|access-date=20 May 2017|publisher=]}}</ref> | |||
| In 2018, the Italian secondary education was evaluated as below the ] average.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=PISA 2018 results|url=https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/pisa-2018-results.htm|access-date=6 April 2021|website=www.oecd.org|language=en}}</ref> Italy scored below the ] average in reading and science, and near OECD average in mathematics. Mean performance in Italy declined in reading and science, and remained stable in mathematics.<ref name=":1" /> ] and ] scored at an above the national average in reading.<ref name=":1" /> Compared to school children in other ] countries, children in Italy missed out on a greater amount of learning due to absences and indiscipline in classrooms.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) Italy report|url=https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA2018_CN_ITA.pdf}}</ref> A wide gap exists between ] schools, which perform near average, and schools in the ], that had much poorer results.<ref>{{cite web |title=The literacy divide: territorial differences in the Italian education system |url=http://new.sis-statistica.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/CO09-The-literacy-divide-territorial-differences-in-the-Italian.pdf |publisher=Parthenope University of Naples |access-date=16 November 2015|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117015624/http://new.sis-statistica.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/CO09-The-literacy-divide-territorial-differences-in-the-Italian.pdf |archive-date=17 November 2015}}</ref> | |||
| Tourist interest is mainly in ], ], ], ], ], religious sites and routes, wedding tourism, naturalistic beauties, nightlife, underwater sites, and spas.<ref>{{Cite web|date=February 2023|title=In Italia 11mila matrimoni stranieri, un turismo da 599 milioni|url=https://www.ansa.it/canale_viaggiart/it/notizie/speciali/2023/02/01/turismo-wedding-2-milioni-presenze-e-fatturato-599-mln_dcec4ad9-3ab8-4677-a303-6378020ac3a7.html|access-date=2 February 2023|language=it}}; {{Cite web|title=10 Migliori destinazioni italiane per vita notturna|url=https://www.travel365.it/migliori-destinazioni-italiane-per-vita-notturna.htm|access-date=28 December 2021|language=it}}</ref> Winter and summer tourism are present in locations in the Alps and the ],<ref>{{Cite web|date=30 July 2017|title=VACANZE IN MONTAGNA IN ITALIA: IN INVERNO E IN ESTATE|url=https://www.alloggitaly.it/vacanze-in-montagna-in-italia|access-date=1 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> while seaside tourism is widespread among locations along the Mediterranean.<ref>{{Cite web|date=14 February 2018|title=Il turismo balneare|url=https://www.turismo-oggi.com/il-turismo-balneare.html|access-date=1 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> Italy is the leading cruise tourism destination in the Mediterranean.<ref>{{Cite web|date=27 April 2022|title=Crociere, Cemar: 8,8 milioni di passeggeri nei porti italiani|url=https://www.lagenziadiviaggi.it/crociere-cemar-88-milioni-di-passeggeri-nei-porti-italiani|access-date=13 May 2022|language=it}}</ref> Small, historical, and artistic villages are promoted through the association ] ({{Literally|The most beautiful villages of Italy}}). | |||
| Tertiary education in Italy is divided between ], private universities and the prestigious and selective ], such as the ]. 33 Italian universities were ranked among the world's top 500 in 2019, the third-largest number in Europe after the United Kingdom and Germany.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://jakubmarian.com/number-of-top-ranked-universities-by-country-in-europe/ |title=Number of top-ranked universities by country in Europe |publisher=jakubmarian.com |date=2019}}</ref> ], founded in 1088, is the ],<ref>Nuria Sanz, Sjur Bergan: "The heritage of European universities", 2nd edition, Higher Education Series No. 7, Council of Europe, 2006, {{ISBN?}}, p. 136</ref> as well as one of the leading academic institutions in Italy and Europe.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bologna.repubblica.it/cronaca/2017/07/03/news/censis_la_classifica_delle_universita_bologna_ancora_prima-169846308/ |title=Censis, la classifica delle università: Bologna ancora prima |date=3 July 2017}}</ref> The ], ], ], ], ], ], and ] are also ranked among the best in the world.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.shanghairanking.com/ARWU2015.html |title=Academic Ranking of World Universities 2015 |publisher=Shanghai Ranking Consultancy |date=2015 |access-date=29 October 2015|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151030134046/http://www.shanghairanking.com/ARWU2015.html |archive-date=30 October 2015}}</ref> | |||
| The most visited regions are Veneto, Tuscany, Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, and Lazio.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Number of nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments in the top 20 EU-28 tourist regions, by NUTS 2 regions, 2015 (million nights spent) RYB17 – Statistics Explained |url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=File:Number_of_nights_spent_in_tourist_accommodation_establishments_in_the_top_20_EU-28_tourist_regions,_by_NUTS_2_regions,_2015_(million_nights_spent)_RYB17.png|access-date=17 April 2022|publisher=European Commission}}</ref> Rome is the third most visited city in Europe, and 12th in the world, with 9.4 million arrivals in 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ranking the 30 Most-Visited Cities in the World|url=https://www.travelpulse.com/news/destinations/ranking-the-30-most-visited-cities-in-the-world.html|website=TravelPulse}}</ref> Venice and Florence are among the world's top 100 destinations. | |||
| ===Health=== | |||
| {{Main|Health in Italy|Healthcare in Italy}} | |||
| ] and vegetables are central to the ].<ref name=":110">{{Cite journal |author1=Duarte, A. |author2=Fernandes, J. |author3=Bernardes, J. |author4=Miguel, G. |date=2016 |title=Citrus as a Component of the Mediterranean Diet |journal=Journal of Spatial and Organizational Dynamics – JSOD |volume=4 |pages=289–304 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311911612 }}</ref>]] | |||
| Italy has the most ]: 59;<ref>{{Cite web|title=The World Heritage Convention|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/convention|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827065310/https://whc.unesco.org/en/convention|archive-date=27 August 2016|access-date=1 August 2021|publisher=UNESCO}}</ref> ].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Italy|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/it|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201134320/http://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/it|archive-date=1 December 2021|access-date=9 April 2019|publisher=UNESCO World Heritage Centre}}</ref> | |||
| Life expectancy in the country is 80 for males and 85 for females, placing the country ].<ref>{{cite web |title=World Health Statistics 2016: Monitoring health for the SDGs Annex B: tables of health statistics by country, WHO region and globally |publisher=World Health Organization |url=https://www.who.int/gho/publications/world_health_statistics/2016/Annex_B/en/ |date=2016 |access-date=27 June 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160623023234/http://www.who.int/gho/publications/world_health_statistics/2016/Annex_B/en/ |archive-date=23 June 2016}}</ref> In comparison to other Western countries, Italy has a relatively low rate of adult obesity (below 10%<ref name=IOTF2008>{{cite web |url=http://www.iotf.org/database/documents/GlobalPrevalenceofAdultObesity16thDecember08.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327044232/http://www.iotf.org/database/documents/GlobalPrevalenceofAdultObesity16thDecember08.pdf |archive-date=27 March 2009 |url-status=dead |title=Global Prevalence of Adult Obesity |publisher=] |access-date=29 January 2008}}</ref>), as there are several health benefits of the ].<ref name=Dinu2017>{{cite journal |last1=Dinu |first1=M |last2=Pagliai |first2=G |last3=Casini |first3=A |author-link3=Angela Casini |last4=Sofi |first4=F |title=Mediterranean diet and multiple health outcomes: an umbrella review of meta-analyses of observational studies and randomised trials. |journal=European Journal of Clinical Nutrition |date=10 May 2017 |doi=10.1038/ejcn.2017.58 |pmid=28488692 |volume=72 |issue=1 |pages=30–43|hdl=2158/1081996 |s2cid=7702206 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> The proportion of daily smokers was 22% in 2012, down from 24.4% in 2000 but still slightly above the OECD average.<ref name="OECD">{{cite web |url=http://www.oecd.org/els/health-systems/Briefing-Note-ITALY-2014.pdf |title=OECD Health Statistics 2014 How Does Italy Compare? |publisher=OECD |year=2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924133234/http://www.oecd.org/els/health-systems/Briefing-Note-ITALY-2014.pdf |archive-date=24 September 2015}}</ref> Smoking in public places including bars, restaurants, night clubs and offices has been restricted to specially ventilated rooms since 2005.<ref>{{cite news |title=Smoking Ban Begins in Italy {{!}} Europe {{!}} DW.COM {{!}} 10 January 2005|url=http://www.dw.com/en/smoking-ban-begins-in-italy/a-1453590|access-date=1 August 2010|work=]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150621143640/http://www.dw.com/en/smoking-ban-begins-in-italy/a-1453590|archive-date=21 June 2015}}</ref> In 2013, ] added the ] to the ] of Italy (promoter), ], ], ], ], ] and ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?lg=en&pg=00473 |access-date=3 April 2014 |title=UNESCO Culture Sector, Eighth Session of the Intergovernmental Committee (8.COM) – from 2 to 7 December 2013 | url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220125948/http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?lg=en&pg=00473 |archive-date=20 December 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?lg=en&pg=00011&RL=00884 |access-date=3 April 2014 |title=UNESCO – Culture – Intangible Heritage – Lists & Register – Inscribed Elements – Mediterranean Diet | url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140415064011/http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?lg=en&pg=00011&RL=00884 |archive-date=15 April 2014 }}</ref> | |||
| == Culture == | |||
| The Italian state runs a universal public healthcare system since 1978.<ref name="dev.prenhall_a">{{cite web |url=http://dev.prenhall.com/divisions/hss/worldreference/IT/health.html |title=Italy – Health |publisher=Dev.prenhall.com |access-date=2 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090701064229/http://dev.prenhall.com/divisions/hss/worldreference/IT/health.html |archive-date=1 July 2009}}</ref> However, healthcare is provided to all citizens and residents by a mixed public-private system. The public part is the ''Servizio Sanitario Nazionale'', which is organised under the Ministry of Health and administered on a devolved regional basis. Healthcare spending accounted for 9.7% of GDP in 2020.<ref>{{cite web|title=Total health expenditure as share of GDP in Italy from 2005 to 2020|url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/788691/share-of-gdp-on-health-expenditure-in-italy/|access-date=12 June 2022}}</ref> ] is consistently ranked among the best in the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.photius.com/rankings/healthranks.html |title=The World Health Organization's ranking of the world's health systems |publisher=Photius.com |access-date=7 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=20 March 2017|title=Italy's Struggling Economy Has World's Healthiest People|language=en|work=Bloomberg.com|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-20/italy-s-struggling-economy-has-world-s-healthiest-people|access-date=9 December 2020}}</ref> In 2018 Italy's healthcare is ranked 20th in Europe in the ]. | |||
| ==Culture== | |||
| {{Main|Culture of Italy}} | {{Main|Culture of Italy}} | ||
| ] created during the ] for the first time an administrative region ] with inhabitants called ''Italicus Populus''; for this reason historians called him ''Father of Italians''.<ref name="Giannelli">G. Giannelli (1965). ''Trattato di storia romana''. '''1'''. L'Italia antica e la Repubblica romana.</ref>]] | |||
| ]]] | |||
| Italy is considered one of the birthplaces of ] and a ].<ref>Italy has been described as a "cultural superpower" by , , , {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151127074301/http://italoamericano.com/story/2012-11-8/InterviewGeneralConsulSF#.VJgPzYA1 |date=27 November 2015 }}, and {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141226231012/http://www.arabnews.com/italy-cultural-superpower |date=26 December 2014 }}.</ref> Divided by politics and geography for centuries until its eventual unification in 1861, Italy's culture has been shaped by a multitude of regional customs and local centres of power and ].<ref>{{cite book |last=Killinger |first=Charles |title=Culture and customs of Italy |year=2005 |publisher=Greenwood Press |location=Westport, Conn. |isbn=978-0-313-32489-5 |page= |edition=1. publ. |url=https://archive.org/details/culturecustomsof00char/page/3}}</ref> Italy has had a central role in Western culture for centuries and is still recognised for its cultural traditions and artists. During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, a number of ] competed to attract architects, artists and scholars, thus producing a legacy of monuments, paintings, music and literature. Despite the political and social isolation of these courts, Italy has made a substantial contribution to the cultural and historical heritage of Europe.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cole |first=Alison |title=Virtue and magnificence: art of the Italian Renaissance courts |year=1995 |publisher=H.N. Abrams |location=New York |isbn=978-0-8109-2733-9}}</ref> Italy has rich collections of art, culture and literature from many periods. The country has had a broad cultural influence worldwide, also because numerous Italians emigrated to other places during the ]. | |||
| ===Architecture=== | |||
| {{Main|Architecture of Italy}} | |||
| {{multiple image | |||
| |align=left|direction=vertical|width=220 | |||
| |image1=Canal Grande Chiesa della Salute e Dogana dal ponte dell Accademia.jpg | |||
| |caption1=The city of ], built on 117 islands | |||
| |image2=Pisa Duomo.jpg | |||
| |caption2=The ] and the ] | |||
| }} | |||
| Italy is one of the birthplaces of ] and a ].<ref>Italy has been described as a "cultural superpower" by , , , and . {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141226231012/http://www.arabnews.com/italy-cultural-superpower|date=26 December 2014}}.</ref> Italy's culture has been shaped by a multitude of regional customs and local centres of power and patronage.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Killinger|first=Charles|url=https://archive.org/details/culturecustomsof00char/page/3|title=Culture and customs of Italy|publisher=Greenwood Press|year=2005|isbn=978-0-3133-2489-5|edition=1. publ.|location=Westport, Conn.|page=}}</ref> Italy has made a substantial contribution to the ]<ref>{{Cite book|last=Cole|first=Alison|title=Virtue and magnificence: art of the Italian Renaissance courts|publisher=H.N. Abrams|year=1995|isbn=978-0-8109-2733-9|location=New York}}</ref> | |||
| Italy is known for its considerable architectural achievements,<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120115053940/http://www.justitaly.org/italy/italy-architecture.asp |date=15 January 2012 }}, ItalyTravel.com</ref> such as the construction of arches, domes and similar structures during ], the founding of the ] in the late-14th to 16th centuries, and being the homeland of ], a style of construction which inspired movements such as that of ], and influenced the designs which noblemen built their country houses all over the world, notably in the UK, Australia and the US during the late 17th to early 20th centuries. | |||
| === Architecture === | |||
| Along with pre-historic architecture, the first people in Italy to truly begin a sequence of designs were the Greeks and the Etruscans, progressing to classical Roman,<ref>Sear, Frank. Cornell University Press, 1983. p. 10. Web. 23 September 2011.</ref> then to the revival of the classical Roman era during the Renaissance and evolving into the Baroque era. The Christian concept of a Basilica, a style of church architecture that came to dominate the early Middle Ages, was invented in Rome. They were known for being long, rectangular buildings, which were built in an almost ancient Roman style, often rich in mosaics and decorations. The early Christians' art and architecture were also widely inspired by that of the pagan Romans; statues, mosaics and paintings decorated all their churches.<ref name=byzan> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130328131150/http://www.justitaly.org/italy/architecture/christian-byzanthine.asp |date=28 March 2013 }}, ItalyTravel.com</ref> The first significant buildings in the medieval Romanesque style were churches built in Italy during the 800s. Byzantine architecture was also widely diffused in Italy. The Byzantines kept Roman principles of architecture and art alive, and the most famous structure from this period is the ] in Venice. | |||
| {{Main|Italian architecture}} | |||
| ] is the largest former royal residence in the world.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chronopoulou |first=Angeliki |date=23 January 2024 |title=Reggia Di Caserta Historical Overview |url=https://www.academia.edu/44592878 |access-date=January 23, 2024 |website=Academia |language=English}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qTdlAQAAQBAJ|title=Dictionnaire amoureux de Versailles|first=Franck|last=FERRAND|date=October 24, 2013|publisher=Place des éditeurs|isbn=9782259222679 |via=Google Books}}</ref>]] | |||
| Italy is known for its architectural achievements,<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120115053940/http://www.justitaly.org/italy/italy-architecture.asp|date=15 January 2012}}, ItalyTravel.com</ref> such as the construction of arches, domes, and similar structures by ancient Rome, the founding of the ] in the late 14th to 16th centuries, and as the home of ], a style that inspired movements such as ] and influenced designs of country houses all over the world, notably in the UK and US during the late 17th to early 20th centuries. | |||
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| |image1=Castel del Monte, Andria.jpg | |||
| |caption1=] | |||
| |image2=Reggia di Caserta, prospettiva dalla fontana di Venere e Adone - panoramio.jpg | |||
| |caption2=The ] | |||
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| The Romanesque |
The first to begin a recognised sequence of designs were the Greeks and the Etruscans, progressing to classical Roman,<ref>Sear, Frank. Cornell University Press, 1983. p. 10. Web. 23 September 2011.</ref> then the revival of the classical Roman era during the Renaissance, and evolving into the Baroque era. The Christian concept of the basilica, a style that came to dominate in the Middle Ages, was invented in Rome.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130328131150/http://www.justitaly.org/italy/architecture/christian-byzanthine.asp|date=28 March 2013}}, ItalyTravel.com</ref> ], which flourished from approximately 800 to 1100 AD, was one of the most fruitful and creative periods in Italian architecture, when masterpieces, such as the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the ] in Milan, were built. It was known for its usage of Roman arches, stained glass windows, and curved columns. The main innovation of Italian Romanesque architecture was the vault, which had never been seen in Western architecture.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130328120342/http://www.justitaly.org/italy/architecture/romanesque.asp|date=28 March 2013}}, ItalyTravel.com</ref> | ||
| Italian architecture significantly evolved during the Renaissance. ] contributed to architectural design with his dome for the Cathedral of Florence, a feat of engineering not seen since antiquity.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Campbell|first1=Stephen J|title=Italian Renaissance Art|last2=Cole|first2=Michael Wayne|publisher=Thames & Hudson Inc|year=2012|location=New York|pages=95–97}}</ref> A popular achievement of Italian Renaissance architecture was ], designed by ] in the early 16th century. Andrea Palladio influenced architects throughout Western Europe with the villas and palaces he designed.<ref>{{Cite web|title=City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/712|website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre}}</ref> | |||
| The Baroque period produced |
The ] produced outstanding Italian architects. The most original work of late Baroque and Rococo architecture is the ].<ref>R. De Fusco, ''A thousand years of architecture in Europe'', pg. 443.</ref> In 1752, ] began the construction of the ].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hersey|first=George|title=Architecture and Geometry in the Age of the Baroque|publisher=University of Chicago Press|year=2001|isbn=0-2263-2784-1|location=Chicago|page=119}}</ref> In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Italy was influenced by the ] movement. Villas, palaces, gardens, interiors, and art began again to be based on ancient Roman and Greek themes.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130328084932/http://www.justitaly.org/italy/architecture/neoclassicism.asp|date=28 March 2013}}, ItalyTravel.com</ref> | ||
| During the Fascist period, the |
During the Fascist period, the supposedly "]" flourished, based on the rediscovery of imperial Rome. ], responsible for the urban transformations of cities, devised a form of simplified Neoclassicism.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Renzo Piano|url=https://www.nytimes.com/topic/person/renzo-piano|access-date=20 August 2017|work=The New York Times}}</ref> | ||
| ===Visual art=== | === Visual art === | ||
| {{Main|Italian art}} | {{Main|Italian art}} | ||
| ]'' (1494–1499), ], |
]'' (1494–1499), ], ], Milan]] | ||
| The history of Italian visual arts is significant to the history of ]. ] was influenced by Greece and can in part be taken as a descendant of ancient Greek painting. Roman painting does have its own unique characteristics. The only surviving Roman paintings are wall paintings, many from villas in ], in Southern Italy. Such paintings can be grouped into four main "styles" or periods<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/roman/painting.html |title=Roman Painting |publisher=art-and-archaeology.com |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130726163006/http://art-and-archaeology.com/roman/painting.html |archive-date=26 July 2013}}</ref> and may contain the first examples of ], pseudo-perspective, and pure landscape.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.accd.edu/sac/vat/arthistory/arts1303/Rome4.htm |title=Roman Wall Painting |publisher=accd.edu |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070319123717/http://www.accd.edu/sac/vat/arthistory/arts1303/Rome4.htm |archive-date=19 March 2007}}</ref> | |||
| The history of Italian visual arts is significant to ]. ] was influenced by Greece and can be taken as a descendant of ancient Greek painting. The only surviving Roman paintings are wall paintings.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Roman Painting|url=http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/roman/painting.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130726163006/http://art-and-archaeology.com/roman/painting.html|archive-date=26 July 2013|publisher=art-and-archaeology.com}}</ref> These may contain the first examples of ], pseudo-perspective, and pure landscape.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Roman Wall Painting|url=http://www.accd.edu/sac/vat/arthistory/arts1303/Rome4.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070319123717/http://www.accd.edu/sac/vat/arthistory/arts1303/Rome4.htm|archive-date=19 March 2007|publisher=accd.edu}}</ref> | |||
| Panel painting becomes more common during the ] period, under the heavy influence of Byzantine icons. Towards the middle of the 13th century, ] and ] became more realistic, with the beginnings of interest in the depiction of volume and perspective in Italy with ] and then his pupil ]. From Giotto onwards, the treatment of composition in painting became much more free and innovative. | |||
| The Italian Renaissance is considered to be the ] of painting, spanning from the 14th through the mid-17th centuries and having significant influence outside Italy. Artists such as ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ] took painting to a higher level through the use of ]. Michelangelo was also active as a sculptor; his works include masterpieces such as '']'', '']'', and '']''. | |||
| ]'s '']'' (1501–1504), ], Florence]] | |||
| In the 15th and 16th centuries, the ] gave rise to a stylised art known as ]. In place of the balanced compositions and rational approach to perspective that characterised art at the dawn of the 16th century, the Mannerists sought instability, artifice, and doubt. The unperturbed faces and gestures of ] and the calm Virgins of Raphael were replaced by the troubled expressions of ] and emotional intensity of ]. | |||
| The ] is said by many to be the ] of painting; roughly spanning the 14th through the mid-17th centuries with a significant influence also out of the borders of modern Italy. In Italy artists like ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ] took painting to a higher level through the use of ], the study of ] and proportion, and through their development of refined drawing and painting techniques. Michelangelo was active as a sculptor from about 1500 to 1520; his works include his '']'', '']'', '']''. Other Renaissance sculptors include ], ], ], ] and ]. | |||
| ]'' (1484–1486), ], ], Florence]] | |||
| In the 15th and 16th centuries, the ] gave rise to a stylised art known as ]. In place of the balanced compositions and rational approach to perspective that characterised art at the dawn of the 16th century, the Mannerists sought instability, artifice, and doubt. The unperturbed faces and gestures of ] and the calm Virgins of Raphael are replaced by the troubled expressions of ] and the emotional intensity of ]. | |||
| In the 17th century, among the greatest painters of ] are ], ], ], and ]. In the 18th century, ] was mainly inspired by ]. Italian Neoclassical sculpture focused, with ]'s nudes, on the idealist aspect of the movement. | |||
| ]'' (1484–1486), ], ] Gallery, Florence]] | |||
| In the 17th century, among the greatest painters of ] are ], ], ], ], ] and ]. Subsequently, in the 18th century, ] was mainly inspired by French Rococo, since France was the founding nation of that particular style, with artists such as ] and ]. Italian Neoclassical sculpture focused, with ]'s nudes, on the idealist aspect of the movement. | |||
| In the 19th century, |
In the 19th century, Romantic painters included ] and ]. ] was brought from France to Italy by the '']'', and ] by ] and ]. In the 20th century, with ], Italy rose again as a seminal country for evolution in painting and sculpture. Futurism was succeeded by the metaphysical paintings of ], who exerted an influence on the ].<ref>Gale, Matthew. "Pittura Metafisica". ''Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online''. Oxford University Press. Web.</ref> | ||
| ===Literature=== | === Literature === | ||
| {{Main|Italian literature}} | {{Main|Italian literature}} | ||
| Formal Latin literature began in 240 BC, when the first stage play was performed in Rome.<ref>Duckworth, George Eckel. University of Oklahoma Press, 1994. p. 3. Web. 15 October 2011.</ref> Latin literature was, and is, highly influential, with numerous writers, poets, philosophers, and historians, such as ], ], ], ], ], ], and ]. The Romans were famous for their oral tradition, poetry, drama, and epigrams.<ref>{{Cite book|url={{Google books|LHA_SydyKOYC|page=PA39|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}|title=Poetry and Drama: Literary Terms and Concepts.|date=2011|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group|isbn=978-1-6153-0490-5|access-date=18 October 2011}}</ref> In the early 13th century, ] was the first Italian poet, with his religious song '']''.<ref>{{Cite book|url={{Google books|3uq0bObScHMC|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}|title=The Cambridge History of Italian Literature|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1999|isbn=978-0-5216-6622-0|editor-last=Brand|editor-first=Peter|chapter=2 – Poetry. Francis of Assisi (pp. 5ff.)|access-date=31 December 2015|editor-last2=Pertile|editor-first2=Lino|editor-link2=Lino Pertile|chapter-url={{Google books|3uq0bObScHMC|page=PA5|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610172548/https://books.google.com/books?id=3uq0bObScHMC&printsec=frontcover|archive-date=10 June 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
| ], one of the greatest poets. His epic poem '']'' ranks among the finest works of ].<ref name="Bloom">{{Cite book|last=Bloom|first=Harold|author-link=Harold Bloom|url=https://archive.org/details/westerncanonbook00bloorich|title=The Western Canon|publisher=Harcourt Brace|year=1994|isbn=978-0-1519-5747-7|url-access=registration}} See also ] for other "canons" that include the ''Divine Comedy''.</ref>]] | |||
| Formal Latin literature began in 240 BC, when the first stage play was performed in Rome.<ref>Duckworth, George Eckel. University of Oklahoma Press, 1994. p. 3. Web. 15 October 2011.</ref> Latin literature was, and still is, highly influential in the world, with numerous writers, poets, philosophers, and historians, such as ], ], ], ], ], ] and ]. The Romans were also famous for their oral tradition, poetry, drama and epigrams.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Poetry and Drama: Literary Terms and Concepts.|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group|date=2011|url={{Google books|LHA_SydyKOYC|page=PA39|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}|access-date=18 October 2011|isbn=978-1-61530-490-5}}</ref> In early years of the 13th century, ] was considered the first Italian poet by literary critics, with his religious song '']''.<ref>{{Cite book | chapter=2 – Poetry. Francis of Assisi (pp. 5ff.) | chapter-url={{Google books|3uq0bObScHMC|page=PA5|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} | title=The Cambridge History of Italian Literature | url={{Google books|3uq0bObScHMC|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} | editor1-first=Peter | editor1-last=Brand | editor2-first=Lino | editor2-last=Pertile | editor2-link=Lino Pertile | year=1999 | publisher=Cambridge University Press | isbn=978-0-521-66622-0 | access-date=31 December 2015 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610172548/https://books.google.com/books?id=3uq0bObScHMC&printsec=frontcover | archive-date=10 June 2016 | df=dmy-all }}</ref> | |||
| At the court of ] in Sicily, in the 13th century, lyrics modelled on Provençal forms and themes were written in a refined version of the local vernacular. One of these poets was ], inventor of the ] form; the most famous early sonneteer was ].<ref>Ernest Hatch Wilkins, ''The invention of the sonnet, and other studies in Italian literature'' (Rome: Edizioni di Storia e letteratura, 1959), 11–39</ref> | |||
| ] is the founder of the '']'', a school that added a philosophical dimension to love poetry. This new understanding of love, expressed in a smooth style, influenced the Florentine poet ], who established the basis of modern Italian. Dante's work, the '']'', is among the finest in literature.<ref name="Bloom"/> Petrarch and ] sought and imitated the works of antiquity and cultivated their own artistic personalities. Petrarch achieved fame through his collection of poems, '']''. Equally influential was Boccaccio's '']'', a very popular collection of short stories.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|title=Giovanni Boccaccio: The Decameron.|encyclopedia=]|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/70836/Giovanni-Boccaccio/755/The-Decameron|access-date=18 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219020413/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/70836/Giovanni-Boccaccio/755/The-Decameron|archive-date=19 December 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
| ], one of the greatest poets of the ]. His epic poem ] ranks among the finest works of ].<ref name="Bloom ">{{Cite book| last=Bloom | first=Harold | author-link=Harold Bloom | title=The Western Canon | url=https://archive.org/details/westerncanonbook00bloorich | url-access=registration | year=1994| isbn=9780151957477 }} See also ] for other "canons" that include the ''Divine Comedy''.</ref>]] | |||
| Renaissance authors' works include ]'s '']'', an essay on political science in which the "effectual truth" is taken to be more important than any abstract ideal. ] and ], who wrote '']'' (1550–55) and the '']'' (1634), respectively, printed some of the first known versions of fairy tales in Europe.<ref>Steven Swann Jones, ''The Fairy Tale: The Magic Mirror of Imagination'', Twayne Publishers, New York, 1995, {{ISBN|0-8057-0950-9}}, p. 38; Bottigheimer 2012a, 7; Waters 1894, xii; Zipes 2015, 599.; {{Citation|last1=Opie|first1=Iona|title=The Classic Fairy Tales|year=1974|url=https://archive.org/details/classicfairytale00opie_0|place=Oxford and New York|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-1921-1559-1|last2=Opie|first2=Peter|author-link=Iona Opie|author-link2=Peter Opie}} See p. 20. The claim for earliest fairy-tale is still debated, see for example Jan M. Ziolkowski, ''Fairy tales from before fairy tales: the medieval Latin past of wonderful lies'', University of Michigan Press, 2007. Ziolkowski examines ]'s Latin beast poem ''Fecunda natis'' (''The Richly Laden Ship'', c. 1022/24), the earliest known version of "]". Further info: , Peter J. Leithart, 9 July 2007.</ref> The Baroque period produced the clear scientific prose of ]. In the 17th century, the ] began a movement to restore simplicity and classical restraint to poetry.<ref></ref> | |||
| Another Italian voice originated in Sicily. At the court of Emperor Frederick II, who ruled the Sicilian kingdom during the first half of the 13th century, lyrics modelled on Provençal forms and themes were written in a refined version of the local vernacular. One of these poets was the notary ], inventor of the ] form, though the most famous early sonneteer was ].<ref>Ernest Hatch Wilkins, ''The invention of the sonnet, and other studies in Italian literature'' (Rome: Edizioni di Storia e letteratura, 1959), 11–39</ref> | |||
| Italian writers embraced Romanticism in the 19th century; it coincided with ideas of the ], the movement that brought Italian unification. Unification was heralded by the poets ], ], and ]. Works by ], the leading Italian Romantic, are a symbol of Italian unification for their patriotic message and because of his efforts in the development of modern, unified Italian.<ref>{{Cite web|date=18 May 2023|title=Alessandro Manzoni | Italian author|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alessandro-Manzoni|website=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref> | |||
| ] is considered the founder of the '']'', a school that added a philosophical dimension to traditional love poetry. This new understanding of love, expressed in a smooth, pure style, influenced ] and the ] poet ], who established the basis of the modern ]; his greatest work, the '']'', is considered among the finest works of ];<ref name="Bloom "/> furthermore, the poet invented the difficult '']''. Two major writers of the 14th century, Petrarch and ], sought out and imitated the works of antiquity and cultivated their own artistic personalities. Petrarch achieved fame through his collection of poems, '']''. Petrarch's love poetry served as a model for centuries. Equally influential was Boccaccio's '']'', one of the most popular collections of short stories ever written.<ref name=Britannica-Shakespeare>{{cite encyclopedia| title = Giovanni Boccaccio: The Decameron.| encyclopedia = ]| url = https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/70836/Giovanni-Boccaccio/755/The-Decameron| access-date = 18 December 2013| url-status=live| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131219020413/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/70836/Giovanni-Boccaccio/755/The-Decameron| archive-date = 19 December 2013| df = dmy-all}}</ref> | |||
| ], founder of modern political science |
], the founder of modern ]]] | ||
| In the late 19th century, a literary movement called '']'', which extolled realism, played a major role in Italian literature. ], a writer of action-adventure ]s and a pioneer of science fiction, published his '']'' series.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Gaetana Marrone|url={{Google books|d9NcAgAAQBAJ|page=PA1654|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}|title=Encyclopedia of Italian Literary Studies|last2=Paolo Puppa|publisher=Routledge|year=2006|isbn=978-1-1354-5530-9|page=1654}}</ref> In 1883, ] published '']'', which became the most celebrated children's classic by an Italian author and one of the world's ] non-religious books.<ref>Giovanni Gasparini. ''La corsa di Pinocchio''. Milano, Vita e Pensiero, 1997. p. 117. {{ISBN|8-8343-4889-3}}</ref> A movement called ] influenced literature in the early 20th century. ] wrote '']'' and called for the use of language and metaphors that glorified the speed, dynamism, and violence of the machine age.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The 20th-Century art book.|publisher=Phaidon Press|year=2001|isbn=978-0-7148-3542-6|edition=Reprinted.|location=dsdLondon}}</ref> | |||
| Modern literary figures and Nobel laureates are ], nationalist poet ] 1906 Nobel laureate, realist writer ] 1926 laureate, modern theatre author ] in 1936, short story writer ] in 1960, poets ] in 1959 and ] in 1975, ] in 1980, and satirist and theatre author ] in 1997.<ref>{{Cite web|title=All Nobel Prizes in Literature|url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110529091551/http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates|archive-date=29 May 2011|access-date=30 May 2011|publisher=Nobel Foundation}}</ref> | |||
| Italian Renaissance authors produced works including ]'s '']'', an essay on political science and modern philosophy in which the "effectual truth" is taken to be more important than any abstract ideal; ]'s '']'', continuation of ]'s unfinished romance '']''; and ]'s dialogue '']'' which describes the ideal of the perfect court gentleman and of spiritual beauty. The lyric poet ] in '']'' wrote a Christian epic in '']'', with attention to the Aristotelian canons of unity. | |||
| === Philosophy === | |||
| ] and ], who have written '']'' (1550–1555) and the '']'' (1634) respectively, printed some of the first known versions of fairy tales in Europe.<ref>Steven Swann Jones, ''The Fairy Tale: The Magic Mirror of Imagination'', Twayne Publishers, New York, 1995, {{ISBN|0-8057-0950-9}}, p. 38</ref><ref>Bottigheimer 2012a, 7; Waters 1894, xii; Zipes 2015, 599.</ref><ref>{{citation |last1=Opie |first1=Iona |author-link2=Peter Opie |first2=Peter |last2=Opie |author-link=Iona Opie |title=The Classic Fairy Tales |location=Oxford and New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=1974 |isbn=978-0-19-211559-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/classicfairytale00opie_0 }} See p. 20. The claim for earliest fairy-tale is still debated, see for example Jan M. Ziolkowski, ''Fairy tales from before fairy tales: the medieval Latin past of wonderful lies'', University of Michigan Press, 2007. Ziolkowski examines ]'s Latin beast poem ''Fecunda natis'' (''The Richly Laden Ship'', c. 1022/24), the earliest known version of "]". Further info: , Peter J. Leithart, 9 July 2007.</ref> In the early 17th century, some literary masterpieces were created, such as ]'s long mythological poem, '']''. The Baroque period also produced the clear scientific prose of ] as well as ]'s '']'', a description of a perfect society ruled by a philosopher-priest. At the end of the 17th century, the ] began a movement to restore simplicity and classical restraint to poetry, as in ]'s heroic melodramas. In the 18th century, playwright ] created full-written plays, many portraying the middle class of his day. | |||
| ]'' is one of the world's most translated books<ref name=Gasparini /> and a canonical piece of children's literature.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/article-1G2-2697200012/pinocchio-carlo-collodi.html |title=Pinocchio: Carlo Collodi – Children's Literature Review |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia.com |access-date=1 October 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151003075814/http://www.encyclopedia.com/article-1G2-2697200012/pinocchio-carlo-collodi.html |archive-date=3 October 2015 }}</ref>]] | |||
| Romanticism coincided with some ideas of the '']'', the patriotic movement that brought Italy political unity and freedom from foreign domination. Italian writers embraced Romanticism in the early 19th century. The time of Italy's rebirth was heralded by the poets ], ], and ]. The works by ], the leading Italian Romantic, are a symbol of the Italian unification for their patriotic message and because of his efforts in the development of the modern, unified Italian language; his novel '']'' was the first Italian historical novel to glorify Christian values of justice and Providence, and it is generally ranked among the masterpieces of ].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alessandro-Manzoni|title=Alessandro Manzoni | Italian author|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|date=18 May 2023 }}</ref> | |||
| In the late 19th century, a realistic literary movement called '']'' played a major role in Italian literature; ] and ] were its main exponents. In the same period, ], writer of action-adventure ]s and a pioneer of science fiction, published his '']'' series.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Gaetana Marrone|author2=Paolo Puppa|title=Encyclopedia of Italian Literary Studies|url={{Google books|d9NcAgAAQBAJ|page=PA1654|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}|year=2006|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-45530-9|page=1654}}</ref> In 1883, ] also published the novel '']'', the most celebrated children's classic by an Italian author and one of the ] non-religious books in the world.<ref name=Gasparini>Giovanni Gasparini. ''La corsa di Pinocchio''. Milano, Vita e Pensiero, 1997. p. 117. {{ISBN|88-343-4889-3}}</ref> A movement called ] influenced Italian literature in the early 20th century. ] wrote '']'', called for the use of language and metaphors that glorified the speed, dynamism, and violence of the machine age.<ref>{{cite book|title=The 20th-Century art book.|year=2001|publisher=Phaidon Press|location=dsdLondon|isbn=978-0-7148-3542-6|edition=Reprinted.}}</ref> | |||
| Modern literary figures and Nobel laureates are ] from 1889 to 1910, nationalist poet ] in 1906, realist writer ] in 1926, modern theatre author ] in 1936, short stories writer ] in 1960, poets ] in 1959 and ] in 1975, ] in 1980, and satirist and theatre author ] in 1997.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/|title=All Nobel Prizes in Literature|publisher=Nobelprize.org|access-date=30 May 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110529091551/http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/|archive-date=29 May 2011}}</ref> | |||
| ===Philosophy=== | |||
| {{Main|Italian philosophy}} | {{Main|Italian philosophy}} | ||
| Italian philosophy had an influence on ], beginning with the Greeks and Romans, and Renaissance humanism, the ], and ].<ref name="Garin">{{Cite book|last=Garin|first=Eugenio|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sVP3vBmDktQC|title=History of Italian Philosophy|publisher=VIBS|year=2008|isbn=978-9-0420-2321-5}}</ref> Formal philosophy was introduced to Italy by ], founder of the Italian school of philosophy in ].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Herodotus|title=The Histories|publisher=Penguin Classics|page=226}}</ref> Italian philosophers of the Greek period include ], ], and ]. Roman philosophers include ], ], ], ], ], ], and ].<ref name=Garin/> | |||
| ], theologian;<ref>{{Cite web|title=St. Thomas Aquinas {{!}} Biography, Philosophy, & Facts|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Thomas-Aquinas|access-date=20 January 2020|website=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref> ], ];<ref>Gatti, Hilary. ''Giordano Bruno and Renaissance Science: Broken Lives and Organizational Power''. Cornell University Press, 2002, 1, {{ISBN|0-8014-8785-4}}</ref> ], ];<ref name="Hostettler-2011">{{Cite book|last=Hostettler|first=John|title=Cesare Beccaria: The Genius of 'On Crimes and Punishments'|date=2011|publisher=Waterside Press|isbn=978-1-9043-8063-4|location=Hampshire|page=160}}</ref> and ], of ]<ref name="Montessori">{{Cite web|title=Introduction to Montessori Method|url=https://amshq.org/Montessori-Education/Introduction-to-Montessori|publisher=American Montessori Society}}</ref>]] | |||
| Over the ages, Italian philosophy and literature had a vast influence on ], beginning with the Greeks and Romans, and going onto ], the ] and ].<ref name=Garin>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sVP3vBmDktQC |title=History of Italian Philosophy |last=Garin |first=Eugenio |year=2008 |publisher=VIBS|isbn=9789042023215 }}</ref> Philosophy was brought to Italy by ], founder of the Italian school of philosophy in ], ].<ref>{{cite book |author=Herodotus |title=The Histories |page=226 |publisher=Penguin Classics}}</ref> Major Italian philosophers of the Greek period include ], ], ], ] and ]. Roman philosophers include ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ].<ref name=Garin/> | |||
| Italian medieval philosophy was mainly Christian, and included theologians such as ], a classical proponent of ], who reintroduced ] to Christianity.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Blair|first=Peter|title=Reason and Faith: The Thought of Thomas Aquinas|url=http://www.dartmouthapologia.org/articles/show/125|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130913011656/http://www.dartmouthapologia.org/articles/show/125|archive-date=13 September 2013|access-date=18 December 2013|website=The Dartmouth Apologia}}</ref> Renaissance philosophers include: ], a major scientific figure of the West; ], a humanist philosopher; and ], a founder of modern ]. Machiavelli's most famous work is '']'', whose contribution to political thought is the fundamental break between political ] and ].<ref>Moschovitis Group Inc, Christian D. Von Dehsen and Scott L. Harris, ''Philosophers and religious leaders'', (The Oryx Press, 1999), 117.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=The Enlightenment throughout Europe|url=http://history-world.org/enlightenment_throughout_europe.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130123082708/http://history-world.org/enlightenment_throughout_europe.htm|archive-date=23 January 2013|access-date=12 December 2017|website=International World History Project}}</ref> University cities such as Padua, Bologna, and Naples remained centres of scholarship, with philosophers such as ].<ref name="maritain.nd.edu">{{Cite web|title=History of Philosophy 70|url=http://maritain.nd.edu/jmc/etext/hop70.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525033238/http://maritain.nd.edu/jmc/etext/hop70.htm|archive-date=25 May 2017|access-date=12 December 2017|website=maritain.nd.edu}}</ref> ] was a significant Enlightenment figure and a father of ] and ].<ref name="Hostettler-2011"/> | |||
| ], proponent of natural theology and the Father of '']'';<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Thomas-Aquinas |title=St. Thomas Aquinas {{!}} Biography, Philosophy, & Facts |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en |access-date=20 January 2020}}</ref> ], one of the major scientific figures of the Western world;<ref>Gatti, Hilary. ''Giordano Bruno and Renaissance Science: Broken Lives and Organizational Power''. Cornell University Press, 2002, 1, {{ISBN|0-801-48785-4}}</ref> ], considered the Father of criminal justice and modern criminal law;<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite book|last=Hostettler|first=John|title=Cesare Beccaria: The Genius of 'On Crimes and Punishments'|date=2011|publisher=Waterside Press|location=Hampshire|isbn=978-1904380634|page=160}}</ref> and ], credited with the creation of the '']''<ref name=Montessori>{{cite web|title=Introduction to Montessori Method|publisher=American Montessori Society|url=https://amshq.org/Montessori-Education/Introduction-to-Montessori}}</ref>]] | |||
| Italian Medieval philosophy was mainly Christian, and included philosophers and theologians such as ], the foremost classical proponent of ] and the father of ], who reintroduced ] to Christianity.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.dartmouthapologia.org/articles/show/125 |title=Reason and Faith: The Thought of Thomas Aquinas |last=Blair |first=Peter |website=The Dartmouth Apologia |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130913011656/http://www.dartmouthapologia.org/articles/show/125 |archive-date=13 September 2013 |access-date=18 December 2013}}</ref> Notable Renaissance philosophers include: ], one of the major scientific figures of the western world; ], one of the most influential humanist philosophers of the period; and ], one of the main founders of modern ]. Machiavelli's most famous work was '']'', whose contribution to the history of political thought is the fundamental break between political ] and political ].<ref>Moschovitis Group Inc, Christian D. Von Dehsen and Scott L. Harris, ''Philosophers and religious leaders'', (The Oryx Press, 1999), 117.</ref> Italy was also affected by the ], a movement which was a consequence of the Renaissance.<ref name="history-world.org">{{cite web |title=The Enlightenment throughout Europe |website=International World History Project |access-date=12 December 2017 |url=http://history-world.org/enlightenment_throughout_europe.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130123082708/http://history-world.org/enlightenment_throughout_europe.htm |archive-date=23 January 2013 }}</ref> University cities such as Padua, Bologna and Naples remained centres of scholarship and the intellect, with several philosophers such as ] (widely regarded as being the founder of modern Italian philosophy)<ref name="maritain.nd.edu">{{cite web|url=http://maritain.nd.edu/jmc/etext/hop70.htm|title=History of Philosophy 70|website=maritain.nd.edu|access-date=12 December 2017}}</ref> and ].<ref name="history-world.org" /> ] was a significant Enlightenment figure and is now considered one of the fathers of ] as well as modern ].<ref name=autogenerated1 /> Beccaria is famous for his '']'' (1764), a treatise that served as one of the earliest prominent condemnations of torture and the death penalty and thus a landmark work in anti-death penalty philosophy.<ref name="history-world.org" /> | |||
| Italy |
Italy had a renowned philosophical movement in the 1800s, with ], ], and ].<ref name="maritain.nd.edu"/> During the late 19th and 20th centuries, there were other movements that gained popularity, such as ],<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Scarangello|first=Anthony|year=1964|title=Major Catholic-Liberal Educational Philosophers of the Italian Risorgimento|journal=History of Education Quarterly|volume=4|issue=4|pages=232–250|doi=10.2307/367499|jstor=367499|s2cid=147563567}}</ref> ], communism, socialism, futurism, fascism, and Christian democracy.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Pernicone|first=Nunzio|title=Italian Anarchism 1864–1892 |publisher=AK Press|year=2009|pages=111–113}}</ref> ] remains a relevant philosopher within communist theory, credited with creating the theory of ]. Italian philosophers were influential in development of the non-Marxist ] philosophy. In the 1960s, left-wing activists adopted the ] pro-working class theories that became known as ] and ].<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Balestrini|first1=Nanni|title=L'orda d'oro 1968–1977. La grande ondata rivoluzionaria e creativa, politica ed esistenziale |last2=Moroni|first2=Primo|publisher=SugarCo|year=1997|isbn=8-8078-1462-5}}</ref> | ||
| ] include ], ], and ], and proto-feminist philosophies had previously been touched upon by Italian writers. Italian educator ] created the ].<ref name=Montessori/> ] was a founder of analytic philosophy and the contemporary philosophy of mathematics. Analytic philosophers include ], ], ], and ].<ref name=Garin/> | |||
| ===Theatre=== | === Theatre === | ||
| {{ |
{{Main|Theatre of Italy}} | ||
| ] troupe ] performing, by ], {{circa|1590}}]] | |||
| ], ]. It is the oldest continuously active venue for opera in the world.<ref name=SanCarlo />]] | |||
| Italian theatre came about in the Middle Ages, with its antecedents dating back to ancient Greek colonies in southern Italy (]),<ref>{{Cite web|title=Storia del Teatro nelle città d'Italia|url=https://www.melogranoarte.it/storia-del-teatro-nelle-citta-ditalia|access-date=27 July 2022|language=it}}</ref> as well as the theatre of the ]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Storia del teatro: lo spazio scenico in Toscana|url=https://brunelleschi.imss.fi.it/itinerari/itinerario/storiateatrospazioscenicotoscana.html|access-date=28 July 2022|language=it}}</ref> and the ]. There were two main lines along which theatre developed. The first, dramatization of Catholic liturgies, and the second, formed by pagan forms of spectacle, such as staging for city festivals, court preparations of jesters, and songs of the ]s.<ref>Of this second line, Dario Fo speaks of a true alternative culture to the official one: although widespread as an idea, some scholars such as {{Ill|Giovanni Antonucci|it}} do not agree in considering it as such. In this regard, see {{Cite book|last=Antonucci|first=Giovanni|title=Storia del teatro italiano|publisher=Newton Compton Editori|year=1995|isbn=978-8-8798-3974-7|pages=10–14|language=it}}</ref> Renaissance theatre marked the beginning of modern theatre. Ancient theatrical texts were translated and staged at courts, and moved to public theatres. In the late 15th century, the cities of ] and Rome were important for the rediscovery and renewal of theatre.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Antonucci|first=Giovanni|title=Storia del teatro italiano|publisher=Newton Compton Editori|year=1995|isbn=978-8-8798-3974-7|page=18|language=it}}</ref> | |||
| During the 16th into the 18th century, ] was a form of ], and is still performed. Travelling troupes of players set up an outdoor stage and provided amusement in the form of ], ], and humorous plays. Plays did not originate from written drama, but scenarios called '']'', loose frameworks around which actors would improvise. The characters of the ''commedia'' usually represent fixed social types and stock characters, each of which has a distinct ].<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Chaffee, Judith|title=The Routledge Companion to Commedia Dell'Arte|last2=Crick, Olly|publisher=Rutledge Taylor and Francis Group|year=2015|isbn=978-0-4157-4506-2|location=London and New York|page=1}}</ref> The first recorded commedia dell'arte performances came from Rome as early as 1551.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Katritzky|first=M. A.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9fV4gz5FmiAC&q=the+art+of+commedia|title=The Art of Commedia: A Study in the Commedia dell'arte 1560–1620 with Special Reference to the Visual Records |publisher=Editions Rodopi|year=2006|isbn=978-9-0420-1798-6|location=New York|page=82}}</ref> Female roles were played by women, documented as early as the 1560s, making them the first known professional actresses in Europe since antiquity. ], named on a 1564 contract, has been referred to as the first Italian actress known by name, with ] and ] as the first ]s.<ref>Giacomo Oreglia (2002). Commedia dell'arte. Ordfront. {{ISBN|9-1732-4602-6}}</ref> | |||
| ] and ], two stock characters from the '']'', in the ]]] | |||
| Ballet originated in Italy during the Renaissance, as an outgrowth of court pageantry.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Ballet|url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/balt/hd_balt.htm|website=metmuseum.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Andros on Ballet – Catherine Medici De|url=http://www.michaelminn.net/andros/index.php?de_medici_catherine|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080209205503/http://www.michaelminn.net/andros/index.php?de_medici_catherine|archive-date=9 February 2008|website=michaelminn.net}}</ref> | |||
| During the 16th century and on into the 18th century, '']'' was a form of ], and it is still performed today. Travelling troupes of players would set up an outdoor stage and provide amusement in the form of ], ] and, more typically, humorous plays based on a repertoire of established characters with a rough storyline, called '']''. Plays did not originate from written drama but from scenarios called ], which were loose frameworks that provided the situations, complications, and outcome of the action, around which the actors would improvise. The characters of the ''commedia'' usually represent fixed social types and ]s, each of which has a distinct ], such as foolish old men, devious servants, or military officers full of false ]. The main categories of these characters include servants, old men, lovers, and captains.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Routledge Companion to Commedia Dell'Arte |author1=Chaffee, Judith |author2=Crick, Olly |publisher=Rutledge Taylor and Francis Group |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-415-74506-2 |location=London and New York |page=1 }}</ref> | |||
| === Music === | |||
| The first recorded ''Commedia dell'arte'' performances came from Rome as early as 1551,<ref>{{cite book|last=Katritzky|first=M. A.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9fV4gz5FmiAC&q=the+art+of+commedia|title=The Art of Commedia: A Study in the Commedia dell'arte 1560–1620 with Special Reference to the Visual Records|location=New York|publisher=Editions Rodopi|year=2006|isbn=978-90-420-1798-6|page=82}}</ref> and was performed outdoors in temporary venues by professional actors who were costumed and masked, as opposed to {{lang|it|commedia erudita}}, which were written comedies, presented indoors by untrained and unmasked actors.<ref name=Rudlin>{{cite book|last1=Rudlin|first1=John|last2=Crick|first2=Oliver|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CgMKhwelZzUC|title=Commedia dell'arte: A Handbook for Troupes|location=London|publisher=Routledge|year=2001|isbn=041-520-408-9}}</ref> By the mid-16th century, specific troupes of ''commedia'' performers began to coalesce, and by 1568 the ] became a distinct company. ''Commedia'' often performed inside in court theatres or halls, and also in some fixed theatres such as Teatro Baldrucca in Florence. Flaminio Scala, who had been a minor performer in the Gelosi published the scenarios of the ''Commedia dell'arte'' around the start of the 17th century, really in an effort to legitimise the form—and ensure its legacy. These scenari are highly structured and built around the symmetry of the various types in duet: two {{lang|it|zanni}}, {{lang|it|vecchi}}, {{lang|it|inamorate}} and {{lang|it|inamorati}}, among others.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Compagnia-dei-Gelosi|title=Compagnia dei Gelosi|encyclopedia=]|access-date=20 August 2019}}</ref> | |||
| ], one of the most widely performed playwrights in modern theatre, received international acclaim for his highly ] style.<ref>{{Cite book |first=Tony |last=Mitchell |title=Dario Fo: People's Court Jester (Updated and Expanded) |location=London |publisher=] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jrdMAgAAQBAJ |year=1999 |isbn=0-413-73320-3 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |first=Antonio |last=Scuderi |title=Dario Fo: Framing, Festival, and the Folkloric Imagination |publisher=Lanham (Md.): Lexington Books |year=2011 |isbn=9780739151112}}</ref> He was awarded the ] in 1997.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Nobel Prize in Literature 1997|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1997/summary/|access-date=12 July 2022|work=www.nobelprize.org}}</ref>]] | |||
| In ''Commedia dell'arte'', female roles were played by women, documented as early as the 1560s, making them the first known professional actresses in Europe since antiquity. ], whose name is on a contract of actors from 10 October 1564, has been referred to as the first Italian actress known by name, with ] and ] as the first primadonnas and the first well-documented actresses in Europe.<ref>Giacomo Oreglia (2002). Commedia dell'arte. Ordfront. {{ISBN|91-7324-602-6}}</ref> | |||
| The ] dance genre also originated in Italy. It began during the Italian Renaissance court as an outgrowth of court pageantry,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/balt/hd_balt.htm|title=The Ballet|work=metmuseum.org}}</ref> where aristocratic weddings were lavish celebrations. Court musicians and dancers collaborated to provide elaborate entertainment for them.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.michaelminn.net/andros/index.php?de_medici_catherine|title=Andros on Ballet – Catherine Medici De|work=michaelminn.net|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080209205503/http://www.michaelminn.net/andros/index.php?de_medici_catherine|archive-date=9 February 2008}}</ref> ] was one of the first dancing masters. Along with his students, ] and ], he was trained in dance and responsible for teaching nobles the art. Da Piacenza left one work: ''De arte saltandi et choreus ducendi'' (On the art of dancing and conducting dances), which was put together by his students. | |||
| At first, ballets were woven into the midst of an opera to allow the audience a moment of relief from the dramatic intensity. By the mid-seventeenth century, Italian ballets in their entirety were performed in between the acts of an opera. Over time, Italian ballets became part of theatrical life: ballet companies in Italy's major opera houses employed an average of four to twelve dancers; in 1815 many companies employed anywhere from eighty to one hundred dancers.<ref>{{cite book|first=Kathleen|last=Kuzmick Hansell|year=1980|title=Opera and Ballet at the Regio Ducal Teatro of Milan, 1771-1776: A Musical and Social History|publisher=University of California|volume=I|page=200}}{{No ISBN}}</ref> | |||
| ], who wrote a few scenarios starting in 1734, superseded the comedy of masks and the comedy of intrigue by representations of actual life and manners through the characters and their behaviours. He rightly maintained that Italian life and manners were susceptible of artistic treatment such as had not been given them before. Italian theatre has been active in producing contemporary European work and in staging revivals, including the works of ] and ]. | |||
| The ] in Naples is the oldest continuously active venue for public opera in the world, opening in 1737, decades before both Milan's ] and Venice's ] theatres.<ref name=SanCarlo>{{cite web |url=http://www.teatrosancarlo.it/teatro/il?_locale |title=The Theatre and its history |publisher=Teatro di San Carlo's official website |date=23 December 2013}}</ref> | |||
| ===Music=== | |||
| {{Main|Music of Italy}} | {{Main|Music of Italy}} | ||
| {{multiple image | |||
| ], Italian composer whose operas, including '']'', '']'', '']'' and '']'', are among the most frequently worldwide performed in the ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.operaamerica.org/pressroom/quickfacts2006.html |title=Quick Opera Facts 2007 |publisher=OPERA America |year=2007 |access-date=23 April 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061001054025/http://www.operaamerica.org/pressroom/quickfacts2006.html |archive-date=1 October 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://opera.stanford.edu/misc/Dornic_survey.html |title=An Operatic Survey |publisher=Opera Glass |author=Alain P. Dornic |year=1995 |access-date=23 April 2007 | url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070914030020/http://opera.stanford.edu/misc/Dornic_survey.html |archive-date=14 September 2007 }}</ref>]] | |||
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| | footer = Instruments associated with ], including the ] and ], were invented in Italy.<ref name="Erlich"/> | |||
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| From ] to ], music is an intrinsic part of Italian culture. Instruments associated with classical music, including the piano and violin, were invented in Italy,<ref>{{ |
From ] to ], music is an intrinsic part of Italian culture. Instruments associated with classical music, including the piano and violin, were invented in Italy,<ref name="Erlich">{{Cite book|last=Erlich|first=Cyril|title=The Piano: A History|publisher=Oxford University Press, US; Revised edition|year=1990|isbn=978-0-1981-6171-4}}; {{Cite book|last=Allen|first=Edward Heron|title=Violin-making, as it was and is: Being a Historical, Theoretical, and Practical Treatise on the Science and Art of Violin-making, for the Use of Violin Makers and Players, Amateur and Professional. Preceded by An Essay on the Violin and Its Position as a Musical Instrument|date=1914|publisher=E. Howe}} Accessed 5 September 2015.</ref> and many prevailing forms, such as the ], concerto, and ], trace their roots back to innovations in 16th- and 17th-century Italian music. | ||
| Italy's most famous composers include the |
Italy's most famous composers include the Renaissance ], ], and ]; the ] ], and ]; the classical ], and ]; and the Romantic ] and ]. Classical music has a strong hold in Italy, as evidenced by the fame of its opera houses, such as La Scala, and performers such as the pianist ] and tenor ]. Italy is known as the birthplace of opera.<ref name="Kimbell, David R.B.-1994">{{Cite book|last=Kimbell, David R.B.|url={{Google books|C37Gq2GagZIC|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}|title=Italian Opera|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1994|isbn=978-0-5214-6643-1|access-date=20 December 2009}}</ref> ] is believed to have been founded in the 17th century.<ref name="Kimbell, David R.B.-1994"/> | ||
| Introduced in the early 1920s, ] gained a strong foothold in Italy, and remained popular despite xenophobic policies of the fascists. Italy was represented in the ] and pop movements of the 1970s, with bands such as ], ], ], ], and ].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Keller, Catalano and Colicci|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gh03DwAAQBAJ&q=keller%20catalano%20and%20colicci&pg=PT1022|title=Garland Encyclopedia of World Music|date=25 September 2017|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-3515-4426-9|pages=604–625}}</ref> The same period saw diversification in the ], and ] films included complex scores by composers including ]. In the 1980s, the first star to emerge from ] was singer ].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Sisario|first=Ben|date=3 October 2012|title=A Roman Rapper Comes to New York, Where He Can Get Real|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/04/arts/music/jovanotti-italian-rapper-brings-his-act-to-new-york.html|url-access=subscription|url-status=live|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220103/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/04/arts/music/jovanotti-italian-rapper-brings-his-act-to-new-york.html|archive-date=3 January 2022|access-date=24 February 2014|work=The New York Times}}{{Cbignore}}</ref> Italian metal bands include ], ], ], ], and ].<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Sharpe-Young|first1= Garry|author-link1= MusicMight|title= A–Z of Power Metal|series= Rockdetector Series|year= 2003|publisher= Cherry Red Books|isbn= 978-1-901447-13-2}}</ref> | |||
| ], considered one of the finest tenors of the 20th century and the "King of the ]s"<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article2400534.ece |title=Obituary: Luciano Pavarotti |work=] |place=London |date=6 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725095137/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article2400534.ece |archive-date=25 July 2008}}</ref>]] | |||
| Italy contributed to the development of ] and ], with ], known for its futuristic sound and prominent use of synthesisers and drum machines, one of the earliest electronic dance genres.<ref>{{Cite news|last=McDonnell|first=John|date=1 September 2008|title=Scene and heard: Italo-disco|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2008/sep/01/sceneandhearditalodisco|access-date=14 July 2012|work=The Guardian|location=London}}</ref> Producers such as ], who won three Academy Awards and four Golden Globes, were influential in the development of electronic dance music.<ref>"This record was a collaboration between Philip Oakey, the big-voiced lead singer of the techno-pop band the Human League, and Giorgio Moroder, the Italian-born father of disco who spent the '80s writing synth-based pop and film music." {{Cite web|last=Evan Cater|title=Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder: Overview|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r59464|pure_url=yes}}|access-date=21 December 2009|publisher=]}}</ref> Italian pop is represented annually with the ], which served as inspiration for the ].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Yiorgos Kasapoglou|date=27 February 2007|title=Sanremo Music Festival kicks off tonight|url=http://www.esctoday.com/news/read/7817|access-date=18 August 2011|publisher=esctoday.com}}</ref> ], ], and ] won Eurovision, in ], ], and ] respectively. Singers such as ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], Grammy winner ], ], ], Måneskin, and others have received international acclaim.<ref>{{Cite web|first=Federica|last=Cirone|date=29 August 2023|title=Cantanti italiani, quali sono quelli che hanno avuto più successo all'estero|url=https://www.socialboost.it/cantanti-italiani-quali-sono-quelli-che-hanno-avuto-piu-successo-allestero/|access-date=5 June 2024|publisher=socialboost.it|language=it}}</ref> | |||
| Italy is widely known for being the birthplace of opera.<ref name="books.google.co.uk">{{cite book |url={{Google books|C37Gq2GagZIC |page= |keywords= |text= |plainurl=yes}} |title=Italian Opera |year=1994|access-date=20 December 2009|isbn=978-0-521-46643-1|author1=Kimbell, David R.B.}}</ref> ] was believed to have been founded in the early 17th century, in cities such as ] and ].<ref name="books.google.co.uk" /> Later, works and pieces composed by native Italian composers of the 19th and early 20th centuries, such as ], ], ], ] and ], are among the most famous operas ever written and today are performed in opera houses across the world. La Scala opera house in Milan is also renowned as one of the best in the world. Famous Italian opera singers include ] and ]. | |||
| === Cinema === | |||
| Introduced in the early 1920s, ] took a particularly strong foothold in Italy, and remained popular despite the xenophobic cultural policies of the Fascist regime. Today, the most notable centres of jazz music in Italy include Milan, Rome, and Sicily. Later, Italy was at the forefront of the ] and pop movement of the 1970s, with bands like ], ], ], ], and ].<ref>{{cite book |last=Keller, Catalano and Colicci |title=Garland Encyclopedia of World Music |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gh03DwAAQBAJ&q=keller%20catalano%20and%20colicci&pg=PT1022 |pages=604–625 |isbn=978-1-351-54426-9 |date=25 September 2017}}</ref> The same period saw diversification in the ], and ] films included complex scores by composers including ], ], ] and ]. In the early 1980s, the first star to emerge from the ] scene was singer ].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/04/arts/music/jovanotti-italian-rapper-brings-his-act-to-new-york.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220103/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/04/arts/music/jovanotti-italian-rapper-brings-his-act-to-new-york.html |archive-date=3 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=A Roman Rapper Comes to New York, Where He Can Get Real |newspaper=The New York Times |date=3 October 2012 |access-date=24 February 2014|last1=Sisario |first1=Ben }}{{cbignore}}</ref> Italian metal bands include ], ], ], ], and ]. | |||
| ], pioneer of ] and ], is known as the "Father of disco".<ref name=Moroder>"This record was a collaboration between Philip Oakey, the big-voiced lead singer of the techno-pop band the Human League, and Giorgio Moroder, the Italian-born father of disco who spent the '80s writing synth-based pop and film music." {{cite web |url={{AllMusic |class=album |id=r59464|pure_url=yes}} | |||
| |title=Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder: Overview |access-date=21 December 2009 |website=] |author=Evan Cater}}</ref>]] | |||
| Italy contributed to the development of ] and ], with ], known for its futuristic sound and prominent use of synthesisers and ]s, being one of the earliest electronic dance genres, as well as European forms of disco aside from ] (which later went on to influence several genres such as ] and ]).<ref>{{cite news |title=Scene and heard: Italo-disco |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2008/sep/01/sceneandhearditalodisco |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=14 July 2012 |location=London |first=John |last=McDonnell |date=1 September 2008}}</ref> By the latter half of the 1990s, a subgenre of Eurodance known as ] emerged. Taking influences from Italo disco and Italo house, Italo dance generally included synthesizer riffs, a melodic sound, and the usage of vocoders. Notable Italian DJs and remixers include ] (member of the group ]), ], ], and the trio ]. | |||
| Producers such as ], who won three ]s and four ] for his music, were highly influential in the development of ].<ref name=Moroder /> Today, Italian pop music is represented annually with the ], which served as inspiration for the ] song contest, and the ] in ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.esctoday.com/news/read/7817 |publisher=www.esctoday.com |access-date=18 August 2011 |title=Sanremo Music Festival kicks off tonight |date=27 February 2007 |author=Yiorgos Kasapoglou}}</ref> Singers such as ], ], ] winner ], ], ], ], ] and ] have attained international acclaim. | |||
| ], ], and ] won the ], in ], ], and ] respectively. | |||
| ===Cinema=== | |||
| {{Main|Cinema of Italy}} | {{Main|Cinema of Italy}} | ||
| Italian cinema began just after the ] introduced motion picture exhibitions.<ref>{{Cite web|title=L'œuvre cinématographique des frères Lumière – Pays: Italie|url=https://catalogue-lumiere.com/pays/italie|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180320195614/https://catalogue-lumiere.com/pays/italie|archive-date=20 March 2018|access-date=1 January 2022|language=fr}}; {{Cite web|title=Il Cinema Ritrovato – Italia 1896 – Grand Tour Italiano |url=https://festival.ilcinemaritrovato.it/proiezione/italy-1896-in-honor-of-aldo-bernardini|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180321124127/https://festival.ilcinemaritrovato.it/proiezione/italy-1896-in-honor-of-aldo-bernardini|archive-date=21 March 2018|access-date=1 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> The first Italian director is ], who filmed ] in 1896.<ref>{{Cite web|title=26 febbraio 1896 – Papa Leone XIII filmato Fratelli Lumière |url=https://archivio.quirinale.it/aspr/gianni-bisiach/AV-002-000398/26-febbraio-1896-papa-leone-xiii-filmato-fratelli-lumiere|access-date=1 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> '']'', from 1914, is the most famous Italian ].<ref>{{Citation|title=Cinematografia|volume=III|page=226|year=1970|publisher=]|language=it|encyclopedia=Dizionario enciclopedico italiano}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Andrea Fioravanti|title=La "storia" senza storia. Racconti del passato tra letteratura, cinema e televisione|publisher=Morlacchi Editore|year=2006|isbn=978-8-8607-4066-3|page=121|language=it}}</ref> The oldest European ] cinema movement, ], took place in the late 1910s.<ref>{{Cite web|date=30 September 2017|title=Il cinema delle avanguardie|url=https://www.brevestoriadelcinema.org/04-4-il-cinema-delle-avanguardie|access-date=13 November 2022|language=it}}</ref> | |||
| ] in Rome, the largest film studio in ]<ref name="cinecittà">{{cite web|url=https://www.ciakmagazine.it/news/cinecitta-ce-laccordo-per-espandere-gli-studios-italiani/|title=Cinecittà, c'è l'accordo per espandere gli Studios italiani|date=30 December 2021 |access-date=10 September 2022|language=it}}</ref>]] | |||
| ], considered one of the most influential and widely revered |
], considered one of the most influential and widely revered filmmakers of the 20th century<ref>{{Cite web|date=20 January 2022|title=Federico Fellini, i 10 migliori film per conoscere il grande regista|url=https://libreriamo.it/intrattenimento/federico-fellini-i-10-film-regista|access-date=10 September 2022|language=it}}</ref>]] | ||
| After decline in the 1920s, the industry was revitalised in the 1930s with the arrival of ]. A popular Italian genre, the '']'', consisted of comedies with glamorous backgrounds.<ref>{{Citation|last=Katz|first=Ephraim|title=Italy|pages=682–685|year=2001|publisher=HarperResource|isbn=978-0-0607-4214-0|encyclopedia=The Film Encyclopedia}}</ref> '']'' was a sharp contrast to the ''Telefoni Bianchi''-American style comedies and is rather artistic, highly formalistic, expressive in complexity, and deals mainly with contemporary literary material.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Brunetta|first=Gian Piero|title=Storia del cinema mondiale|publisher=Einaudi|year=2002|isbn=978-8-8061-4528-6|volume=III|pages=357–359|language=it}}</ref> Cinema was used by Mussolini, who founded Rome's renowned ], for the production of ].<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Cinema Under Mussolini|url=http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/italians/resources/Amiciprize/1996/mussolini.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100731200507/http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/italians/resources/Amiciprize/1996/mussolini.html|archive-date=31 July 2010|access-date=30 October 2010|publisher=Ccat.sas.upenn.edu}}</ref> | |||
| The history of ] began a few months after the ] began motion picture exhibitions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://catalogue-lumiere.com/pays/italie/|title=L'œuvre cinématographique des frères Lumière - Pays: Italie|language=fr|access-date=1 January 2022|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180320195614/https://catalogue-lumiere.com/pays/italie/|archive-date=20 March 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://festival.ilcinemaritrovato.it/proiezione/italy-1896-in-honor-of-aldo-bernardini/|title=Il Cinema Ritrovato - Italia 1896 - Grand Tour Italiano|access-date=1 January 2022|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180321124127/https://festival.ilcinemaritrovato.it/proiezione/italy-1896-in-honor-of-aldo-bernardini/|archive-date=21 March 2018|language=it}}</ref> The first Italian director is considered to be ], a collaborator of the Lumière Brothers, who filmed ] in 1896.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archivio.quirinale.it/aspr/gianni-bisiach/AV-002-000398/26-febbraio-1896-papa-leone-xiii-filmato-fratelli-lumiere|title=26 febbraio 1896 - Papa Leone XIII filmato Fratelli Lumière|access-date=1 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> In the 1910s the Italian film industry developed rapidly.<ref name="treccani-cinematografia">{{Citation|year=1970|title=Cinematografia|encyclopedia=Dizionario enciclopedico italiano|volume=III|page=226|publisher=]|language=it}}</ref> In 1912, the year of the greatest expansion, 569 films were produced in Turin, 420 in Rome and 120 in Milan.<ref>{{cite book|author=Gian Piero Brunetta|publisher=Einaudi|year=2002|volume=III|page=38 | title=Storia del cinema mondiale|isbn=978-88-06-14528-6|language=it}}</ref> '']'', a 1914 Italian ] directed by ], is considered the most famous Italian ].<ref name="treccani-cinematografia"/><ref>{{cite book|author=Andrea Fioravanti|publisher=Morlacchi Editore|year=2006 | page=121 | title=La "storia" senza storia. Racconti del passato tra letteratura, cinema e televisione|isbn=978-88-6074-066-3|language=it}}</ref> It was also the first film in history to be shown in the ].<ref>{{cite book|author=Robert K. Klepper|publisher=McFarland | year=1999 | page=78 | title=Silent Films, 1877-1996: A Critical Guide to 646 Movies | isbn=978-0-7864-0595-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| author=Patrick Robertson | publisher=Abbeville Press | year=1991 | page=217 | title=Guinness Book of Movie Facts and Feats | isbn=978-1-55859-236-0}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| author=John Alberti | publisher=Routledge | year=2014 | page=45 | title=Screen Ages: A Survey of American Cinema | isbn=978-1-317-65028-7}}</ref> The oldest European ] cinema movement, ], took place in the late 1910s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.brevestoriadelcinema.org/04-4-il-cinema-delle-avanguardie/|title=Il cinema delle avanguardie|date=30 September 2017 |access-date=13 November 2022|language=it}}</ref> | |||
| After World War II, Italian film was widely recognised and exported until an artistic decline occurred in the 1980s.<ref>{{Cite web|title=STORIA 'POCONORMALE' DEL CINEMA: ITALIA ANNI '80, IL DECLINO|url=https://www.mymovies.it/cinemanews/2009/16629|access-date=1 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> ] include ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ], recognised among the greatest of all time.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Ebert|first=Roger|title=The Bicycle Thief / Bicycle Thieves (1949) |url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19990319/REVIEWS08/903190306/1023|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090227023704/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F19990319%2FREVIEWS08%2F903190306%2F1023|archive-date=27 February 2009|access-date=8 September 2011|work=Chicago Sun-Times}}; {{Cite web|date=7 July 2002|title=The 25 Most Influential Directors of All Time|url=http://www.moviemaker.com/archives/moviemaking/directing/articles-directing/the-25-most-influential-directors-of-all-time-3358|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151211230213/http://www.moviemaker.com/archives/moviemaking/directing/articles-directing/the-25-most-influential-directors-of-all-time-3358|archive-date=11 December 2015|access-date=21 February 2017|website=MovieMaker Magazine}}</ref> The mid-1940s to the early 1950s was the heyday of ], reflecting the poor condition of post-war Italy.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Italian Neorealism – Explore – The Criterion Collection|url=https://www.criterion.com/explore/6-italian-neorealism|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110918102158/http://www.criterion.com/explore/6-italian-neorealism|archive-date=18 September 2011|access-date=7 September 2011|publisher=Criterion.com}}</ref> | |||
| After a period of decline in the 1920s, the Italian film industry was revitalized in the 1930s with the arrival of ]. A popular Italian genre during this period, the ], consisted of comedies with glamorous backgrounds.<ref name=katz>{{Citation|first=Ephraim |last=Katz|year=2001|title=Italy|encyclopedia=The Film Encyclopedia|pages=682–685|publisher=HarperResource|isbn=978-0060742140}}</ref> ] was instead in a sharp contrast to Telefoni Bianchi-American style comedies and is rather ], highly ], ] in complexity and deals mainly with contemporary literary material.<ref>{{cite book|first=Gian Piero |last=Brunetta|publisher=Einaudi|year=2002|volume=III|pages=357–359| title=Storia del cinema mondiale|isbn=978-88-06-14528-6|language=it}}</ref> Cinema was later used by ], who founded Rome's renowned ] studio also for the production of ] until World War II.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/italians/resources/Amiciprize/1996/mussolini.html |title=The Cinema Under Mussolini |publisher=Ccat.sas.upenn.edu |access-date=30 October 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100731200507/http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/italians/resources/Amiciprize/1996/mussolini.html |archive-date=31 July 2010}}</ref> | |||
| As the country grew wealthier in the 1950s, a form of neorealism known as pink neorealism succeeded, and the '']'' genre and other ]s, such as ] and ]s, were popular in the 1960s and 70s.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Western all'italiana|url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/western-all-italiana_%28Enciclopedia-del-Cinema%29|access-date=1 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> Actresses such as ] achieved international stardom. Erotic Italian thrillers, or '']'', produced by directors such as ] in the 1970s, influenced horror.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Tarantino e i film italiani degli anni settanta|url=http://www.corriere.it/solferino/severgnini/09-10-30/09.spm|access-date=1 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> Recently, the Italian scene has received only occasional attention, with movies such as '']'', '']'', and '']''.<ref>{{Cite news|date=21 May 2013|title=Cannes 2013. La grande bellezza |url=https://stanzedicinema.com/2013/05/21/cannes-2013-la-grande-bellezza|access-date=1 January 2022|work=Stanze di Cinema|language=it}}</ref> | |||
| After the war, Italian film was widely recognised and exported until an artistic decline around the 1980s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mymovies.it/cinemanews/2009/16629/|title=STORIA 'POCONORMALE' DEL CINEMA: ITALIA ANNI '80, IL DECLINO|access-date=1 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> ] from this period include ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ]; some of these are recognised among the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time.<ref>{{cite news |last=Ebert |first=Roger |title=The Bicycle Thief / Bicycle Thieves (1949) |url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19990319/REVIEWS08/903190306/1023 |newspaper=Chicago Sun-Times |access-date=8 September 2011|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090227023704/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F19990319%2FREVIEWS08%2F903190306%2F1023 |archive-date=27 February 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.moviemaker.com/archives/moviemaking/directing/articles-directing/the-25-most-influential-directors-of-all-time-3358/ |title=The 25 Most Influential Directors of All Time |work=MovieMaker Magazine|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151211230213/http://www.moviemaker.com/archives/moviemaking/directing/articles-directing/the-25-most-influential-directors-of-all-time-3358 |archive-date=11 December 2015 |date=7 July 2002|access-date=21 February 2017}}</ref> Movies include world cinema treasures such as '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', and '']''. The mid-1940s to the early 1950s was the heyday of ], reflecting the poor condition of post-war Italy.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.criterion.com/explore/6-italian-neorealism |title=Italian Neorealism – Explore – The Criterion Collection |publisher=Criterion.com |access-date=7 September 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110918102158/http://www.criterion.com/explore/6-italian-neorealism |archive-date=18 September 2011}}</ref> | |||
| Cinecittà studio is the largest film and television production facility in Europe,<ref>{{Cite web|date=30 December 2021|title=Cinecittà, c'è l'accordo per espandere gli Studios italiani|url=https://www.ciakmagazine.it/news/cinecitta-ce-laccordo-per-espandere-gli-studios-italiani|access-date=10 September 2022|language=it}}</ref> where many international box office hits were filmed. In the 1950s, the number of international productions made there led to Rome's being dubbed "]". More than 3,000 productions have been made on its lot, of which 90 received an ] nomination, with 47 wins.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bondanella|first=Peter E.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PiTBFMc7tp4C|title=Italian Cinema: From Neorealism to the Present|date=2001|publisher=Continuum|isbn=978-0-8264-1247-8|page=13}}</ref> Italy is the most awarded country at the Academy Awards for ], with 14 wins and 3 ].<ref>{{Cite web|date=26 October 2021|title=Oscar 2022: Paolo Sorrentino e gli altri candidati come miglior film internazionale |url=https://www.sorrisi.com/cinema/migliori-film/oscar-2022-paolo-sorrentino-e-gli-altri-candidati-come-miglior-film-internazionale|access-date=1 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> {{As of|2016}}, Italian films have won 12 Palmes d'Or,<ref>{{Cite web|date=13 May 2014|title=10 film italiani che hanno fatto la storia del Festival di Cannes|url=https://www.nanopress.it/articolo/10-film-italiani-che-hanno-fatto-la-storia-del-festival-di-cannes/67505|access-date=1 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> 11 ]s,<ref>{{Cite web|date=28 August 2018|title=I film italiani vincitori del Leone d'Oro al Festival di Venezia|url=https://www.supereva.it/i-film-italiani-vincitori-del-leone-doro-al-festival-di-venezia-51756|access-date=1 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> and 7 ]s.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Film italiani vincitori Orso d'Oro di Berlino|url=https://popcorntv.it/guide/film-italiani-vincitori-orso-doro-di-berlino/32626|access-date=1 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> | |||
| As the country grew wealthier in the 1950s, a form of neorealism known as pink neorealism succeeded, and starting from the 1950s through the ] genre, and other ]s, such as ] followed as ]s, were popular in the 1960s and 1970s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/western-all-italiana_%28Enciclopedia-del-Cinema%29/|title=Western all'italiana|access-date=1 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> Actresses such as ], ] and ] achieved international stardom during this period. Erotic Italian thrillers, or ]s, produced by directors such as ] and ] in the 1970s, also influenced the horror genre worldwide.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.corriere.it/solferino/severgnini/09-10-30/09.spm|title=Tarantino e i film italiani degli anni settanta|access-date=1 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> In recent years, the Italian scene has received only occasional international attention, with movies like '']'' written and directed by ], '']'' directed by ], '']'' directed by ], '']'' with ] and '']'' directed by ].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://stanzedicinema.com/2013/05/21/cannes-2013-la-grande-bellezza/|title=Cannes 2013. La grande bellezza|newspaper=Stanze di Cinema |date=21 May 2013|access-date=1 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> | |||
| === Sport === | |||
| The aforementioned ] studio is today the largest film and television production facility in ],<ref name="cinecittà"/> where many international box office hits were filmed. In the 1950s, the number of international productions being made there led to Rome's being dubbed "'']''". More than 3,000 productions have been made on its lot, of which 90 received an ] nomination and 47 of these won it, from some cinema classics to recent rewarded features (such as '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', and '']'').<ref>{{Cite book |title=Italian Cinema: From Neorealism to the Present |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PiTBFMc7tp4C |publisher=Continuum |date=2001 |isbn=978-0-8264-1247-8 |language=en |first=Peter E. |last=Bondanella |page=13}}</ref> | |||
| {{Main|Sport in Italy}} | |||
| ] in 2012. ] is the most popular sport in Italy.]] | |||
| The most popular sport is ].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Wilson|first=Bill|date=10 March 2014|title=Italian football counts cost of stagnation|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26351331|access-date=12 June 2015|publisher=BBC News}}; {{Cite book|last1=Hamil|first1=Sean|title=Managing football: an international perspective|last2=Chadwick|first2=Simon|publisher=Elsevier/Butterworth-Heinemann|year=2010|isbn=978-1-8561-7544-9|edition=1st ed., dodr.|location=Amsterdam|page=285}}</ref> Italy's ] is one of the most successful, with four ] victories (], ], ], and ]) and two ] victories (] and ]).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Previous FIFA World Cups|url=https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110125063612/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/index.html|archive-date=25 January 2011|access-date=8 January 2011|publisher=FIFA}}</ref> Italian clubs have won 48 major European trophies, making Italy the second most successful country in Europe, after Spain. Italy's top league is ] and is followed by millions of fans around the world.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Le squadre più tifate al mondo: classifica e numero di fan|url=https://www.sisal.it/scommesse-matchpoint/blog/fuori-campo/squadre-piu-tifate-al-mondo-classifica|access-date=4 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> | |||
| Italy is the most awarded country at the ]s for ], with 14 awards won, 3 ] and 28 ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sorrisi.com/cinema/migliori-film/oscar-2022-paolo-sorrentino-e-gli-altri-candidati-come-miglior-film-internazionale/|title=Oscar 2022: Paolo Sorrentino e gli altri candidati come miglior film internazionale|date=26 October 2021|access-date=1 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> {{as of|2016}}, Italian films have also won 12 ],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nanopress.it/articolo/10-film-italiani-che-hanno-fatto-la-storia-del-festival-di-cannes/67505/|title=10 film italiani che hanno fatto la storia del Festival di Cannes|date=13 May 2014|access-date=1 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> 11 ]s<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.supereva.it/i-film-italiani-vincitori-del-leone-doro-al-festival-di-venezia-51756|title=I film italiani vincitori del Leone d'Oro al Festival di Venezia|date=28 August 2018|access-date=1 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> and 7 ]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://popcorntv.it/guide/film-italiani-vincitori-orso-doro-di-berlino/32626|title=Film italiani vincitori Orso d'Oro di Berlino|access-date=1 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> The list of the ] was created with the aim to report "100 films that have changed the collective memory of the country between 1942 and 1978".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tapum.it/news/156-alberto-sordi-la-grande-guerra.html|title=Alberto Sordi: "La grande guerra"|access-date=22 June 2023|language=it}}</ref> | |||
| Other popular team sports include basketball, volleyball, and rugby.<ref name="sportface">{{Cite web|date=15 March 2021|title=Sport più seguiti: la (forse) sorprendente classifica mondiale|url=https://www.sportface.it/altro/sport-piu-seguiti-la-forse-sorprendente-classifica-mondiale/1318754|access-date=4 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> Italy's male and female national volleyball teams are often featured among the world's best. The ] won three consecutive ] (in 1990, 1994, and 1998). ]'s best results were gold at ] and ], and silver at the ]. ] is one of the most competitive in Europe.<ref>{{Cite web|date=July 2019|title=Basket Eurolega, l'albo d'oro delle squadre più forti e titolate d'Europa|url=https://williamhillnews.it/basket/basket-eurolega|access-date=4 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> The ] competes in the ], and at the ]. | |||
| ===Sport=== | |||
| {{Main|Sport in Italy}} | |||
| ] in 2012. Football is the most popular sport in Italy.]] | |||
| Among individual sports, bicycle racing is popular;<ref>{{Cite book|last=Foot|first=John|title=Pedalare! Pedalare!: a history of Italian cycling|publisher=Bloomsbury|year=2012|isbn=978-1-4088-2219-7|location=London|page=312}}</ref> Italians have won the ] ], except ]. The ] is a cycling race held every May and one of the three ]. Alpine skiing is a widespread sport, and the country is a popular skiing destination.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Hall|first=James|date=23 November 2012|title=Italy is best value skiing country, report finds|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/9697128/Italy-is-best-value-skiing-country-report-finds.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003012827/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/9697128/Italy-is-best-value-skiing-country-report-finds.html|archive-date=3 October 2013|access-date=29 August 2013|work=The Daily Telegraph|location=London}}</ref> Italian skiers achieve good results in ] and the ]. Tennis has a significant following: it is the fourth most practised sport.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Il tennis è il quarto sport in Italia per numero di praticanti|url=http://www.federtennis.it/DettaglioNews.asp?IDNews=55672|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927033216/http://www.federtennis.it/DettaglioNews.asp?IDNews=55672|archive-date=27 September 2013|access-date=29 August 2013|publisher=Federazione Italiana Tennis}}</ref> The ], founded in 1930, is one of the most prestigious tennis tournaments.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Internazionali d'Italia di Tennis – Roma 2021 |url=https://www.faretennis.com/tornei/internazionali-italia-tennis|access-date=4 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> Italian players won the ] in 1976 and the ] in 2006, 2009, 2010, and 2013. | |||
| The most popular sport in Italy is ].<ref>{{cite web |last=Wilson |first=Bill |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26351331 |title=BBC News – Italian football counts cost of stagnation |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |date=10 March 2014 |access-date=12 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hamil |first1=Sean |title=Managing football: an international perspective |year=2010 |publisher=Elsevier/Butterworth-Heinemann |location=Amsterdam |isbn=978-1-85617-544-9 |page=285 |edition=1st ed., dodr. |last2=Chadwick |first2=Simon}}</ref> Italy's ] is one of the world's most successful teams with four ] victories (1934, 1938, 1982 and 2006).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/index.html |title=Previous FIFA World Cups |publisher=FIFA.com |access-date=8 January 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110125063612/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/index.html |archive-date=25 January 2011}}</ref> Italian clubs have won 48 major European trophies, making Italy the ]. Italy's top-flight club football league is named ] and is followed by millions of fans around the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sisal.it/scommesse-matchpoint/blog/fuori-campo/squadre-piu-tifate-al-mondo-classifica|title=Le squadre più tifate al mondo: classifica e numero di fan|access-date=4 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> | |||
| ] by ], the oldest surviving team in ] racing,<ref name="targaflorio"/> having competed since 1948, and statistically the ]]] | |||
| Motorsports are popular.<ref name="sportface"/> Italy has won, by far, the most MotoGP World Championships. Italian ] is the oldest surviving team in ] racing,<ref name="targaflorio">{{Cite web|title=Enzo Ferrari|url=https://www.targaflorio.info/enzoferrari.htm|access-date=4 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> competing since 1948, and the most successful Formula One team with 232 wins. The ] of ] has been held since 1921<ref>{{Cite web|date=3 September 2020|title=GP d'Italia: albo d'oro|url=https://www.motori.it/curiosita/1757728/gp-ditalia-albo-doro.html|access-date=4 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> always at ] (except ]).<ref>{{Cite web|date=7 September 2021|title=GP Italia: a Monza tra storia e passione|url=https://www.f1world.it/amarcord/gp-ditalia-a-monza-tra-storia-e-passione|access-date=4 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> Other successful Italian car manufacturers in motorsports are ], ], ], and ].<ref>{{Cite web|date=5 October 2021|title=L'Italia che vince le corse|url=https://www.museoauto.com/litalia-che-vince-le-corse-la-ferrari-500-f2-del-1952|access-date=4 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> | |||
| Other popular team sports in Italy include ], ] and ].<ref name="sportface">{{cite web|url=https://www.sportface.it/altro/sport-piu-seguiti-la-forse-sorprendente-classifica-mondiale/1318754|title=Sport più seguiti: la (forse) sorprendente classifica mondiale|date=15 March 2021|access-date=4 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> Italy's ] and ] national volleyball teams are often ]. The ]'s best results were gold at ] and ], as well as silver at the Olympics in ]. ] is widely considered one of the most competitive in Europe.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://williamhillnews.it/basket/basket-eurolega/|title=Basket Eurolega, l'albo d'oro delle squadre più forti e titolate d'Europa|date=July 2019|access-date=4 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> Italy's ] competes in the ], and is a regular at the ]. The ] won three consecutive ] (in 1990, 1994, and 1998) and earned the ] silver medal in 1996, 2004, and 2016. | |||
| ] is the ]' second oldest.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uciprotour.com/Modules/BUILTIN/getObject.asp?MenuId=MTcxNw&ObjTypeCode=FILE&type=FILE&id=34028&LangId=1 |title=Union Cycliste Internationale|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114060844/http://www.uciprotour.com/Modules/BUILTIN/getObject.asp?MenuId=MTcxNw&ObjTypeCode=FILE&type=FILE&id=34028&LangId=1 |archive-date=14 November 2012|access-date=11 January 2017}}</ref>]] | |||
| Italy has a long and successful tradition in individual sports as well. ] is a familiar sport in the country.<ref>{{cite book |last=Foot |first=John |title=Pedalare! Pedalare!: a history of Italian cycling |publisher=Bloomsbury |location=London |isbn=978-1-4088-2219-7 |page=312 |year=2012}}</ref> ] have won the ] ], except ]. The ] is a cycling race held every May and constitutes one of the three ]. ] is also a widespread sport in Italy, and the country is a popular international skiing destination, known for its ski resorts.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hall |first=James |title=Italy is best value skiing country, report finds |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/9697128/Italy-is-best-value-skiing-country-report-finds.html |access-date=29 August 2013 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=23 November 2012|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003012827/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/9697128/Italy-is-best-value-skiing-country-report-finds.html |archive-date=3 October 2013}}</ref> Italian skiers achieved good results in ], ], and ] has a significant following in Italy, ranking as the fourth most practised sport in the country.<ref>{{cite web |title=Il tennis è il quarto sport in Italia per numero di praticanti |url=http://www.federtennis.it/DettaglioNews.asp?IDNews=55672 |publisher=Federazione Italiana Tennis |access-date=29 August 2013|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927033216/http://www.federtennis.it/DettaglioNews.asp?IDNews=55672 |archive-date=27 September 2013}}</ref> The ], founded in 1930, is one of the most prestigious tennis tournaments in the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.faretennis.com/tornei/internazionali-italia-tennis|title=Internazionali d'Italia di Tennis – Roma 2021|access-date=4 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> Italian professional tennis players won the ] in 1976 and the ] in 2006, 2009, 2010 and 2013. | |||
| ] by ], the ]]] | |||
| Italy has been successful in the Olympics, taking part from the ] and in 47 Games out of 48 (not ]).<ref>{{Cite web|last=Elio Trifari|title=Che sorpresa: Italia presente a tutti i Giochi|url=http://archiviostorico.gazzetta.it/2008/novembre/28/Che_sorpresa_Italia_presente_tutti_ga_10_081128051.shtml|access-date=4 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> ] have won 618 medals at the ], and 141 at the Winter Olympics, with 259 golds, the sixth most successful for total medals. The country hosted Winter Olympics in ] and ], and will host another in ]; and a Summer games in ]. | |||
| ] are also extremely popular in Italy.<ref name="sportface"/> Italy has won, by far, ]. Italian ] is the oldest surviving team in ] racing,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.targaflorio.info/enzoferrari.htm|title=Enzo Ferrari|access-date=4 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> having competed since 1948, and statistically the ] with a record of 232 wins. The ] of ] is the fifth oldest surviving Grand Prix, having been held since 1921.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.motori.it/curiosita/1757728/gp-ditalia-albo-doro.html|title=GP d'Italia: albo d'oro|date=3 September 2020|access-date=4 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> It is also one of the two Grand Prix present in every championship since the first one in ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://f1ingenerale.com/f1-record-e-statistiche-gp-italia-la-marea-e-piu-rossa-che-mai/|title=F1 Record e statistiche GP Italia: la marea è più rossa che mai|date=27 August 2018|access-date=4 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> Every Formula 1 Grand Prix (except for the ]) has been held at ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.f1world.it/amarcord/gp-ditalia-a-monza-tra-storia-e-passione/|title=GP Italia: a Monza tra storia e passione|date=7 September 2021|access-date=4 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> Formula 1 was also held at ] (1980–2006, ]) and ] (]). Other successful Italian car manufacturers in motorsports are ], ], ] and ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.museoauto.com/litalia-che-vince-le-corse-la-ferrari-500-f2-del-1952/|title=L'Italia che vince le corse|date=5 October 2021|access-date=4 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> | |||
| === Fashion and design === | |||
| Historically, Italy has been successful in the ], taking part from the ] and in 47 Games out of 48, not having officially participated in the ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archiviostorico.gazzetta.it/2008/novembre/28/Che_sorpresa_Italia_presente_tutti_ga_10_081128051.shtml|title=Che sorpresa: Italia presente a tutti i Giochi|author=Elio Trifari|access-date=4 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> ] have won 522 medals at the ], and another 106 at the ], for a combined total of 628 medals with 235 golds, which makes them the ] for total medals. The country hosted two Winter Olympics and will host a third (in ], ], and ]), and one Summer games (in ]). | |||
| ===Fashion and design=== | |||
| {{Main|Italian fashion|Italian design}} | {{Main|Italian fashion|Italian design}} | ||
| ] shop at ] in Milan]] | |||
| Italian fashion has a long tradition. ''Top Global Fashion Capital Rankings'' (2013), by ], ranked Rome sixth and Milan twelfth.<ref>{{Cite web|title=New York Takes Top Global Fashion Capital Title from London, edging past Paris|url=http://www.languagemonitor.com/fashion/sorry-kate-new-york-edges-paris-and-london-in-top-global-fashion-capital-10th-annual-survey|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222011026/http://www.languagemonitor.com/fashion/sorry-kate-new-york-edges-paris-and-london-in-top-global-fashion-capital-10th-annual-survey|archive-date=22 February 2014|access-date=25 February 2014|publisher=Languagemonitor.com}}</ref> Major Italian fashion labels—such as ], ], ], ], ], ]—are among the finest fashion houses in the world. Jewellers such as ], ], and ] were founded in Italy. The fashion magazine '']'' is one of the most prestigious fashion magazines in the world.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Press|first=Debbie|url={{Google books|pkeaOOxb_isC|page=PA16|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}|title=Your Modeling Career: You Don't Have to Be a Superstar to Succeed|publisher=Allworth Press|year=2000|isbn=978-1-58115-045-2}}; {{Cite web|last=Cardini|first=Tiziana|date=28 October 2020|title=Get to Know the Young Winners of the 2020 International Talent Support Awards |url=https://www.vogue.com/article/internationa-talent-support-award-2020-winners|website=Vogue}}</ref> | |||
| ] shop at ] in Milan]] | |||
| Italian fashion has ]. Milan, Florence and Rome are Italy's main ]s. According to ''Top Global Fashion Capital Rankings'' 2013 by ], Rome ranked sixth worldwide while Milan was twelfth. Previously, in 2009, Milan was declared the "fashion capital of the world" by Global Language Monitor itself.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.languagemonitor.com/fashion/sorry-kate-new-york-edges-paris-and-london-in-top-global-fashion-capital-10th-annual-survey/ |title=New York Takes Top Global Fashion Capital Title from London, edging past Paris |publisher=Languagemonitor.com |access-date=25 February 2014|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222011026/http://www.languagemonitor.com/fashion/sorry-kate-new-york-edges-paris-and-london-in-top-global-fashion-capital-10th-annual-survey/ |archive-date=22 February 2014}}</ref> Major Italian fashion labels, such as ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ], to name a few, are regarded as among the finest fashion houses in the world. Jewellers like ], ] and ] have been founded in Italy. Also, the fashion magazine ], is considered one of the most prestigious fashion magazines in the world.<ref>{{Cite book |url={{Google books|pkeaOOxb_isC |page=PA16 |keywords= |text= |plainurl=yes}} | title = Your Modeling Career: You Don't Have to Be a Superstar to Succeed | isbn = 978-1-58115-045-2 | first=Debbie | last = Press | year = 2000}}</ref> The talent of young, creative fashion is also promoted, as in the ITS young fashion designer competition in Trieste.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vogue.com/article/internationa-talent-support-award-2020-winners|title=Get to Know the Young Winners of the 2020 International Talent Support Awards|first=Tiziana|last=Cardini|website=Vogue|date=28 October 2020}}</ref> | |||
| Italy is |
Italy is prominent in the field of design, notably interior, architectural, industrial, and urban designs.<ref>Miller (2005) p. 486</ref><ref>Insight Guides (2004) p. 220</ref> Milan and Turin are the nation's leaders in architectural and industrial design. The city of Milan hosts ], Europe's largest design fair.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Design City Milan|url=http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0470026839.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206052654/http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0470026839.html|archive-date=6 December 2010|access-date=3 January 2010|publisher=Wiley}}</ref> Milan hosts major design- and architecture-related events and venues, such as the ''Fuori Salone'' and the ], and has been home to the designers ], ], ], and ].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Frieze Magazine – Archive – Milan and Turin|url=http://www.frieze.com/issue/article/milan_turin|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100110123141/http://www.frieze.com/issue/article/milan_turin|archive-date=10 January 2010|access-date=3 January 2010|website=Frieze}}</ref> | ||
| ===Cuisine=== | === Cuisine === | ||
| {{Main|Italian cuisine|Italian meal structure}} | {{Main|Italian cuisine|Italian meal structure|List of Italian foods and drinks}} | ||
| ] with ] and ] sauce]] | |||
| ] and '']'']] | ] and '']'']] | ||
| ] is heavily influenced by ], ], ], ], ], and ] cuisines.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2023-04-05|title=The History of Italian Cuisine: A Cultural Journey – Italian Cuisine|url=https://italian-cuisine.org/the-history-of-italian-cuisine-a-cultural-journey|access-date=2024-02-25|website=italian-cuisine.org}}; {{Cite web|title=Italian Cooking: History of Food and Cooking in Rome and Lazio Region, Papal Influence, Jewish Influence, The Essence of Roman Italian Cooking|url=http://www.inmamaskitchen.com/ITALIAN_COOKING/rome_Lazio/Rome_LAZIO.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100410100532/http://www.inmamaskitchen.com/ITALIAN_COOKING/rome_Lazio/Rome_LAZIO.html|archive-date=10 April 2010|access-date=24 April 2010|publisher=Inmamaskitchen.com}}</ref> Significant changes occurred with the discovery of the ], with items such as potatoes, tomatoes, and maize becoming main ingredients from the 18th century.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Making of Italian Food...From the Beginning|url=http://www.epicurean.com/articles/making-of-italian-food.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100327080045/http://www.epicurean.com/articles/making-of-italian-food.html|archive-date=27 March 2010|access-date=24 April 2010|publisher=Epicurean.com}}; Del Conte, 11–21.</ref> The ] forms the basis of Italian cuisine, which is rich in ], fish, fruits, and vegetables and characterised by its simplicity and variety, with many dishes having only four to eight ingredients.<ref>The Silver Spoon {{ISBN|8-8721-2223-6}}, 1997 ed.</ref> Italian cuisine is noted for its regional diversity,<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|title=Italian cuisine – Britannica Online Encyclopedia|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/718430/Italian-cuisine|access-date=24 April 2010|date=2 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100716014306/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/718430/Italian-cuisine|archive-date=16 July 2010|author=Related Articles|url-status=live}}; {{Cite web|title=Italian Food – Italy's Regional Dishes & Cuisine|url=http://www.indigoguide.com/italy/food.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110102020059/http://www.indigoguide.com/italy/food.htm|archive-date=2 January 2011|access-date=24 April 2010|publisher=Indigoguide.com}}; {{Cite web|title=Regional Italian Cuisine|url=http://www.rusticocooking.com/regions.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100410072851/http://www.rusticocooking.com/regions.htm|archive-date=10 April 2010|access-date=24 April 2010|publisher=Rusticocooking.com}}</ref> abundance of difference in taste, and as one of the most popular in the world,<ref>{{Cite web|date=6 January 2013|title=Which country has the best food?|url=http://travel.cnn.com/explorations/eat/worlds-best-food-cultures-453528|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130629071154/http://travel.cnn.com/explorations/eat/worlds-best-food-cultures-453528|archive-date=29 June 2013|access-date=14 October 2013|publisher=CNN}}</ref> wielding strong influence abroad.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Freeman|first=Nancy|date=2 March 2007|title=American Food, Cuisine|url=http://www.sallybernstein.com/food/cuisines/us|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100418064119/http://sallybernstein.com/food/cuisines/us|archive-date=18 April 2010|access-date=24 April 2010|publisher=Sallybernstein.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Most Americans Have Dined Out in the Past Month and, Among Type of Cuisine, American Food is Tops Followed by Italian|url=http://www.harrisinteractive.com/vault/HarrisPoll18-DiningOut_4-3-13.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130520205539/http://www.harrisinteractive.com/vault/HarrisPoll18-DiningOut_4-3-13.pdf|archive-date=20 May 2013|access-date=31 August 2013|publisher=]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Kazmin|first=Amy|date=26 March 2013|title=A taste for Italian in New Delhi|url=http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/7ab87234-9214-11e2-851f-00144feabdc0.html|url-access=subscription|url-status=live|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/7ab87234-9214-11e2-851f-00144feabdc0.html|archive-date=10 December 2022|access-date=31 August 2013|work=]|location=London}}</ref> | |||
| Italian cuisine relies heavily on traditional products; the country has a large number of traditional specialties protected under ].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Keane|first=John|title=Italy leads the way with protected products under EU schemes|url=http://www.bordbia.ie/industryservices/information/alerts/Pages/ItalyleadsthewaywithprotectedproductsunderEUschemes.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140329075250/http://www.bordbia.ie/industryservices/information/alerts/Pages/ItalyleadsthewaywithprotectedproductsunderEUschemes.aspx|archive-date=29 March 2014|access-date=5 September 2013|publisher=]}}</ref> Italy is home to 395 ]-rated restaurants.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.michelin.com/en/publications/products-and-services/michelin-guide-2024-italy-two-new-3-michelin-stars-restaurants|title=Michelin Guide 2024 - Italy - Two new 3 Michelin stars restaurants|access-date=20 November 2024}}</ref> ], ], and ] are central to Italian cuisine, with regional declinations and ] or ] labels, along with ] and coffee forming part of gastronomic culture.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Marshall|first=Lee|date=30 September 2009|title=Italian coffee culture: a guide|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/italy/6246202/Italian-coffee-culture-a-guide.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131010212148/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/italy/6246202/Italian-coffee-culture-a-guide.html|archive-date=10 October 2013|access-date=5 September 2013|work=The Daily Telegraph|location=London}}</ref> Desserts have a long tradition of merging local flavours, such as citrus fruits, pistachio, and almonds, with sweet cheeses such as ] and ] or exotic tastes such as cocoa, vanilla, and cinnamon. ],<ref>{{Cite news|last=Jewkes|first=Stephen|date=13 October 2012|title=World's first museum about gelato culture opens in Italy|url=http://www.timescolonist.com/life/travel/world-s-first-museum-about-gelato-culture-opens-in-italy-1.15866|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016062518/http://www.timescolonist.com/life/travel/world-s-first-museum-about-gelato-culture-opens-in-italy-1.15866|archive-date=16 October 2013|access-date=5 September 2013|work=]}}</ref> ],<ref>{{Cite news|last=Squires|first=Nick|date=23 August 2013|title=Tiramisu claimed by Treviso|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/10261930/Tiramisu-claimed-by-Treviso.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829091009/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/10261930/Tiramisu-claimed-by-Treviso.html|archive-date=29 August 2013|access-date=5 September 2013|work=The Daily Telegraph|location=London}}</ref> and ] are among the most famous examples of Italian desserts. | |||
| The ] forms the basis of Italian cuisine, rich in ], fish, fruits and vegetables and characterised by its extreme simplicity and variety, with many dishes having only four to eight ingredients.<ref>The Silver Spoon {{ISBN|88-7212-223-6}}, 1997 ed.</ref> Italian cooks rely chiefly on the quality of the ingredients rather than on elaborate preparation.<ref>Mario Batali Simple Italian Food: Recipes from My Two Villages (1998), {{ISBN|0-609-60300-0}}</ref> Dishes and recipes are often derivatives from local and familial tradition rather than created by ]s, so many recipes are ideally suited for ], this being one of the main reasons behind the ever-increasing worldwide popularity of Italian cuisine, from America<ref>{{cite web |title=Most Americans Have Dined Out in the Past Month and, Among Type of Cuisine, American Food is Tops Followed by Italian |url=http://www.harrisinteractive.com/vault/HarrisPoll18-DiningOut_4-3-13.pdf |publisher=] |access-date=31 August 2013|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130520205539/http://www.harrisinteractive.com/vault/HarrisPoll18-DiningOut_4-3-13.pdf |archive-date=20 May 2013}}</ref> to Asia.<ref>{{cite news |last=Kazmin |first=Amy |title=A taste for Italian in New Delhi |url=http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/7ab87234-9214-11e2-851f-00144feabdc0.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/7ab87234-9214-11e2-851f-00144feabdc0.html |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=31 August 2013 |newspaper=] |date=26 March 2013}}</ref> Ingredients and dishes vary widely by ]. | |||
| The ] is typical of the Mediterranean region and differs from North, Central, and East European meal structures, although it still often consists of breakfast ('']''), lunch ('']''), and dinner ('']'').<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mangiare all'italiana|url=https://www.studiare-in-italia.it/php5/study-italy.php?idorizz=5&idvert=62|access-date=12 November 2021|language=it}}</ref> However, much less emphasis is placed on breakfast, which is often skipped or involves lighter portions than are seen in non-Mediterranean Western countries.<ref>{{Cite web|date=29 March 2016|title=Colazioni da incubo in giro per il mondo|url=https://www.lacucinaitaliana.it/news/in-primo-piano/colazioni-strane-nel-mondo|access-date=12 November 2021|language=it}}</ref> Late-morning and mid-afternoon snacks, called '']'' ({{Plural form}}: ''merende''), are often included.<ref>{{Cite web|date=12 August 2021|title=Merenda, una abitudine tutta italiana: cinque ricette salutari per tutta la famiglia|url=https://www.corriere.it/cook/news/cards/merenda-abitudine-tutta-italiana-cinque-ricette-salutari-tutta-famiglia/merenda-come-deve-essere_principale.shtml|access-date=12 November 2021|language=it}}</ref> | |||
| Italian cuisine relies heavily on traditional products; the country has a large number of ] protected under ].<ref>{{cite web |last=Keane |first=John |title=Italy leads the way with protected products under EU schemes |url=http://www.bordbia.ie/industryservices/information/alerts/Pages/ItalyleadsthewaywithprotectedproductsunderEUschemes.aspx |publisher=] |access-date=5 September 2013|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140329075250/http://www.bordbia.ie/industryservices/information/alerts/Pages/ItalyleadsthewaywithprotectedproductsunderEUschemes.aspx |archive-date=29 March 2014}}</ref> ], ] and ] are central to Italian cuisine, with many regional declinations and ] or ] labels, and along with ] and ] (especially ]) form part of Italian ] culture.<ref>{{cite news |last=Marshall |first=Lee |title=Italian coffee culture: a guide |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/italy/6246202/Italian-coffee-culture-a-guide.html |access-date=5 September 2013 |newspaper=] |date=30 September 2009|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131010212148/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/italy/6246202/Italian-coffee-culture-a-guide.html |archive-date=10 October 2013}}</ref> Desserts have a long tradition of merging local flavours such as ], ] and ] with sweet cheeses like ] and ] or exotic tastes as cocoa, vanilla and cinnamon. ],<ref>{{cite news |last=Jewkes |first=Stephen |title=World's first museum about gelato culture opens in Italy |url=http://www.timescolonist.com/life/travel/world-s-first-museum-about-gelato-culture-opens-in-italy-1.15866 |access-date=5 September 2013 |newspaper=] |date=13 October 2012|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016062518/http://www.timescolonist.com/life/travel/world-s-first-museum-about-gelato-culture-opens-in-italy-1.15866 |archive-date=16 October 2013}}</ref> ]<ref>{{cite news |last=Squires |first=Nick |title=Tiramisu claimed by Treviso |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/10261930/Tiramisu-claimed-by-Treviso.html |access-date=5 September 2013 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=23 August 2013|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829091009/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/10261930/Tiramisu-claimed-by-Treviso.html |archive-date=29 August 2013}}</ref> and ] are among the most famous examples of Italian desserts, cakes and patisserie. | |||
| === Public holidays, festivals and folklore === | |||
| ] is typical of the ] region and differs from North, Central, and Eastern European meal structure, though it still often consists of ] (''colazione''), ] (''pranzo''), and ] (''cena'').<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.studiare-in-italia.it/php5/study-italy.php?idorizz=5&idvert=62|title=Mangiare all'italiana|access-date=12 November 2021|language=it}}</ref> However, much less emphasis is placed on breakfast, and breakfast itself is often skipped or involves lighter meal portions than are seen in non-Mediterranean Western countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lacucinaitaliana.it/news/in-primo-piano/colazioni-strane-nel-mondo/|title=Colazioni da incubo in giro per il mondo|date=29 March 2016|access-date=12 November 2021|language=it}}</ref> Late-morning and mid-afternoon snacks, called '']'' (plural ''merende''), are also often included in this meal structure.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.corriere.it/cook/news/cards/merenda-abitudine-tutta-italiana-cinque-ricette-salutari-tutta-famiglia/merenda-come-deve-essere_principale.shtml|title=Merenda, una abitudine tutta italiana: cinque ricette salutari per tutta la famiglia|date=12 August 2021 |access-date=12 November 2021|language=it}}</ref> | |||
| {{Main|Public holidays in Italy|Traditions of Italy|Folklore of Italy}} | |||
| ]'', with the smoke trail representing the ], above the ] in Rome during the celebrations of the '']'']] | |||
| Public holidays include religious, national, and regional observances. Italy's National Day, the '']'' ('Republic Day'),<ref>{{Cite web|title=Le feste mobili. Feste religiose e feste civili in Italia|url=http://calendario.eugeniosongia.com/feste.htm|access-date=29 December 2022|language=it}}</ref> is celebrated on 2 June, with the main celebration taking place in Rome, and commemorates the birth of the Italian Republic in 1946.<ref name="Italian Embassy in London">{{Cite web|title=Festività nazionali in Italia|url=http://www.amblondra.esteri.it/Ambasciata_Londra/Menu/In_linea_con_utente/Domande_frequenti/altro.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120624220055/http://www.amblondra.esteri.it/Ambasciata_Londra/Menu/In_linea_con_utente/Domande_frequenti/altro.htm|archive-date=24 June 2012|access-date=15 April 2012|publisher=Italian Embassy in London|language=it}}</ref> The ceremony includes deposition of a wreath as a tribute to the ] and a military parade along ] in Rome. | |||
| The ] phenomenon consisting of words and images, colour combinations (the ]) and geographical references for brands that are evocative of Italy to promote and market agri-food products that have nothing to do with Italian cuisine is known by the name of '']''.<ref name="agrifood">{{Cite news|url=https://www.agrifood.tech/sicurezza-alimentare/italian-sounding-food-che-cose-e-come-funziona/|title=In cosa consiste l'Italian Sounding|newspaper=Agrifood.tech |date=25 March 2020|access-date=30 November 2021|language=it}}</ref> | |||
| ], on 13 December, is popular among children in some Italian regions, where she plays a role similar to Santa Claus.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Saint Lucy – Sicily's Most Famous Woman – Best of Sicily Magazine|url=http://www.bestofsicily.com/mag/art333.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015021932/http://bestofsicily.com/mag/art333.htm|archive-date=15 October 2012|website=bestofsicily.com}}</ref> The ] is associated with the ] figure of ], a broomstick-riding old woman who, on the night of 5 January, brings good children gifts, and bad ones charcoal or bags of ashes.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Roy|first=Christian|url={{Google books|IKqOUfqt4cIC|page=PA144|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}|title=Traditional Festivals|date=2005|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-5760-7089-5|page=144|access-date=13 January 2015}}</ref> The ] coincides with '']'' on 15 August, the summer vacation period.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Jonathan Boardman|url={{Google books|VHAUAQAAIAAJ|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}|title=Rome: A Cultural and Literary Companion|publisher=Signal Books|year=2000|isbn=978-1-902669-15-1|location=University of California|page=219|format=Google Books}}</ref> The Italian national ], on 4 October, celebrates ]. Each city or town also celebrates a public holiday on the festival of the local patron saint.<ref name="Italian Embassy in London"/> ], historically known as ''Dies Romana'' and also referred to as Romaia, is the festival linked to the ], celebrated on 21 April.<ref name="Plutarch12">], ''] - Life of Romulus'', (from ])</ref> | |||
| ===Public holidays, festivals and folklore=== | |||
| {{main|Public holidays in Italy|Traditions of Italy|Folklore of Italy}} | |||
| ]'', with the smoke trails representing the ], during the celebrations of the '']'']] | |||
| Public holidays celebrated in Italy include religious, national and regional observances. Italy's National Day, the '']'' (''Republic Day''),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://calendario.eugeniosongia.com/feste.htm|title=Le feste mobili. Feste religiose e feste civili in Italia|access-date=29 December 2022|language=it}}</ref> is celebrated on 2 June each year, with the main celebration taking place in ], and commemorates the ] in 1946.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|title=Festività nazionali in Italia|url=http://www.amblondra.esteri.it/Ambasciata_Londra/Menu/In_linea_con_utente/Domande_frequenti/altro.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120624220055/http://www.amblondra.esteri.it/Ambasciata_Londra/Menu/In_linea_con_utente/Domande_frequenti/altro.htm|archive-date=24 June 2012|access-date=15 April 2012|publisher=Italian Embassy in London|language=it}}</ref> The ceremony of the event organized in Rome includes the deposition of a ] as a tribute to the ] at the ] by the ] and a ] along ] in Rome. | |||
| Festivals and festivities include the ] horse race, ] rites, ] of Arezzo, and the '']''. In 2013, ] included among the ] Italian festivals and '']'', such as the ], the ] in ], and ''faradda di li candareri'' in ].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Celebrations of big shoulder-borne processional structures|url=http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?lg=en&pg=00011&RL=00721|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141213122708/http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?lg=EN|archive-date=13 December 2014|access-date=29 November 2014|publisher=UNESCO}}</ref> Other festivals include ] in Venice, ], ], ], and ]. The ], awarding the ] and held since 1932, is the oldest in the world and one of the "Big Three" European film festivals, alongside ] and ].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Anderson|first=Ariston|date=24 July 2014|title=Venice: David Gordon Green's 'Manglehorn,' Abel Ferrara's 'Pasolini' in Competition Lineup|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/venice-film-festival-unveils-lineup-720770|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160218220740/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/venice-film-festival-unveils-lineup-720770|archive-date=18 February 2016|website=]}}; {{Cite magazine|title=Addio, Lido: Last Postcards from the Venice Film Festival|url=https://time.com/3291348/addio-lido-last-postcards-from-the-venice-film-festival/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140920162423/http://time.com/3291348/addio-lido-last-postcards-from-the-venice-film-festival|archive-date=20 September 2014|magazine=Time}}</ref> | |||
| The ], which takes place on 13 December, is popular among children in some Italian regions, where she plays a role similar to Santa Claus.<ref name=alio>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bestofsicily.com/mag/art333.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015021932/http://bestofsicily.com/mag/art333.htm |url-status=dead |title=Saint Lucy – Sicily's Most Famous Woman – Best of Sicily Magazine |archive-date=15 October 2012 |website=www.bestofsicily.com}}</ref> In addition, the ] in Italy is associated with the ] figure of the ], a broomstick-riding old woman who, in the night between 5 and 6 January, bringing good children gifts and sweets, and bad ones charcoal or bags of ashes.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Roy |first1=Christian |title=Traditional Festivals |date=2005 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-57607-089-5 |page=144 |url={{Google books|IKqOUfqt4cIC |page=PA144 |keywords= |text= |plainurl=yes}}|access-date=13 January 2015}}</ref> The ] coincides with '']'' on 15 August, the summer vacation period which may be a long weekend or most of the month.<ref>{{cite book |last=Jonathan Boardman |title=Rome: A Cultural and Literary Companion|url={{Google books|VHAUAQAAIAAJ |page= |keywords= |text= |plainurl=yes}} | |||
| | format = Google Books | |||
| | publisher = Signal Books | |||
| | location = University of California | |||
| | isbn = 978-1-902669-15-1 | |||
| | page =219 | |||
| | year = 2000 | |||
| }}</ref> | |||
| ] is the oldest film festival in the world.<ref name=VeniceFilmFest>{{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/venice-film-festival-unveils-lineup-720770 |title=Venice: David Gordon Green's 'Manglehorn,' Abel Ferrara's 'Pasolini' in Competition Lineup |work=] |last=Anderson |first=Ariston|date=24 July 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160218220740/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/venice-film-festival-unveils-lineup-720770 |archive-date=18 February 2016}}</ref>]] | |||
| == See also == | |||
| The Italian national ], on 4 October, celebrates ]. Each city or town also celebrates a public holiday on the occasion of the festival of the local patron saint,<ref name=":0" /> for example: ] on 29 June (]), ] on 7 December (]), ] on 19 September (]), ] on 25 April (]) and ] on 24 June (]). | |||
| {{Portal|Italy|Europe}} | |||
| There are many festivals and festivities in Italy. Some of them include the ] horse race, ] rites, ] of Arezzo, ] in Gubbio, ] in Foligno, and the ]. In 2013, ] has included among the ] some Italian festivals and ] (in Italian "macchine a spalla"), such as the ], the ] in ], the Festa dei Gigli in ], and ''faradda di li candareri'' in ].<ref>{{cite web |title=Celebrations of big shoulder-borne processional structures |url=http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?lg=en&pg=00011&RL=00721 |publisher=UNESCO.org |access-date=29 November 2014|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141213122708/http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?lg=EN |archive-date=13 December 2014}}</ref> | |||
| Other festivals include the ] in ], ], ], ], and ], mostly known for its ]. The ], awarding the "]" and held annually since 1932, is the oldest film festival in the world and one of the "]" alongside ] and ].<ref name=VeniceFilmFest /><ref>{{cite news |url=http://time.com/3291348/addio-lido-last-postcards-from-the-venice-film-festival/ |title=Addio, Lido: Last Postcards from the Venice Film Festival |magazine=Time |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140920162423/http://time.com/3291348/addio-lido-last-postcards-from-the-venice-film-festival/ |archive-date=20 September 2014}}</ref> | |||
| {{clear}} | |||
| ==See also== | |||
| {{Portal|Europe|Italy|Ancient Rome}} | |||
| * ] | * ] | ||
| {{Clear}} | |||
| ==Notes== | == Notes == | ||
| {{ |
{{Notelist|30em}} | ||
| {{Reflist|group=note|30em}} | |||
| ==References== | == References == | ||
| {{Reflist}} | |||
| {{reflist|colwidth=30em}} | |||
| ==Bibliography== | == Bibliography == | ||
| {{Refbegin}} | {{Refbegin|30em}} | ||
| * {{ |
* {{Cite book|last1=Cushman-Roisin|first1=Benoit|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OFwkVgQNHlsC|title=Physical oceanography of the Adriatic Sea|last2=Gačić|first2=Miroslav|last3=Poulain|first3=Pierre-Marie|publisher=Springer|year=2001|isbn=978-1-4020-0225-0}} | ||
| * {{Cite web|date=2004–2007|title=FastiOnline: A database of archaeological excavations since the year 2000 |url=https://www.fastionline.org|access-date=6 March 2010|publisher=International Association of Classical Archaeology (AIAC)}} | |||
| * {{cite web |title=History of Italy: Primary Documents |first=Richard |last=Hacken |publisher=EuroDocs: Harold B. Lee Library: Brigham Young University |url=https://eudocs.lib.byu.edu/index.php/History_of_Italy:_Primary_Documents |access-date=6 March 2010}} | |||
| * {{cite web |title=FastiOnline: A database of archaeological excavations since the year 2000 |date=2004–2007 |publisher=International Association of Classical Archaeology (AIAC) |url=https://www.fastionline.org/ |access-date=6 March 2010}} | |||
| * Hibberd, Matthew. ''The media in Italy'' (McGraw-Hill International, 2007) | * Hibberd, Matthew. ''The media in Italy'' (McGraw-Hill International, 2007) | ||
| * Sarti, Roland, ed. ''Italy: A reference guide from the Renaissance to the present'' (2004) | * Sarti, Roland, ed. ''Italy: A reference guide from the Renaissance to the present'' (2004) | ||
| * Sassoon, Donald. ''Contemporary Italy: politics, economy and society since 1945'' (Routledge, 2014) | * Sassoon, Donald. ''Contemporary Italy: politics, economy and society since 1945'' (Routledge, 2014) | ||
| * {{ |
* {{Cite web|date=1995–2010|title=Italy History – Italian History Index|url=http://vlib.iue.it/hist-italy/Index.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815124837/http://vlib.iue.it/hist-italy/Index.html|archive-date=15 August 2021|access-date=6 March 2010|publisher=European University Institute, The World Wide Web Virtual Library|language=it, en}} | ||
| {{Refend}} | {{Refend}} | ||
| ==External links== | == External links == | ||
| {{Wikibooks|Wikijunior:Countries A-Z|Italy}} | {{Wikibooks|Wikijunior:Countries A-Z|Italy}} | ||
| {{Sister project links|voy=Italy|d=Q38}} | {{Sister project links|voy=Italy|d=Q38}} | ||
| ; Government | |||
| * {{in lang|it}} | |||
| * {{in lang|it}} | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| ; Economy | |||
| * | |||
| ; General information | |||
| * from ] | * from ] | ||
| * . '']''. ]. | * . '']''. ]. | ||
| * from ''UCB Libraries GovPubs'' | * from ''UCB Libraries GovPubs'' | ||
| * {{curlie|Regional/Europe/Italy}} | |||
| * ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' entry | |||
| * from the ] | * from the ] | ||
| * at the |
* at the European Union | ||
| * {{ |
* {{Wikiatlas|Italy}} | ||
| * {{ |
* {{Osmrelation-inline|365331}} | ||
| * from ] | * from ] | ||
| * {{In lang|it}} | |||
| * | |||
| {{Italy topics}} | {{Italy topics}} | ||
| {{Navboxes | {{Navboxes | ||
| |title = Articles related to Italy | |title = Articles related to Italy | ||
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| {{Sovereign states of Europe}} | {{Sovereign states of Europe}} | ||
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Latest revision as of 22:30, 23 December 2024
Country in Southern Europe "Italia" redirects here. For other uses, see Italy (disambiguation) and Italia (disambiguation).
| Italian RepublicRepubblica Italiana (Italian) | |
|---|---|
Flag
Emblem
| |
| Anthem: "Il Canto degli Italiani" "The Song of the Italians" | |
.svg) Show globe Show map of EuropeLocation of Italy (dark green)– in Europe (light green & dark grey) | |
| Capitaland largest city | Rome 41°54′N 12°29′E / 41.900°N 12.483°E / 41.900; 12.483 |
| Official languages | Italian |
| Nationality (2021) |
|
| Native languages | See main article |
| Religion (2020) |
|
| Demonym(s) | Italian |
| Government | Unitary parliamentary republic |
| • President | Sergio Mattarella |
| • Prime Minister | Giorgia Meloni |
| • President of the Senate | Ignazio La Russa |
| • President of the Chamber of Deputies | Lorenzo Fontana |
| Legislature | Parliament |
| • Upper house | Senate of the Republic |
| • Lower house | Chamber of Deputies |
| Formation | |
| • Unification | 17 March 1861 |
| • Republic | 12 June 1946 |
| • Current constitution | 1 January 1948 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 301,340 km (116,350 sq mi) (71st) |
| • Water (%) | 1.24 (2015) |
| Population | |
| • 2024 estimate |  58,968,501 (25th) |
| • Density | 195.7/km (506.9/sq mi) (71st) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2024 estimate |
| • Total |  $3.597 trillion (13th) |
| • Per capita | $60,992 (30th) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2024 estimate |
| • Total | $2.376 trillion (8th) |
| • Per capita | $40,286 (26th) |
| Gini (2020) |  32.5medium inequality |
| HDI (2022) |  0.906very high (30th) |
| Currency | Euro (€) (EUR) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Calling code | +39 |
| ISO 3166 code | IT |
| Internet TLD | .it |
| |
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern and Western Europe. It consists of a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land border, as well as nearly 800 islands, notably Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, and two enclaves: Vatican City and San Marino. It is the tenth-largest country in Europe by area, covering 301,340 km (116,350 sq mi), and the third-most populous member state of the European Union, with a population of nearly 60 million. Italy's capital and largest city is Rome; other major urban areas include Milan, Naples, Turin, Palermo, Bologna, Florence, Genoa, and Venice.
The history of Italy goes back to numerous Italic peoples, notably including the ancient Romans, who conquered the Mediterranean world during the Roman Republic and ruled it for centuries during the Roman Empire. With the spread of Christianity, Rome became the seat of the Catholic Church and the Papacy. Between late antiquity and the Early Middle Ages, Italy experienced the arrival of Germanic tribes and the fall of the Western Roman Empire. By the 11th century, Italian city-states and maritime republics expanded, bringing renewed prosperity through commerce and laying the groundwork for modern capitalism. The Italian Renaissance flourished during the 15th and 16th centuries and spread to the rest of Europe. Italian explorers discovered new routes to the Far East and the New World, contributing significantly to the European Age of Discovery.
After centuries of political and territorial divisions, Italy was almost entirely unified in 1861, following wars of independence and the Expedition of the Thousand, establishing the Kingdom of Italy. From the late 19th to the early 20th century, Italy rapidly industrialised, mainly in the north, and acquired a colonial empire, while the south remained largely impoverished, fueling a large immigrant diaspora to the Americas. From 1915 to 1918, Italy took part in World War I with the Entente against the Central Powers. In 1922, the Italian fascist dictatorship was established. During World War II, Italy was first part of the Axis until its surrender to the Allied powers (1940–1943), then a co-belligerent of the Allies during the Italian resistance and the liberation of Italy (1943–1945). Following the war, the monarchy was replaced by a republic and the country enjoyed a strong recovery.
A developed country with an advanced economy, Italy has the ninth-largest nominal GDP in the world, the second-largest manufacturing industry in Europe, and plays a significant role in regional and global economic, military, cultural, and diplomatic affairs. Italy is a founding and leading member of the European Union, and is part of numerous international institutions, including NATO, the G7 and G20, the Latin Union and the Union for the Mediterranean. As a cultural superpower, Italy has long been a renowned global centre of art, music, literature, cuisine, fashion, science and technology, and the source of multiple inventions and discoveries. It has the highest number of World Heritage Sites (60) and is the fifth-most visited country in the world.
Name
Main article: Name of Italy
Hypotheses for the etymology of Italia are numerous. One theory suggests it originated from an Ancient Greek term for the land of the Italói, a tribe that resided in the region now known as Calabria. Originally thought to be named Vituli, some scholars suggest their totemic animal to be the calf (Latin: vitulus; Umbrian: vitlo; Oscan: Víteliú). Several ancient authors said it was named after a local ruler Italus.
The ancient Greek term for Italy initially referred only to the south of the Bruttium peninsula and parts of Catanzaro and Vibo Valentia. The larger concept of Oenotria and "Italy" became synonymous, and the name applied to most of Lucania as well. Before the Roman Republic's expansion, the name was used by Greeks for the land between the strait of Messina and the line connecting the gulfs of Salerno and Taranto, corresponding to Calabria. The Greeks came to apply "Italia" to a larger region. In addition to the "Greek Italy" in the south, historians have suggested the existence of an "Etruscan Italy", which consisted of areas of central Italy.
The borders of Roman Italy, Italia, are better established. Cato's Origines describes Italy as the entire peninsula south of the Alps. In 264 BC, Roman Italy extended from the Arno and Rubicon rivers of the centre-north to the entire south. The northern area, Cisalpine Gaul, considered geographically part of Italy, was occupied by Rome in the 220s BC, but remained politically separated. It was legally merged into the administrative unit of Italy in 42 BC. Sardinia, Corsica, Sicily, and Malta were added to Italy by Diocletian in 292 AD, which made late-ancient Italy coterminous with the modern Italian geographical region.
The Latin Italicus was used to describe "a man of Italy" as opposed to a provincial, or one from the Roman province. The adjective italianus, from which Italian was derived, is from medieval Latin and was used alternatively with Italicus during the early modern period. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy was created. After the Lombard invasions, Italia was retained as the name for their kingdom, and its successor kingdom within the Holy Roman Empire.
History
Main article: History of ItalyPrehistory and antiquity
Main articles: Prehistoric Italy, Italic peoples, Etruscan civilisation, Greek colonisation, and Magna Graecia
Lower Paleolithic artefacts, dating back 850,000 years, have been recovered from Monte Poggiolo. Excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence in the Middle Palaeolithic period 200,000 years ago, while modern humans appeared about 40,000 years ago at Riparo Mochi.
The ancient peoples of pre-Roman Italy were Indo-European, specifically the Italic peoples. The main historic peoples of possible non-Indo-European or pre-Indo-European heritage include the Etruscans, the Elymians and Sicani of Sicily, and the prehistoric Sardinians, who gave birth to the Nuragic civilisation. Other ancient populations include the Rhaetian people and Camunni, known for their rock drawings in Valcamonica. A natural mummy, Ötzi, dated 3400–3100 BC, was discovered in the Similaun glacier in 1991.
The first colonisers were the Phoenicians, who established emporiums on the coasts of Sicily and Sardinia. Some became small urban centers and developed parallel to Greek colonies. During the 8th and 7th centuries, Greek colonies were established at Pithecusae, eventually extending along the south of the Italian Peninsula and the coast of Sicily, an area later known as Magna Graecia. Ionians, Doric colonists, Syracusans, and the Achaeans founded various cities. Greek colonisation placed the Italic peoples in contact with democratic forms of government and high artistic and cultural expressions.
Ancient Rome
Main articles: Ancient Rome, Roman expansion in Italy, and Roman Italy
The Colosseum, one of the great works of architecture and engineering of ancient history
Roman Empire in AD 117 at its greatest extent vassal states
Ancient Rome, a settlement on the river Tiber in central Italy, founded in 753 BC, was ruled for 244 years by a monarchical system. In 509 BC, the Romans, favouring a government of the Senate and the People (SPQR), expelled the monarchy and established an oligarchic republic.
The Italian Peninsula, named Italia, was consolidated into a unified entity during Roman expansion, the conquest of new territories often at the expense of the other Italic tribes, Etruscans, Celts, and Greeks. A permanent association, with most of the local tribes and cities, was formed, and Rome began the conquest of Western Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. In the wake of Julius Caesar's assassination in 44 BC, Rome grew into a massive empire stretching from Britain to the borders of Persia, engulfing the whole Mediterranean basin, in which Greek, Roman, and other cultures merged into a powerful civilisation. The long reign of the first emperor, Augustus, began an age of peace and prosperity. Roman Italy remained the metropole of the empire, homeland of the Romans and territory of the capital.
As Roman provinces were being established throughout the Mediterranean, Italy maintained a special status which made it domina provinciarum ('ruler of the provinces'), and—especially in relation to the first centuries of imperial stability—rectrix mundi ('governor of the world') and omnium terrarum parens ('parent of all lands').
The Roman Empire was among the largest in history, wielding great economical, cultural, political, and military power. At its greatest extent, it had an area of 5 million square kilometres (1.9 million square miles). The Roman legacy has deeply influenced Western civilisation shaping the modern world. The widespread use of Romance languages derived from Latin, numerical system, modern Western alphabet and calendar, and the emergence of Christianity as a world religion, are among the many legacies of Roman dominance.
Middle Ages
Main article: Italy in the Middle AgesAfter the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Italy fell under the Odoacer's kingdom, and was seized by the Ostrogoths. Invasions resulted in a chaotic succession of kingdoms and the supposed "Dark Ages". The invasion of another Germanic tribe in the 6th century, the Lombards, reduced Byzantine presence and ended political unity of the peninsula. The north formed the Lombard kingdom, central-south was also controlled by the Lombards, and other parts remained Byzantine.
The Lombard kingdom was absorbed into Francia by Charlemagne in the late 8th century and became the Kingdom of Italy. The Franks helped form the Papal States. Until the 13th century, politics was dominated by relations between the Holy Roman Emperors and the Papacy, with city-states siding with the former (Ghibellines) or with the latter (Guelphs) for momentary advantage. The Germanic emperor and Roman pontiff became the universal powers of medieval Europe. However, conflict over the Investiture Controversy and between Guelphs and Ghibellines ended the imperial-feudal system in the north, where cities gained independence. In 1176, the Lombard League of city-states, defeated Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, ensuring their independence.
City-states—e.g. Milan, Florence, Venice—played a crucially innovative role in financial development by devising banking practices, and enabling new forms of social organisation. In coastal and southern areas, maritime republics dominated the Mediterranean and monopolised trade to the Orient. They were independent thalassocratic city-states, in which merchants had considerable power. Although oligarchical, the relative political freedom they afforded was conducive to academic and artistic advancement. The best-known maritime republics were Venice, Genoa, Pisa, and Amalfi. Each had dominion over overseas lands, islands, lands on the Adriatic, Aegean, and Black seas, and commercial colonies in the Near East and North Africa.
Left: flag of the Italian Navy. Clockwise, from upper left: the coat of arms of Venice, Genoa, Pisa and Amalfi.Right: trade routes, colonies of the Genoa and Venice.
Venice and Genoa were Europe's gateways to the East, and producers of fine glass, while Florence was a centre of silk, wool, banking, and jewellery. The wealth generated meant large public and private artistic projects could be commissioned. The republics participated in the Crusades, providing support, transport, but mostly taking political and trading opportunities. Italy first felt the economic changes which led to the commercial revolution: Venice was able to sack Byzantine's capital and finance Marco Polo's voyages to Asia; the first universities were formed in Italian cities, and scholars such as Aquinas obtained international fame; capitalism and banking families emerged in Florence, where Dante and Giotto were active around 1300. In the south, Sicily had become an Arab Islamic emirate in the 9th century, thriving until the Italo-Normans conquered it in the late 11th century, together with most of the Lombard and Byzantine principalities of southern Italy. The region was subsequently divided between the Kingdom of Sicily and Kingdom of Naples. The Black Death of 1348 killed perhaps a third of Italy's population.
Early modern period
Main articles: Italian Renaissance and History of early modern Italy
During the 1400s and 1500s, Italy was the birthplace and heart of the Renaissance. This era marked the transition from the medieval period to the modern age and was fostered by the wealth accumulated by merchant cities and the patronage of dominant families. Italian polities were now regional states effectively ruled by princes, in control of trade and administration, and their courts became centres of the arts and sciences. These princedoms were led by political dynasties and merchant families, such as the Medici of Florence. After the end of the Western Schism, newly elected Pope Martin V returned to the Papal States and restored Italy as the sole centre of Western Christianity. The Medici Bank was made the credit institution of the Papacy, and significant ties were established between the Church and new political dynasties.
In 1453, despite activity by Pope Nicholas V to support the Byzantines, the city of Constantinople fell to the Ottomans. This led to the migration of Greek scholars and texts to Italy, fuelling the rediscovery of Greek humanism. Humanist rulers such as Federico da Montefeltro and Pope Pius II worked to establish ideal cities, founding Urbino and Pienza. Pico della Mirandola wrote the Oration on the Dignity of Man, considered the manifesto of the Renaissance. In the arts, the Italian Renaissance exercised a dominant influence on European art for centuries, with artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, Michelangelo, Raphael, Giotto, Donatello, and Titian, and architects such as Filippo Brunelleschi, Andrea Palladio, and Donato Bramante. Italian explorers and navigators from the maritime republics, eager to find an alternative route to the Indies to bypass the Ottomans, offered their services to monarchs of Atlantic countries and played a key role in ushering the Age of Discovery and colonization of the Americas. The most notable were: Christopher Columbus, who opened the Americas for conquest by Europeans; John Cabot, the first European to explore North America since the Norse; and Amerigo Vespucci, for whom the continent of America is named.
A defensive alliance known as the Italic League was formed between Venice, Naples, Florence, Milan, and the Papacy. Lorenzo the Magnificent de Medici was the Renaissance's greatest patron, his support allowed the League to abort invasion by the Turks. The alliance, however, collapsed in the 1490s; the invasion of Charles VIII of France initiated a series of wars in the peninsula. During the High Renaissance, popes such as Julius II (1503–1513) fought for control of Italy against foreign monarchs; Paul III (1534–1549) preferred to mediate between the European powers to secure peace. In the middle of such conflicts, the Medici popes Leo X (1513–1521) and Clement VII (1523–1534) faced the Protestant Reformation in Germany, England and elsewhere.
In 1559, at the end of the Italian wars between France and the Habsburgs, about half of Italy (the southern Kingdoms of Naples, Sicily, Sardinia, and the Duchy of Milan) was under Spanish rule, while the other half remained independent (many states continued to be formally part of the Holy Roman Empire). The Papacy launched the Counter-Reformation, whose key events include: the Council of Trent (1545–1563); adoption of the Gregorian calendar; the Jesuit China mission; the French Wars of Religion; end of the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648); and the Great Turkish War. The Italian economy declined in the 1600s and 1700s.
During the war of the Spanish succession (1700–1714), Austria acquired most of the Spanish domains in Italy, namely Milan, Naples and Sardinia; the latter was given to the House of Savoy in exchange for Sicily in 1720. Later, a branch of the Bourbons ascended to the throne of Sicily and Naples. During the Napoleonic Wars, north and central Italy were reorganised as Sister Republics of France and, later, as a Kingdom of Italy. The south was administered by Joachim Murat, Napoleon's brother-in-law. 1814's Congress of Vienna restored the situation of the late 18th century, but the ideals of the French Revolution could not be eradicated, and re-surfaced during the political upheavals that characterised the early 19th century. The first adoption of the Italian tricolour by an Italian state, the Cispadane Republic, occurred during Napoleonic Italy, following the French Revolution, which advocated national self-determination. This event is celebrated by Tricolour Day.
Unification
Main article: Unification of ItalyThe birth of the Kingdom of Italy was the result of efforts of Italian nationalists and monarchists loyal to the House of Savoy to establish a united kingdom encompassing the entire Italian Peninsula. By the mid-19th century, rising Italian nationalism led to revolution. Following the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the political and social Italian unification movement, or Risorgimento, emerged to unite Italy by consolidating the states and liberating them from foreign control. A radical figure was the patriotic journalist Giuseppe Mazzini, founder of the political movement Young Italy in the 1830s, who favoured a unitary republic and advocated a broad nationalist movement. 1847 saw the first public performance of "Il Canto degli Italiani", which became the national anthem in 1946.
Giuseppe Mazzini (left), highly influential leader of the Italian revolutionary movement; and Giuseppe Garibaldi (right), celebrated as one of the greatest generals of modern times and as the "Hero of the Two Worlds" because of his military enterprises in South America and Europe, who fought in many military campaigns that led to Italian unification
The most famous member of Young Italy was the revolutionary and general Giuseppe Garibaldi who led the republican drive for unification in southern Italy. However, the Italian monarchy of the House of Savoy, in the Kingdom of Sardinia, whose government was led by Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour, also had ambitions of establishing a united Italian state. In the context of the 1848 liberal revolutions that swept Europe, an unsuccessful First Italian War of Independence was declared against Austria. In 1855, Sardinia became an ally of Britain and France in the Crimean War. Sardinia fought the Austrian Empire in the Second Italian War of Independence of 1859, with the aid of France, resulting in liberating Lombardy. On the basis of the Plombières Agreement, the Sardinia ceded Savoy and Nice to France, an event that caused the Niçard exodus.
In 1860–1861, Garibaldi led the drive for unification in Naples and Sicily. Teano was the site of a famous meeting between Garibaldi and Victor Emmanuel II, the last king of Sardinia, during which Garibaldi shook Victor Emanuel's hand and hailed him as King of Italy. Cavour agreed to include Garibaldi's southern Italy in a union with the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860. This allowed the Sardinian government to declare a united Italian kingdom on 17 March 1861, with Victor Emmanuel II as its first king. In 1865, the kingdom's capital was moved from Turin to Florence. In 1866, Victor Emmanuel II, allied with Prussia during the Austro-Prussian War, waged the Third Italian War of Independence, which resulted in Italy annexing Venetia. Finally, in 1870, as France abandoned Rome during the Franco-Prussian War, the Italians captured the Papal States, unification was completed, and the capital moved to Rome.
Liberal period
Main articles: Kingdom of Italy, Italian diaspora, Italian Empire, and Military history of Italy during World War I
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Victor Emmanuel II (left) and Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour (right), leading figures in unification, became respectively the first King and prime minister of unified Italy.
Sardinia's constitution was extended to all of Italy in 1861, and provided basic freedoms for the new state; but electoral laws excluded the non-propertied classes. The new kingdom was governed by a parliamentary constitutional monarchy dominated by liberals. As northern Italy quickly industrialised, southern and northern rural areas remained underdeveloped and overpopulated, forcing millions to migrate and fuelling a large and influential diaspora. The Italian Socialist Party increased in strength, challenging the traditional liberal and conservative establishment. In the last two decades of the 19th century, Italy developed into a colonial power by subjugating Eritrea, Somalia, Tripolitania, and Cyrenaica in Africa. In 1913, male universal suffrage was adopted. The pre-World War I period was dominated by Giovanni Giolitti, prime minister five times between 1892 and 1921.
Italy entered into the First World War in 1915 with the aim of completing national unity, so it is also considered the Fourth Italian War of Independence, from a historiographical perspective, as the conclusion of the unification of Italy. Italy, nominally allied with German and the Austro-Hungarian empires in the Triple Alliance, in 1915 joined the Allies, entering World War I with a promise of substantial territorial gains that included west Inner Carniola, the former Austrian Littoral, and Dalmatia, as well as parts of the Ottoman Empire. The country's contribution to the Allied victory earned it a place as one of the "Big Four" powers. Reorganisation of the army and conscription led to Italian victories. In October 1918, the Italians launched a massive offensive, culminating in victory at the Battle of Vittorio Veneto. This marked the end of war on the Italian Front, secured dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and was instrumental in ending the war less than two weeks later.
During the war, more than 650,000 Italian soldiers and as many civilians died, and the kingdom was on the brink of bankruptcy. The Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1919) and Treaty of Rapallo (1920) allowed for annexation of Trentino Alto-Adige, the Julian March, Istria, the Kvarner Gulf, and the Dalmatian city of Zara. The subsequent Treaty of Rome (1924) led to annexation of Fiume by Italy. Italy did not receive other territories promised by the Treaty of London, so this outcome was denounced as a "mutilated victory", by Benito Mussolini, which helped lead to the rise of Italian fascism. Historians regard "mutilated victory" as a "political myth", used by fascists to fuel Italian imperialism. Italy gained a permanent seat in the League of Nations's executive council.
Fascist regime and World War II
Main articles: Fascist Italy, Military history of Italy during World War II, Italian Civil War, and Italian campaign (World War II).jpg)
The socialist agitations that followed the devastation of the Great War, inspired by the Russian Revolution, led to counter-revolution and repression throughout Italy. The liberal establishment, fearing a Soviet-style revolution, started to endorse the small National Fascist Party, led by Mussolini. In October 1922, the Blackshirts of the National Fascist Party organised a mass demonstration and the "March on Rome" coup. King Victor Emmanuel III appointed Mussolini as prime minister, transferring power to the fascists without armed conflict. Mussolini banned political parties and curtailed personal liberties, establishing a dictatorship. These actions attracted international attention and inspired similar dictatorships in Nazi Germany and Francoist Spain.
Fascism was based upon Italian nationalism and imperialism, seeking to expand Italian possessions via irredentist claims based on the legacy of the Roman and Venetian empires. For this reason the fascists engaged in interventionist foreign policy. In 1935, Mussolini invaded Ethiopia and founded Italian East Africa, resulting in international isolation and leading to Italy's withdrawal from the League of Nations. Italy then allied with Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan, and strongly supported Francisco Franco in the Spanish Civil War. In 1939, Italy annexed Albania.
Italy entered World War II on 10 June 1940. At different times, Italians advanced in British Somaliland, Egypt, the Balkans, and eastern fronts. They were, however, defeated on the Eastern Front as well as in the East African and North African campaigns, losing their territories in Africa and the Balkans. Italian war crimes included extrajudicial killings and ethnic cleansing by deportation of about 25,000 people—mainly Yugoslavs—to Italian concentration camps and elsewhere. Yugoslav Partisans perpetrated their own crimes against the ethnic Italian population during and after the war, including the foibe massacres. An Allied invasion of Sicily began in July 1943, leading to the collapse of the Fascist regime on 25 July. Mussolini was deposed and arrested by order of King Victor Emmanuel III. On 8 September, Italy signed the Armistice of Cassibile, ending its war with the Allies. The Germans, with the assistance of Italian fascists, succeeded in taking control of north and central Italy. The country remained a battlefield, with the Allies moving up from the south.
In the north, the Germans set up the Italian Social Republic (RSI), a Nazi puppet state and collaborationist regime with Mussolini installed as leader after he was rescued by German paratroopers. What remained of the Italian troops was organised into the Italian Co-belligerent Army, which fought alongside the Allies, while other Italian forces, loyal to Mussolini, opted to fight alongside the Germans in the National Republican Army. German troops, with RSI collaboration, committed massacres and deported thousands of Jews to death camps. The post-armistice period saw the emergence of the Italian Resistance, who fought a guerrilla war against the Nazi German occupiers and collaborators. This has been described as an Italian civil war due to fighting between partisans and fascist RSI forces. In April 1945, with defeat looming, Mussolini attempted to escape north, but was captured and summarily executed by partisans.
Hostilities ended on 29 April 1945, when the German forces in Italy surrendered. Nearly half a million Italians died in the conflict, society was divided, and the economy all but destroyed—per capita income in 1944 was at its lowest point since 1900. The aftermath left Italy angry with the monarchy for its endorsement of the Fascist regime, contributing to a revival of Italian republicanism.
Republican era
Main article: History of the Italian RepublicItaly became a republic after the 1946 Italian institutional referendum held on 2 June, a day celebrated since as Festa della Repubblica. This was the first time women voted nationally. Victor Emmanuel III's son, Umberto II, was forced to abdicate. The Republican Constitution was approved in 1948. Under the Treaty of Paris between Italy and the Allied Powers, areas next to the Adriatic Sea were annexed by Yugoslavia, resulting in the Istrian-Dalmatian exodus, which involved the emigration of around 300,000 Istrian and Dalmatian Italians. Italy lost all colonial possessions, ending the Italian Empire.
Fears of a Communist takeover proved crucial in 1948, when the Christian Democrats, under Alcide De Gasperi, won a landslide victory. Consequently, in 1949 Italy became a member of NATO. The Marshall Plan revived the economy, which, until the late 1960s, enjoyed a period called the Economic Miracle. In the 1950s, Italy became a founding country of the European Communities, a forerunner of the European Union. From the late 1960s until the early 1980s, the country experienced the Years of Lead, characterised by economic difficulties, especially after the 1973 oil crisis; social conflicts; and terrorist massacres.
The economy recovered and Italy became the world's fifth-largest industrial nation after it gained entry into the G7 in the 1970s. However, national debt skyrocketed past 100% of GDP. Between 1992 and 1993, Italy faced terror attacks perpetrated by the Sicilian Mafia as a consequence of new anti-mafia measures by the government. Voters—disenchanted with political paralysis, massive public debt and extensive corruption uncovered by the Clean Hands investigation—demanded radical reform. The Christian Democrats, who had ruled for almost 50 years, underwent a crisis and disbanded, splitting into factions. The Communists reorganised as a social-democratic force. During the 1990s and 2000s, centre-right (dominated by media magnate Silvio Berlusconi) and centre-left coalitions (led by professor Romano Prodi) alternately governed.
In 2011, amidst the Great Recession, Berlusconi resigned and was replaced by the technocratic cabinet of Mario Monti. In 2014, Matteo Renzi became prime minister and the government started constitutional reform. This was rejected in a 2016 referendum and Paolo Gentiloni became prime minister.
During the European migrant crisis of the 2010s, Italy was the entry point and leading destination for most asylum seekers entering the EU. Between 2013 and 2018, it took in over 700,000 migrants, mainly from sub-Saharan Africa, which put a strain on the public purse and led to a surge in support for far-right or euro-sceptic parties. After the 2018 general election, Giuseppe Conte became prime minister of a populist coalition.
With almost 200,000 victims, Italy was one of the countries with the most deaths in the COVID-19 pandemic and one of the most affected economically. In February 2021, after a government crisis, Conte resigned. Mario Draghi, former president of the European Central Bank, formed a national unity government supported by most main parties, pledging to implement an economic stimulus to face the crisis caused by the pandemic. In 2022, Giorgia Meloni was sworn in as Italy's first female prime minister.
Geography
Main article: Geography of Italy Further information: Geology of Italy, Volcanism of Italy, List of rivers of Italy, List of lakes of Italy, List of islands of Italy, and Italy (geographical region)
Italy, whose territory largely coincides with the eponymous geographical region, is located in Southern Europe (and is also considered part of Western Europe) between latitudes 35° and 47° N, and longitudes 6° and 19° E. To the north, from west to east, Italy borders France, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia, and is roughly delimited by the Alpine watershed, enclosing the Po Valley and the Venetian Plain. It consists of the entirety of the Italian Peninsula, Sicily and Sardinia (the biggest islands of the Mediterranean), and many smaller islands. Some of Italy's territory extends beyond the Alpine basin, and some islands are located outside the Eurasian continental shelf.
The country's area is 301,230 square kilometres (116,306 sq mi), of which 294,020 km (113,522 sq mi) is land and 7,210 km (2,784 sq mi) is water. Including the islands, Italy has a coastline of 7,600 kilometres (4,722 miles) on the Mediterranean Sea, the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian seas, the Ionian Sea, and the Adriatic Sea. Its border with France runs for 488 km (303 mi); Switzerland, 740 km (460 mi); Austria, 430 km (267 mi); and Slovenia, 232 km (144 mi). The sovereign states of San Marino and Vatican City (the smallest country in the world and headquarters of the worldwide Catholic Church under the governance of the Holy See) are enclaves within Italy, while Campione d'Italia is an Italian exclave in Switzerland. The border with San Marino is 39 km (24 mi) long, that with Vatican City, 3.2 km (2.0 mi).
Over 35% of Italian territory is mountainous. The Apennine Mountains form the peninsula's backbone, and the Alps form most of its northern boundary, where Italy's highest point is located on the summit of Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco) at 4,810 m (15,780 ft). Other well-known mountains include the Matterhorn (Monte Cervino) in the western Alps, and the Dolomites in the eastern Alps. Many parts of Italy are of volcanic origin. Most small islands and archipelagos in the south are volcanic islands. There are active volcanoes: Mount Etna in Sicily (the largest in Europe), Vulcano, Stromboli, and Vesuvius.
Most rivers of Italy drain into the Adriatic or Tyrrhenian Sea. The longest is the Po, which flows from the Alps on the western border, and crosses the Padan plain to the Adriatic. The Po Valley is the largest plain, with 46,000 km (18,000 sq mi), and contains over 70% of the country's lowlands. The largest lakes are, in descending size: Garda (367.94 km or 142 sq mi), Maggiore (212.51 km or 82 sq mi), and Como (145.9 km or 56 sq mi).
Climate
Main article: Climate of Italy
The climate is influenced by the seas that surround Italy on every side except the north, which constitute a reservoir of heat and humidity. Within the southern temperate zone, they determine a Mediterranean climate with local differences. Because of the length of the peninsula and the mostly mountainous hinterland, the climate is highly diverse. In most inland northern and central regions, the climate ranges from humid subtropical to humid continental and oceanic. The Po Valley is mostly humid subtropical, with cool winters and hot summers. The coastal areas of Liguria, Tuscany, and most of the south generally fit the Mediterranean climate stereotype, as in the Köppen climate classification.
Conditions on the coast are different from those in the interior, particularly during winter when the higher altitudes tend to be cold, wet, and often snowy. The coastal regions have mild winters, and hot and generally dry summers; lowland valleys are hot in summer. Winter temperatures vary from 0 °C (32 °F) in the Alps to 12 °C (54 °F) in Sicily; so, average summer temperatures range from 20 °C (68 °F) to over 25 °C (77 °F). Winters can vary widely with lingering cold, foggy, and snowy periods in the north, and milder, sunnier conditions in the south. Summers are hot across the country, except at high altitude, particularly in the south. Northern and central areas can experience strong thunderstorms from spring to autumn.
Biodiversity
Main articles: Fauna of Italy and Flora of Italy Further information: Italian gardenItaly's varied geography, including the Alps, Apennines, central Italian woodlands, and southern Italian Garigue and Maquis shrubland, contribute to habitat diversity. As the peninsula is in the centre of the Mediterranean, forming a corridor between Central Europe and North Africa, and having 8,000 km (5,000 mi) of coastline, Italy has received species from the Balkans, Eurasia, and the Middle East. Italy has probably the highest level of faunal biodiversity in Europe, with over 57,000 species recorded, representing more than a third of all European fauna, and the highest level of biodiversity of animal and plant species within the EU.
The fauna of Italy includes 4,777 endemic animal species, which include the Sardinian long-eared bat, Sardinian red deer, spectacled salamander, brown cave salamander, Italian newt, Italian frog, Apennine yellow-bellied toad, Italian wall lizard, and Sicilian pond turtle. There are 119 mammals species, 550 bird species, 69 reptile species, 39 amphibian species, 623 fish species, and 56,213 invertebrate species, of which 37,303 are insect species.
The flora of Italy was traditionally estimated to comprise about 5,500 vascular plant species. However, as of 2005, 6,759 species are recorded in the Data bank of Italian vascular flora. Italy has 1,371 endemic plant species and subspecies, which include Sicilian fir, Barbaricina columbine, Sea marigold, Lavender cotton, and Ucriana violet. Italy is a signatory to the Berne Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats and the Habitats Directive.
Italy has many botanical and historic gardens. The Italian garden is stylistically based on symmetry, axial geometry, and the principle of imposing order on nature. It influenced the history of gardening, especially French and English gardens. The Italian garden was influenced by Roman and Italian Renaissance gardens.
The Italian wolf is the national animal of Italy, while the national tree is the strawberry tree. The reasons for this are that the Italian wolf, which inhabits the Apennine Mountains and the Western Alps, features prominently in Latin and Italian cultures, such as the legend of the founding of Rome, while the green leaves, white flowers, and red berries of the strawberry tree, native to the Mediterranean, recall the colours of the flag. The national bird is the Italian sparrow, while the national flower is the flower of the strawberry tree.
Environment
See also: List of national parks of Italy, List of regional parks of Italy, and List of Marine Protected Areas of Italy
After its quick industrial growth, Italy took time to address its environmental problems. After improvements, Italy now ranks 84th in the world for ecological sustainability. The total area protected by national parks, regional parks, and nature reserves covers about 11% of Italian territory, and 12% of Italy's coastline is protected.
Italy has been one of the world's leading producers of renewable energy, in 2010 ranking as the fourth largest provider of installed solar energy capacity and sixth largest of wind power capacity. Renewable energy provided approximately 37% Italy's energy consumption in 2020.
The country operated nuclear reactors between 1963 and 1990 but, after the Chernobyl disaster and referendums, the nuclear programme was terminated, a decision overturned by the government in 2008, with plans to build up to four nuclear power plants. This was in turn struck down by a referendum following the Fukushima nuclear accident.
Air pollution remains severe, especially in the industrialised north. Italy is the twelfth-largest carbon dioxide producer. Extensive traffic and congestion in large cities continue to cause environmental and health issues, even if smog levels have decreased since the 1970s and 1980s, with smog becoming an increasingly rare phenomenon and levels of sulphur dioxide decreasing.
Deforestation, illegal building, and poor land-management policies have led to significant erosion in Italy's mountainous regions, leading to ecological disasters such as the 1963 Vajont Dam flood, the 1998 Sarno, and the 2009 Messina mudslides.
Politics
Main article: Politics of ItalyItaly has been a unitary parliamentary republic since 1946, when the monarchy was abolished. The president of Italy, Sergio Mattarella since 2015, is Italy's head of state. The president is elected for a single seven-year term by the Italian Parliament and regional voters in joint session. Italy has a written democratic constitution that resulted from a Constituent Assembly formed by representatives of the anti-fascist forces that contributed to the defeat of Nazi and Fascist forces during the liberation of Italy, in World War II.
Government
Main article: Government of Italy.jpg)
Sergio MattarellaPresident of Italy
since 2015
Giorgia MeloniPrime Minister of Italy
since 2022
Italy has a parliamentary government based on a mixed proportional and majoritarian voting system. The parliament is perfectly bicameral; each house has the same powers. The two houses: the Chamber of Deputies meets in Palazzo Montecitorio, and the Senate of the Republic in Palazzo Madama. A peculiarity of the Italian Parliament is the representation given to Italian citizens permanently living abroad: 8 Deputies and 4 Senators are elected in four distinct overseas constituencies. There are senators for life, appointed by the president "for outstanding patriotic merits in the social, scientific, artistic or literary field". Former presidents are ex officio life senators.
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The prime minister of Italy is head of government and has executive authority, but must receive a vote of approval from the Council of Ministers to execute most policies. The prime minister and cabinet are appointed by the president, and confirmed by a vote of confidence in parliament. To remain as prime minister, one has to pass votes of confidence. The role of prime minister is similar to most other parliamentary systems, but they are not authorised to dissolve parliament. Another difference is that the political responsibility for intelligence is with the prime minister, who has exclusive power to coordinate intelligence policies, determine financial resources, strengthen cybersecurity, apply and protect State secrets, and authorise agents to carry out operations, in Italy or abroad.
The major political parties are the Brothers of Italy, Democratic Party, and Five Star Movement. During the 2022 general election, these three and their coalitions won 357 of the 400 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, and 187 of 200 in the Senate. The centre-right coalition, which included Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy, Matteo Salvini's League, Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia, and Maurizio Lupi's Us Moderates, won most seats in parliament. The rest were taken by the centre-left coalition, which included the Democratic Party, the Greens and Left Alliance, Aosta Valley, More Europe, Civic Commitment, the Five Star Movement, Action – Italia Viva, South Tyrolean People's Party, South calls North, and the Associative Movement of Italians Abroad.
Law and criminal justice
Main articles: Law of Italy, Judiciary of Italy, and Law enforcement in Italy
The law of Italy has several sources. These are hierarchical: the law or regulation from a lower source cannot conflict with the rule of an upper source (hierarchy of sources). The Constitution of 1948 is the highest source. The Constitutional Court of Italy rules on the conformity of laws with the constitution. The judiciary bases their decisions on Roman law modified by the Napoleonic Code and later statutes. The Supreme Court of Cassation is the highest court for both criminal and civil appeals.
Italy lags behind other Western European nations in LGBT rights. Italy's law prohibiting torture is considered behind international standards.
Law enforcement is complex with multiple police forces. The national policing agencies are the Polizia di Stato ('State Police'), the Carabinieri, the Guardia di Finanza ('Financial Police'), and the Polizia Penitenziaria ('Prison Police'), as well as the Guardia Costiera ('Coast Guard Police'). Although policing is primarily provided on a national basis, there are also the provincial and municipal police.
Since their appearance in the middle of the 19th century, Italian organised crime and criminal organisations have infiltrated the social and economic life of many regions in southern Italy; the most notorious is the Sicilian Mafia, which expanded into foreign countries, including the US. Mafia receipts may reach 9% of GDP. A 2009 report identified 610 comuni which have a strong Mafia presence, where 13 million Italians live and 15% of GDP is produced. The Calabrian 'Ndrangheta, probably the most powerful crime syndicate of Italy, accounts alone for 3% of GDP.
At 0.013 per 1,000 people, Italy has the 47th highest murder rate, compared to 61 countries, and the 43rd highest number of rapes per 1,000 people, compared to 64 countries in the world. These are relatively low figures among developed countries.
Foreign relations
Main article: Foreign relations of Italy
Italy is a founding member of the European Economic Community (EEC), now the European Union (EU), and of NATO. Italy was admitted to the United Nations in 1955, and is a member and strong supporter of international organisations, such as the OECD, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade/World Trade Organization (GATT/WTO), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the Council of Europe, and the Central European Initiative. Its turns in the rotating presidencies of international organisations include the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in 2018, G7 in 2017, and the EU Council in 2014. Italy is a recurrent non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.
Italy strongly supports multilateral international politics, endorsing the UN and its international security activities. In 2013, Italy had 5,296 troops deployed abroad, engaged in 33 UN and NATO missions in 25 countries. Italy deployed troops in support of UN peacekeeping missions in Somalia, Mozambique, and East Timor. Italy provides support for NATO and UN operations in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Albania, and deployed over 2,000 troops to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) from 2003.
Italy supported international efforts to reconstruct and stabilise Iraq, but it had withdrawn its military contingent of 3,200 troops by 2006. In August 2006, Italy deployed about 2,450 troops for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. Italy is one of the largest financiers of the Palestinian Authority, contributing €60 million in 2013 alone.
Military
Main articles: Italian Armed Forces and Military history of Italy See also: List of wars involving Italy.jpg)
The military history of Italy chronicles a vast time period, lasting from the military conflicts fought by the ancient peoples of Italy, most notably the conquest of the Mediterranean world by the ancient Romans, through the expansion of the Italian city-states and maritime republics during the medieval period and the involvement of the historical Italian states in the Italian Wars and the wars of succession, to the Napoleonic period, the Italian unification, the campaigns of the colonial empire, the two world wars, and into the modern day, with world peacekeeping operations under the aegis of NATO, the EU or the UN.
The Italian Army, Navy, Air Force, and Carabinieri collectively form the Italian Armed Forces, under the command of the High Council of Defence, presided over by the president, per the Constitution of Italy. According to Article 78, the Parliament has the authority to declare a state of war and vest the necessary war-making powers in the government.
Despite not being a branch of the armed forces, the Guardia di Finanza has military status and is organised along military lines. Since 2005, military service has been voluntary. In 2010, the Italian military had 293,202 personnel on active duty, of which 114,778 are Carabinieri. As part of NATO's nuclear sharing strategy, Italy hosts 90 US B61 nuclear bombs located at the Ghedi and Aviano air bases.
The Army is the national ground defence force. It was formed in 1946, when Italy became a republic, from what remained of the "Royal Italian Army". Its best-known combat vehicles are the Dardo infantry fighting vehicle, the B1 Centauro tank destroyer, and the Ariete tank, and among its aircraft are the Mangusta attack helicopter, deployed on EU, NATO, and UN missions. It has at its disposal Leopard 1 and M113 armoured vehicles.
The Italian Navy is a blue-water navy. It was also formed in 1946 from what remained of the Regia Marina (the 'Royal Navy'). The Navy, being a member of the EU and NATO, has taken part in coalition peacekeeping operations around the world. In 2014, the Navy operated 154 vessels in service, including minor auxiliary vessels.
The Italian Air Force was founded as an independent service arm in 1923 by King Victor Emmanuel III as the Regia Aeronautica ('Royal Air Force'). After World War II, it was renamed as the Regia Aeronautica. In 2021, the Italian Air Force operated 219 combat jets. A transport capability is guaranteed by a fleet of 27 C-130Js and C-27J Spartan. The acrobatic display team is the Frecce Tricolori ('Tricolour Arrows').
An autonomous corps of the military, the Carabinieri are the gendarmerie and military police of Italy, policing the military and civilian population alongside Italy's other police forces. While different branches of the Carabinieri report to separate ministries, the corps reports to the Ministry of Internal Affairs when maintaining public order and security.
Administrative divisions
Main articles: Regions of Italy, Provinces of Italy, Metropolitan cities of Italy, and Comune
Apulia
Basilicata
Calabria
Sicily
Molise
Campania
Abruzzo
Lazio
Umbria
Marche
Tuscany
Sardinia
Emilia-Romagna
Liguria
Piedmont
Friuli-Venezia Giulia Aosta
Valley Trentino-
Alto Adige Veneto Lombardy Adriatic Sea Ionian Sea Mediterranean Sea Tyrrhenian Sea Ligurian Sea
Italy is constituted of 20 regions (regioni)—five of which have special autonomous status which enables them to enact legislation on additional matters.
- Abruzzo
- Aosta Valley
- Apulia
- Basilicata
- Calabria
- Campania
- Emilia-Romagna
- Friuli-Venezia Giulia
- Lazio
- Liguria
- Lombardy
- Marche
- Molise
- Piedmont
- Sardinia
- Sicily
- Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol
- Tuscany
- Umbria
- Veneto
The regioni contain 107 provinces (province) or metropolitan cities (città metropolitane), and 7,904 municipalities (comuni).
Demographics
Main article: Demographics of Italy See also: Italians, Internal migration in Italy, Italian diaspora, Genetic history of Italy, and List of cities in Italy_alt_colours.jpg)
In 2020, Italy had 60,317,116 inhabitants. The population density, of 202 inhabitants per square kilometre (520/sq mi), is higher than most West European countries. However, distribution is uneven: the most densely populated areas are the Po Valley (almost half the population) and the metropolitan areas of Rome and Naples, while vast regions such as the Alps and Apennine highlands, the plateaus of Basilicata, and the island of Sardinia, as well as much of Sicily, are sparsely populated.
Italy's population almost doubled during the 20th century, but the pattern of growth was uneven because of large-scale internal migration from the rural south to the industrial north, a consequence of the Italian economic miracle of the 1950–1960s. High fertility and birth rates persisted until the 1970s, after which they started to decline; the total fertility rate (TFR) reached an all-time low of 1.2 children per woman in 1995, well below the replacement rate of 2.1 and considerably below the high of 5 in 1883. Since 2008, when the rate climbed slightly to 1.4, the number of births has consistently declined every year, reaching a record low of 379,000 in 2023—the fewest since 1861. Although the TFR was expected to reach 1.6–1.8 in 2030, as of 2024, it stood at 1.2.
As a result of these trends, Italy's population is rapidly aging and gradually shrinking. Nearly one in four Italians is over 65, and the country has the fourth oldest population in the world, with a median age of 48 and an average age of 46.6. The overall population has been falling steadily since 2014 and is estimated to have fallen just below 59 million in 2024, representing a cumulative loss of more than 1.36 million people over the span of a decade.
From the late 19th century to the 1960s, Italy was a country of mass emigration. Between 1898 and 1914, the peak years of Italian diaspora, approximately 750,000 Italians emigrated annually. The diaspora included more than 25 million Italians and is considered the greatest mass migration of recent times.
Largest cities
| Largest cities or towns in Italy ISTAT estimates for 31 December 2022 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Name | Region | Pop. | Rank | Name | Region | Pop. | ||
.jpg) Rome .jpg) Milan |
1 | Rome | Lazio | 2,748,109 | 11 | Verona | Veneto | 255,588 |  Naples  Turin |
| 2 | Milan | Lombardy | 1,354,196 | 12 | Venice | Veneto | 250,369 | ||
| 3 | Naples | Campania | 913,462 | 13 | Messina | Sicily | 218,786 | ||
| 4 | Turin | Piedmont | 841,600 | 14 | Padua | Veneto | 206,496 | ||
| 5 | Palermo | Sicily | 630,167 | 15 | Trieste | Friuli-Venezia Giulia | 198,417 | ||
| 6 | Genoa | Liguria | 558,745 | 16 | Parma | Emilia-Romagna | 196,885 | ||
| 7 | Bologna | Emilia-Romagna | 387,971 | 17 | Brescia | Lombardy | 196,567 | ||
| 8 | Florence | Tuscany | 360,930 | 18 | Prato | Tuscany | 195,820 | ||
| 9 | Bari | Apulia | 316,015 | 19 | Taranto | Apulia | 188,098 | ||
| 10 | Catania | Sicily | 298,762 | 20 | Modena | Emilia-Romagna | 184,153 | ||
Immigration
Main article: Immigration to Italy
In the 1980s, until then a linguistically and culturally homogeneous society, Italy began to attract substantial flows of immigrants. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, and enlargements of the EU, waves of migration originated from the former socialist countries of East Europe. Another source of immigration is neighbouring North Africa, with arrivals soaring as a consequence of the Arab Spring. Growing migration fluxes from Asia-Pacific (notably China and the Philippines) and Latin America have been recorded.
As of 2010, the foreign-born population was from the following regions: Europe (54%), Africa (22%), Asia (16%), the Americas (8%), and Oceania (0.06%). The distribution of the foreign population is geographically varied: in 2020, 61% of foreign citizens lived in the north, 24% in the centre, 11% in the south, and 4% on the islands.
In 2021, Italy had about 5.2 million foreign residents, making up 9% of the population. The figures include more than half a million children born in Italy to foreign nationals, but exclude foreign nationals who have subsequently acquired Italian citizenship; in 2016, about 201,000 people became Italian citizens. The official figures also exclude illegal immigrants, which was estimated to be 670,000 as of 2008. About one million Romanian citizens are registered as living in Italy, representing the largest migrant population.
Languages
Main articles: Languages of Italy, Italian language, Regional Italian, and Geographical distribution of Italian speakers
Italy's official language is Italian. There are an estimated 64 million native Italian speakers around the world, and another 21 million use it as a second language. Italian is often natively spoken as a regional dialect, not to be confused with Italy's regional and minority languages; however, during the 20th century, the establishment of a national education system led to a decrease in regional dialects. Standardisation was further expanded in the 1950s and 1960s, due to economic growth and the rise of mass media and television.
Twelve "historical minority languages" are formally recognised: Albanian, Catalan, German, Greek, Slovene, Croatian, French, Franco-Provençal, Friulian, Ladin, Occitan, and Sardinian. Four of these enjoy co-official status in their respective regions: French in the Aosta Valley; German in South Tyrol, and Ladin as well in some parts of the same province and in parts of the neighbouring Trentino; and Slovene in the provinces of Trieste, Gorizia, and Udine. Other Ethnologue, ISO, and UNESCO languages are not recognised under Italian law. Like France, Italy has signed the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, but has not ratified it.
Due to recent immigration, Italy has sizeable populations whose native language is not Italian, nor a regional language. According to the Italian National Institute of Statistics, Romanian is the most common mother tongue among foreign residents: almost 800,000 people speak Romanian as their first language (22% of foreign residents aged 6 and over). Other prevalent mother tongues are Arabic (spoken by over 475,000; 13% of foreign residents), Albanian (380,000), and Spanish (255,000).
Religion
Main article: Religion in Italy See also: List of cathedrals in Italy
The Holy See, the episcopal jurisdiction of Rome, contains the government of Vatican City and the worldwide Catholic Church. It is recognised as a sovereign entity, headed by the pope, who is also the Bishop of Rome, with which diplomatic relations can be maintained.
Although historically dominated by Catholicism, religiosity in Italy is declining. Most Catholics are nominal; the Associated Press describes Italian Catholicism as "nominally embraced but rarely lived". Italy has the world's fifth-largest Catholic population and the largest in Europe. Since 1985, Catholicism is no longer the official religion.
In 2011, minority Christian faiths included an estimated 1.5 million Orthodox Christians, while Protestantism has been growing. Italy has for centuries welcomed Jews expelled from other countries, notably Spain. However, about 20% of Italian Jews were killed during the Holocaust. This, together with emigration before and after World War II, has left around 28,000 Jews. There are 120,000 Hindus and 70,000 Sikhs.
The state devolves shares of income tax to recognised religious communities, under a regime known as eight per thousand. Donations are allowed to Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, and Hindu communities; however, Islam remains excluded, as no Muslim communities have signed a concordat. Taxpayers who do not wish to fund a religion contribute their share to the welfare system.
Education
Main article: Education in Italy
Education is mandatory and free from ages six to sixteen, and consists of five stages: kindergarten, primary school, lower secondary school, upper secondary school, and university.
Primary school lasts eight years. Students are given a basic education in Italian, English, mathematics, natural sciences, history, geography, social studies, physical education, and visual and musical arts. Secondary school lasts for five years and includes three traditional types of schools focused on different academic levels: the liceo prepares students for university studies with a classical or scientific curriculum, while the istituto tecnico and the istituto professionale prepare pupils for vocations.
In 2018, secondary education was evaluated as being below the average among OECD countries. Italy scored below the OECD average in reading and science, and near the OECD average in maths. A wide gap exists between northern schools, which perform near average, and the south, which had much poorer results.
Tertiary education is divided between public universities, private universities, and the prestigious and selective superior graduate schools, such as the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa. 33 Italian universities were ranked among the world's top 500 in 2019. Bologna University, founded in 1088, is the oldest university still in operation, and one of the leading academic institutions in Europe. Bocconi University, the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, LUISS, the Polytechnic University of Turin, the Polytechnic University of Milan, the Sapienza University of Rome, and the University of Milan are also ranked among the best.
Health
Main articles: Health in Italy and Healthcare in Italy
Italy's life expectancy in 2015 was 80.5 years for men and 84.8 for women, placing the country 5th in the world. Compared to other Western countries, Italy has a low rate of adult obesity (below 10%), as the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet are very significant. In 2013, UNESCO, prompted by Italy, added the Mediterranean diet to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of Italy, Morocco, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, and Croatia.
The proportion of daily smokers was 22% in 2012, down from 24% in 2000 but above the OECD average. Since 2005, smoking in public places has been restricted to "specially ventilated rooms".
Since 1978, the state has run a universal public healthcare system. However, healthcare is provided to all citizens and residents by a mixed public-private system. The public part is the Servizio Sanitario Nazionale, which is organised under the Ministry of Health and administered on a devolved regional basis. Healthcare spending accounted for 10% of GDP in 2020. Italy's healthcare system has been consistently ranked among the best in the world; according to research by the World Health Organization (WHO) dating back to 2000, Italy had the second best healthcare system in the world in terms of spending efficiency and access to public care for citizens, after France.
Economy
Main article: Economy of Italy See also: List of largest Italian companiesItaly has an advanced mixed economy that is the third-largest in the eurozone and 13th-largest in the world by purchasing power parity-adjusted GDP. It has the ninth-largest national wealth and the third-largest central bank gold reserve. As a founding member of the G7, the eurozone, and the OECD, it is one of the most industrialised nations and a leading country in international trade. It is a developed country ranked 30th on the Human Development Index. It performs well in life expectancy, healthcare, and education. The country is well known for its creative and innovative businesses, a competitive agricultural sector (with the world's largest wine production), and for its influential and high-quality automobile, machinery, food, design, and fashion industries.
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Italy is the sixth-largest manufacturing country, characterised by fewer multinational corporations than other economies of comparable size and many dynamic small and medium-sized enterprises, clustered in industrial districts, which are the backbone of Italian industry. This has produced a niche-markets manufacturing sector often focused on the export of luxury products. While less capable of competing on quantity, it can compete with Asian economies that have lower labor costs through higher-quality products. Italy was the world's 10th-largest exporter in 2019. Its closest trade ties are with other EU countries and largest export partners in 2019 were Germany (12%), France (11%), and the US (10%).
Its automotive industry is a significant part of the manufacturing sector with over 144,000 firms, and almost 485,000 employees in 2015, contributing 9% to GDP. The country boasts a wide range of products, from city cars to luxury supercars such as Maserati, Pagani, Lamborghini, and Ferrari.
The Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena is the world's oldest or second oldest bank in continuous operation, depending on the definition, and the fourth-largest Italian commercial and retail bank. Italy has a strong cooperative sector with the largest share in the EU of the population (4.5%) employed by a cooperative. The Val d'Agri area, Basilicata, hosts the largest onshore hydrocarbon field in Europe. Moderate natural gas reserves, mainly in the Po Valley and offshore under the Adriatic, have been discovered and constitute the country's most important mineral resource. Italy is one of the world's leading producers of pumice, pozzolana, and feldspar. Another notable resource is marble, especially the famous white Carrara marble from Tuscany.
Italy is part of a monetary union, the eurozone, which represents around 330 million citizens, and of the European single market, which represents more than 500 million consumers. Several domestic commercial policies are determined by agreements among EU members and EU legislation. Italy joined the common European currency, the euro, in 2002. Its monetary policy is set by the European Central Bank.
Italy was hit hard by the 2007–2008 financial crisis, which exacerbated structural problems. After strong GDP growth of 5–6% per year from the 1950s to the early 1970s, and a progressive slowdown in the 1980–90s, the country stagnated in the 2000s. Political efforts to revive growth with massive government spending produced a severe rise in public debt, that stood at over 132% of GDP in 2017, the second highest in the EU, after Greece. The largest portion of Italian public debt is owned by national subjects, a major difference between Italy and Greece, and the level of household debt is much lower than the OECD average.
A gaping north–south divide is a major factor of socio-economic weakness; there is a huge difference in official income between northern and southern regions and municipalities. The richest province, Alto Adige-South Tyrol, earns 152% of the national GDP per capita, while the poorest region, Calabria, earns 61%. The unemployment rate (11%) is above the eurozone average, but the disaggregated figure is 7% in the north and 19% in the south. The youth unemployment rate (32% in 2018) is extremely high.
Agriculture
Main article: Agriculture in Italy
Vineyards in Langhe and Montferrat, Piedmont. Italy is the world's largest wine producer, and has the widest variety of indigenous grapevines.
According to the last agricultural census, there were 1.6 million farms in 2010 (−32% since 2000) covering 12,700,000 ha or 31,382,383 acres (63% are in south Italy). 99% are family-operated and small, averaging only 8 ha (20 acres). Of the area in agricultural use, grain fields take up 31%, olive orchards 8%, vineyards 5%, citrus orchards 4%, sugar beets 2%, and horticulture 2%. The remainder is primarily dedicated to pastures (26%) and feed grains (12%).
Italy is the world's largest wine producer, and a leading producer of olive oil, fruits (apples, olives, grapes, oranges, lemons, pears, apricots, hazelnuts, peaches, cherries, plums, strawberries, and kiwifruits), and vegetables (especially artichokes and tomatoes). The most famous Italian wines are the Tuscan Chianti and the Piedmontese Barolo. Other famous wines are Barbaresco, Barbera d'Asti, Brunello di Montalcino, Frascati, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, Morellino di Scansano, and the sparkling wines Franciacorta and Prosecco.
Quality goods in which Italy specialises, particularly wines and regional cheeses, are often protected under the quality assurance labels DOC/DOP. This geographical indication certificate, accredited by the EU, is considered important to avoid confusion with ersatz goods.
Transport
Main article: Transport in Italy See also: Railway stations in Italy
Italy was the first country to build motorways, the autostrade, reserved for fast traffic and motor vehicles. In 2002 there were 668,721 km (415,524 mi) of serviceable roads in Italy, including 6,487 km (4,031 mi) of motorways, state-owned but privately operated by Atlantia. In 2005, about 34,667,000 cars (590 per 1,000 people) and 4,015,000 goods vehicles circulated on the network.
The railway network, state-owned and operated by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (FSI), in 2008 totalled 16,529 km (10,271 mi), of which 11,727 km (7,287 mi) is electrified, and on which 4,802 locomotives and railcars run. The main public operator of high-speed trains is Trenitalia, part of FSI. High-speed trains are in three categories: Frecciarossa ('red arrow') trains operate at a maximum 300 km/h on dedicated high-speed tracks; Frecciargento ('silver arrow') operate at a maximum 250 km/h on high-speed and mainline tracks; and Frecciabianca ('white arrow') operate on high-speed regional lines at a maximum 200 km/h. Italy has 11 rail border crossings over the Alpine mountains with neighbouring countries.
Italy is fifth in Europe by number of passengers using air transport, with about 148 million passengers, or about 10% of the European total in 2011. In 2022, there were 45 civil airports, including the hubs of Milan Malpensa Airport and Rome Fiumicino Airport. Since 2021, Italy's flag carrier has been ITA Airways, which took over from Alitalia.
In 2004, there were 43 major seaports, including Genoa, the country's largest and second-largest in the Mediterranean. In 2005, Italy maintained a civilian air fleet of about 389,000 units and a merchant fleet of 581 ships. The national inland waterways network had a length of 2,400 km (1,491 mi) for commercial traffic in 2012. North Italian ports, such as the deep-water port of Trieste, with its extensive rail connections to Central and Eastern Europe, are the destination of subsidies and significant foreign investment.
Energy
Main article: Energy in Italy Further information: Renewable energy in Italy and Electricity sector in Italy
Italy has become one of the world's largest producers of renewable energy, ranking as the second largest producer in the EU and the ninth in the world. Wind power, hydroelectricity, and geothermal power are significant sources of electricity in the country. Renewable sources account for 28% of all electricity produced, with hydro alone reaching 13%, followed by solar at 6%, wind at 4%, bioenergy at 3.5%, and geothermal at 1.6%. The rest of the national demand is supplied by fossil fuels (natural gas 38%, coal 13%, oil 8%) and imports. Eni, operating in 79 countries, is one of the seven "Big Oil" companies, and one of the world's largest industrial companies.
Solar energy production alone accounted for 9% of electricity in 2014, making Italy the country with the highest contribution from solar energy in the world. The Montalto di Castro Photovoltaic Power Station, completed in 2010, is the largest photovoltaic (PV) power station in Italy. Italy was the first country to exploit geothermal energy to produce electricity. Nuclear power in Italy was abandoned after 1987 referendums (in the wake of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster), although Italy still imports nuclear energy from Italy-owned reactors in foreign territories.
Science and technology
Main article: Science and technology in Italy See also: List of Italian inventions and discoveries
Through the centuries, Italy has fostered a scientific community that produced major discoveries the sciences. Galileo Galilei played a major role in the Scientific Revolution and is considered the "father" of observational astronomy, modern physics, and the scientific method.
The Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) is the largest underground research centre in the world. ELETTRA, Eurac Research, ESA Centre for Earth Observation, Institute for Scientific Interchange, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation, and the International Centre for Theoretical Physics conduct basic research. Trieste has the highest percentage of researchers in Europe, in relation to the population. Italy was ranked 26th in the Global Innovation Index in 2024. There are technology parks in Italy such as the Science and Technology Parks Kilometro Rosso (Bergamo), the AREA Science Park (Trieste), The VEGA-Venice Gateway for Science and Technology (Venezia), the Toscana Life Sciences (Siena), the Technology Park of Lodi Cluster (Lodi), and the Technology Park of Navacchio (Pisa), as well as science museums such as the Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci in Milan.
The north–south large difference in income leads to a "digital divide".
Tourism
Main article: Tourism in Italy
People have visited Italy for centuries, yet the first to visit the peninsula for tourism were aristocrats during the Grand Tour, which began in the 17th century, and flourished in the 18th and the 19th centuries. This was a period in which European aristocrats, many of whom were British, visited parts of Europe, with Italy as a key destination. For Italy, this was in order to study ancient architecture, local culture, and admire its natural beauty.
Italy is the fourth most visited country, with a total of 57 million arrivals in 2023. In 2014, the income from travel and tourism was EUR163 billion (10% of GDP) and 1,082,000 jobs were directly related to it (5% of employment).
Tourist interest is mainly in culture, cuisine, history, architecture, art, religious sites and routes, wedding tourism, naturalistic beauties, nightlife, underwater sites, and spas. Winter and summer tourism are present in locations in the Alps and the Apennines, while seaside tourism is widespread among locations along the Mediterranean. Italy is the leading cruise tourism destination in the Mediterranean. Small, historical, and artistic villages are promoted through the association I Borghi più belli d'Italia (lit. 'The most beautiful villages of Italy').
The most visited regions are Veneto, Tuscany, Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, and Lazio. Rome is the third most visited city in Europe, and 12th in the world, with 9.4 million arrivals in 2017. Venice and Florence are among the world's top 100 destinations.
Italy has the most World Heritage Sites: 59; 53 are cultural and 6 natural.
Culture
Main article: Culture of Italy.jpg)
Italy is one of the birthplaces of Western culture and a cultural superpower. Italy's culture has been shaped by a multitude of regional customs and local centres of power and patronage. Italy has made a substantial contribution to the cultural and historical heritage of Europe.
Architecture
Main article: Italian architecture.jpg)
Italy is known for its architectural achievements, such as the construction of arches, domes, and similar structures by ancient Rome, the founding of the Renaissance architectural movement in the late 14th to 16th centuries, and as the home of Palladianism, a style that inspired movements such as Neoclassical architecture and influenced designs of country houses all over the world, notably in the UK and US during the late 17th to early 20th centuries.
The first to begin a recognised sequence of designs were the Greeks and the Etruscans, progressing to classical Roman, then the revival of the classical Roman era during the Renaissance, and evolving into the Baroque era. The Christian concept of the basilica, a style that came to dominate in the Middle Ages, was invented in Rome. Romanesque architecture, which flourished from approximately 800 to 1100 AD, was one of the most fruitful and creative periods in Italian architecture, when masterpieces, such as the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio in Milan, were built. It was known for its usage of Roman arches, stained glass windows, and curved columns. The main innovation of Italian Romanesque architecture was the vault, which had never been seen in Western architecture.
Italian architecture significantly evolved during the Renaissance. Filippo Brunelleschi contributed to architectural design with his dome for the Cathedral of Florence, a feat of engineering not seen since antiquity. A popular achievement of Italian Renaissance architecture was St. Peter's Basilica, designed by Donato Bramante in the early 16th century. Andrea Palladio influenced architects throughout Western Europe with the villas and palaces he designed.
The Baroque period produced outstanding Italian architects. The most original work of late Baroque and Rococo architecture is the Palazzina di caccia of Stupinigi. In 1752, Luigi Vanvitelli began the construction of the Royal Palace of Caserta. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Italy was influenced by the Neoclassical architectural movement. Villas, palaces, gardens, interiors, and art began again to be based on ancient Roman and Greek themes.
During the Fascist period, the supposedly "Novecento movement" flourished, based on the rediscovery of imperial Rome. Marcello Piacentini, responsible for the urban transformations of cities, devised a form of simplified Neoclassicism.
Visual art
Main article: Italian art_-_The_Last_Supper_(1495-1498).jpg)
The history of Italian visual arts is significant to Western painting. Roman art was influenced by Greece and can be taken as a descendant of ancient Greek painting. The only surviving Roman paintings are wall paintings. These may contain the first examples of trompe-l'œil, pseudo-perspective, and pure landscape.
The Italian Renaissance is considered to be the golden age of painting, spanning from the 14th through the mid-17th centuries and having significant influence outside Italy. Artists such as Masaccio, Filippo Lippi, Tintoretto, Sandro Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Titian took painting to a higher level through the use of perspective. Michelangelo was also active as a sculptor; his works include masterpieces such as David, Pietà, and Moses.
In the 15th and 16th centuries, the High Renaissance gave rise to a stylised art known as Mannerism. In place of the balanced compositions and rational approach to perspective that characterised art at the dawn of the 16th century, the Mannerists sought instability, artifice, and doubt. The unperturbed faces and gestures of Piero della Francesca and the calm Virgins of Raphael were replaced by the troubled expressions of Pontormo and emotional intensity of El Greco.
In the 17th century, among the greatest painters of Italian Baroque are Caravaggio, Artemisia Gentileschi, Carlo Saraceni, and Bartolomeo Manfredi. In the 18th century, Italian Rococo was mainly inspired by French Rococo. Italian Neoclassical sculpture focused, with Antonio Canova's nudes, on the idealist aspect of the movement.
In the 19th century, Romantic painters included Francesco Hayez and Francesco Podesti. Impressionism was brought from France to Italy by the Macchiaioli, and realism by Gioacchino Toma and Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo. In the 20th century, with futurism, Italy rose again as a seminal country for evolution in painting and sculpture. Futurism was succeeded by the metaphysical paintings of Giorgio de Chirico, who exerted an influence on the surrealists.
Literature
Main article: Italian literatureFormal Latin literature began in 240 BC, when the first stage play was performed in Rome. Latin literature was, and is, highly influential, with numerous writers, poets, philosophers, and historians, such as Pliny the Elder, Pliny the Younger, Virgil, Horace, Propertius, Ovid, and Livy. The Romans were famous for their oral tradition, poetry, drama, and epigrams. In the early 13th century, Francis of Assisi was the first Italian poet, with his religious song Canticle of the Sun.
At the court of Emperor Frederick II in Sicily, in the 13th century, lyrics modelled on Provençal forms and themes were written in a refined version of the local vernacular. One of these poets was Giacomo da Lentini, inventor of the sonnet form; the most famous early sonneteer was Petrarch.
Guido Guinizelli is the founder of the Dolce Stil Novo, a school that added a philosophical dimension to love poetry. This new understanding of love, expressed in a smooth style, influenced the Florentine poet Dante Alighieri, who established the basis of modern Italian. Dante's work, the Divine Comedy, is among the finest in literature. Petrarch and Giovanni Boccaccio sought and imitated the works of antiquity and cultivated their own artistic personalities. Petrarch achieved fame through his collection of poems, Il Canzoniere. Equally influential was Boccaccio's The Decameron, a very popular collection of short stories.
Renaissance authors' works include Niccolò Machiavelli's The Prince, an essay on political science in which the "effectual truth" is taken to be more important than any abstract ideal. Giovanni Francesco Straparola and Giambattista Basile, who wrote The Facetious Nights of Straparola (1550–55) and the Pentamerone (1634), respectively, printed some of the first known versions of fairy tales in Europe. The Baroque period produced the clear scientific prose of Galileo. In the 17th century, the Arcadians began a movement to restore simplicity and classical restraint to poetry.
Italian writers embraced Romanticism in the 19th century; it coincided with ideas of the Risorgimento, the movement that brought Italian unification. Unification was heralded by the poets Vittorio Alfieri, Ugo Foscolo, and Giacomo Leopardi. Works by Alessandro Manzoni, the leading Italian Romantic, are a symbol of Italian unification for their patriotic message and because of his efforts in the development of modern, unified Italian.
In the late 19th century, a literary movement called verismo, which extolled realism, played a major role in Italian literature. Emilio Salgari, a writer of action-adventure swashbucklers and a pioneer of science fiction, published his Sandokan series. In 1883, Carlo Collodi published The Adventures of Pinocchio, which became the most celebrated children's classic by an Italian author and one of the world's most translated non-religious books. A movement called futurism influenced literature in the early 20th century. Filippo Tommaso Marinetti wrote Manifesto of Futurism and called for the use of language and metaphors that glorified the speed, dynamism, and violence of the machine age.
Modern literary figures and Nobel laureates are Gabriele D'Annunzio, nationalist poet Giosuè Carducci 1906 Nobel laureate, realist writer Grazia Deledda 1926 laureate, modern theatre author Luigi Pirandello in 1936, short story writer Italo Calvino in 1960, poets Salvatore Quasimodo in 1959 and Eugenio Montale in 1975, Umberto Eco in 1980, and satirist and theatre author Dario Fo in 1997.
Philosophy
Main article: Italian philosophyItalian philosophy had an influence on Western philosophy, beginning with the Greeks and Romans, and Renaissance humanism, the Age of Enlightenment, and modern philosophy. Formal philosophy was introduced to Italy by Pythagoras, founder of the Italian school of philosophy in Crotone. Italian philosophers of the Greek period include Xenophanes, Parmenides, and Zeno. Roman philosophers include Cicero, Lucretius, Seneca the Younger, Plutarch, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, and Augustine of Hippo.
Italian medieval philosophy was mainly Christian, and included theologians such as Thomas Aquinas, a classical proponent of natural theology, who reintroduced Aristotelian philosophy to Christianity. Renaissance philosophers include: Giordano Bruno, a major scientific figure of the West; Marsilio Ficino, a humanist philosopher; and Niccolò Machiavelli, a founder of modern political science. Machiavelli's most famous work is The Prince, whose contribution to political thought is the fundamental break between political idealism and realism. University cities such as Padua, Bologna, and Naples remained centres of scholarship, with philosophers such as Giambattista Vico. Cesare Beccaria was a significant Enlightenment figure and a father of classical criminal theory and penology.
Italy had a renowned philosophical movement in the 1800s, with idealism, sensism, and empiricism. During the late 19th and 20th centuries, there were other movements that gained popularity, such as Ontologism, anarchism, communism, socialism, futurism, fascism, and Christian democracy. Antonio Gramsci remains a relevant philosopher within communist theory, credited with creating the theory of cultural hegemony. Italian philosophers were influential in development of the non-Marxist liberal socialism philosophy. In the 1960s, left-wing activists adopted the anti-authoritarian pro-working class theories that became known as autonomism and workerism.
Italian feminists include Sibilla Aleramo, Alaide Gualberta Beccari, and Anna Maria Mozzoni, and proto-feminist philosophies had previously been touched upon by Italian writers. Italian educator Maria Montessori created the philosophy of education that bears her name. Giuseppe Peano was a founder of analytic philosophy and the contemporary philosophy of mathematics. Analytic philosophers include Carlo Penco, Gloria Origgi, Pieranna Garavaso, and Luciano Floridi.
Theatre
Main article: Theatre of Italy
Italian theatre came about in the Middle Ages, with its antecedents dating back to ancient Greek colonies in southern Italy (Magna Graecia), as well as the theatre of the Italic peoples and the theatre of ancient Rome. There were two main lines along which theatre developed. The first, dramatization of Catholic liturgies, and the second, formed by pagan forms of spectacle, such as staging for city festivals, court preparations of jesters, and songs of the troubadours. Renaissance theatre marked the beginning of modern theatre. Ancient theatrical texts were translated and staged at courts, and moved to public theatres. In the late 15th century, the cities of Ferrara and Rome were important for the rediscovery and renewal of theatre.
During the 16th into the 18th century, commedia dell'arte was a form of improvisational theatre, and is still performed. Travelling troupes of players set up an outdoor stage and provided amusement in the form of juggling, acrobatics, and humorous plays. Plays did not originate from written drama, but scenarios called lazzi, loose frameworks around which actors would improvise. The characters of the commedia usually represent fixed social types and stock characters, each of which has a distinct costume. The first recorded commedia dell'arte performances came from Rome as early as 1551. Female roles were played by women, documented as early as the 1560s, making them the first known professional actresses in Europe since antiquity. Lucrezia Di Siena, named on a 1564 contract, has been referred to as the first Italian actress known by name, with Vincenza Armani and Barbara Flaminia as the first prima donnas.
Ballet originated in Italy during the Renaissance, as an outgrowth of court pageantry.
Music
Main article: Music of Italy
Instruments associated with classical music, including the violin and piano, were invented in Italy.
From folk to classical, music is an intrinsic part of Italian culture. Instruments associated with classical music, including the piano and violin, were invented in Italy, and many prevailing forms, such as the symphony, concerto, and sonata, trace their roots back to innovations in 16th- and 17th-century Italian music.
Italy's most famous composers include the Renaissance Palestrina, Monteverdi, and Gesualdo; the Baroque Scarlatti, and Vivaldi; the classical Paganini, and Rossini; and the Romantic Verdi and Puccini. Classical music has a strong hold in Italy, as evidenced by the fame of its opera houses, such as La Scala, and performers such as the pianist Maurizio Pollini and tenor Luciano Pavarotti. Italy is known as the birthplace of opera. Italian opera is believed to have been founded in the 17th century.
Introduced in the early 1920s, jazz gained a strong foothold in Italy, and remained popular despite xenophobic policies of the fascists. Italy was represented in the progressive rock and pop movements of the 1970s, with bands such as PFM, Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, Le Orme, Goblin, and Pooh. The same period saw diversification in the cinema of Italy, and Cinecittà films included complex scores by composers including Ennio Morricone. In the 1980s, the first star to emerge from Italian hip hop was singer Jovanotti. Italian metal bands include Rhapsody of Fire, Lacuna Coil, Elvenking, Forgotten Tomb, and Fleshgod Apocalypse.
Italy contributed to the development of disco and electronic music, with Italo disco, known for its futuristic sound and prominent use of synthesisers and drum machines, one of the earliest electronic dance genres. Producers such as Giorgio Moroder, who won three Academy Awards and four Golden Globes, were influential in the development of electronic dance music. Italian pop is represented annually with the Sanremo Music Festival, which served as inspiration for the Eurovision Song Contest. Gigliola Cinquetti, Toto Cutugno, and Måneskin won Eurovision, in 1964, 1990, and 2021 respectively. Singers such as Domenico Modugno, Mina, Andrea Bocelli, Raffaella Carrà, Il Volo, Al Bano, Toto Cutugno, Nek, Umberto Tozzi, Giorgia, Grammy winner Laura Pausini, Eros Ramazzotti, Tiziano Ferro, Måneskin, and others have received international acclaim.
Cinema
Main article: Cinema of ItalyItalian cinema began just after the Lumière brothers introduced motion picture exhibitions. The first Italian director is Vittorio Calcina, who filmed Pope Leo XIII in 1896. Cabiria, from 1914, is the most famous Italian silent film. The oldest European avant-garde cinema movement, Italian futurism, took place in the late 1910s.
After decline in the 1920s, the industry was revitalised in the 1930s with the arrival of sound. A popular Italian genre, the Telefoni Bianchi, consisted of comedies with glamorous backgrounds. Calligrafismo was a sharp contrast to the Telefoni Bianchi-American style comedies and is rather artistic, highly formalistic, expressive in complexity, and deals mainly with contemporary literary material. Cinema was used by Mussolini, who founded Rome's renowned Cinecittà studio, for the production of Fascist propaganda.
After World War II, Italian film was widely recognised and exported until an artistic decline occurred in the 1980s. Italian film directors include Federico Fellini, Sergio Leone, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Duccio Tessari, Luchino Visconti, Vittorio De Sica, Michelangelo Antonioni, and Roberto Rossellini, recognised among the greatest of all time. The mid-1940s to the early 1950s was the heyday of Italian neorealism, reflecting the poor condition of post-war Italy.
As the country grew wealthier in the 1950s, a form of neorealism known as pink neorealism succeeded, and the commedia all'italiana genre and other film genres, such as sword-and-sandal and spaghetti Westerns, were popular in the 1960s and 70s. Actresses such as Sophia Loren achieved international stardom. Erotic Italian thrillers, or gialli, produced by directors such as Dario Argento in the 1970s, influenced horror. Recently, the Italian scene has received only occasional attention, with movies such as Life Is Beautiful, Cinema Paradiso, and Il Postino: The Postman.
Cinecittà studio is the largest film and television production facility in Europe, where many international box office hits were filmed. In the 1950s, the number of international productions made there led to Rome's being dubbed "Hollywood on the Tiber". More than 3,000 productions have been made on its lot, of which 90 received an Academy Award nomination, with 47 wins. Italy is the most awarded country at the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film, with 14 wins and 3 Special Awards. As of 2016, Italian films have won 12 Palmes d'Or, 11 Golden Lions, and 7 Golden Bears.
Sport
Main article: Sport in Italy
The most popular sport is football. Italy's team is one of the most successful, with four World Cup victories (1934, 1938, 1982, and 2006) and two UEFA Euro victories (1968 and 2020). Italian clubs have won 48 major European trophies, making Italy the second most successful country in Europe, after Spain. Italy's top league is Serie A and is followed by millions of fans around the world.
Other popular team sports include basketball, volleyball, and rugby. Italy's male and female national volleyball teams are often featured among the world's best. The men's team won three consecutive World Championships (in 1990, 1994, and 1998). Italy men's basketball team's best results were gold at EuroBasket 1983 and 1999, and silver at the 2004 Olympics. Lega Basket Serie A is one of the most competitive in Europe. The Italy national rugby union team competes in the Six Nations Championship, and at the Rugby World Cup.
Among individual sports, bicycle racing is popular; Italians have won the UCI World Championships more than any other country, except Belgium. The Giro d'Italia is a cycling race held every May and one of the three Grand Tours. Alpine skiing is a widespread sport, and the country is a popular skiing destination. Italian skiers achieve good results in Winter Olympic Games and the Alpine Ski World Cup. Tennis has a significant following: it is the fourth most practised sport. The Rome Masters, founded in 1930, is one of the most prestigious tennis tournaments. Italian players won the Davis Cup in 1976 and the Fed Cup in 2006, 2009, 2010, and 2013.
Motorsports are popular. Italy has won, by far, the most MotoGP World Championships. Italian Scuderia Ferrari is the oldest surviving team in Grand Prix racing, competing since 1948, and the most successful Formula One team with 232 wins. The Italian Grand Prix of Formula One has been held since 1921 always at Autodromo Nazionale Monza (except 1980). Other successful Italian car manufacturers in motorsports are Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Maserati, and Fiat.
Italy has been successful in the Olympics, taking part from the first Olympiad and in 47 Games out of 48 (not 1904). Italians have won 618 medals at the Summer Olympic Games, and 141 at the Winter Olympics, with 259 golds, the sixth most successful for total medals. The country hosted Winter Olympics in 1956 and 2006, and will host another in 2026; and a Summer games in 1960.
Fashion and design
Main articles: Italian fashion and Italian design
Italian fashion has a long tradition. Top Global Fashion Capital Rankings (2013), by Global Language Monitor, ranked Rome sixth and Milan twelfth. Major Italian fashion labels—such as Gucci, Armani, Prada, Versace, Valentino, Dolce & Gabbana—are among the finest fashion houses in the world. Jewellers such as Bulgari, Damiani, and Buccellati were founded in Italy. The fashion magazine Vogue Italia is one of the most prestigious fashion magazines in the world.
Italy is prominent in the field of design, notably interior, architectural, industrial, and urban designs. Milan and Turin are the nation's leaders in architectural and industrial design. The city of Milan hosts Fiera Milano, Europe's largest design fair. Milan hosts major design- and architecture-related events and venues, such as the Fuori Salone and the Milan Furniture Fair, and has been home to the designers Bruno Munari, Lucio Fontana, Enrico Castellani, and Piero Manzoni.
Cuisine
Main articles: Italian cuisine, Italian meal structure, and List of Italian foods and drinks
Italian cuisine is heavily influenced by Etruscan, ancient Greek, ancient Roman, Byzantine, Arabic, and Jewish cuisines. Significant changes occurred with the discovery of the New World, with items such as potatoes, tomatoes, and maize becoming main ingredients from the 18th century. The Mediterranean diet forms the basis of Italian cuisine, which is rich in pasta, fish, fruits, and vegetables and characterised by its simplicity and variety, with many dishes having only four to eight ingredients. Italian cuisine is noted for its regional diversity, abundance of difference in taste, and as one of the most popular in the world, wielding strong influence abroad.
Italian cuisine relies heavily on traditional products; the country has a large number of traditional specialties protected under EU law. Italy is home to 395 Michelin Star-rated restaurants. Cheese, cold cuts, and wine are central to Italian cuisine, with regional declinations and protected designation of origin or protected geographical indication labels, along with pizza and coffee forming part of gastronomic culture. Desserts have a long tradition of merging local flavours, such as citrus fruits, pistachio, and almonds, with sweet cheeses such as mascarpone and ricotta or exotic tastes such as cocoa, vanilla, and cinnamon. Gelato, tiramisu, and cassata are among the most famous examples of Italian desserts.
The Italian meal structure is typical of the Mediterranean region and differs from North, Central, and East European meal structures, although it still often consists of breakfast (colazione), lunch (pranzo), and dinner (cena). However, much less emphasis is placed on breakfast, which is often skipped or involves lighter portions than are seen in non-Mediterranean Western countries. Late-morning and mid-afternoon snacks, called merenda (pl.: merende), are often included.
Public holidays, festivals and folklore
Main articles: Public holidays in Italy, Traditions of Italy, and Folklore of Italy
Public holidays include religious, national, and regional observances. Italy's National Day, the Festa della Repubblica ('Republic Day'), is celebrated on 2 June, with the main celebration taking place in Rome, and commemorates the birth of the Italian Republic in 1946. The ceremony includes deposition of a wreath as a tribute to the Italian Unknown Soldier and a military parade along Via dei Fori Imperiali in Rome.
Saint Lucy's Day, on 13 December, is popular among children in some Italian regions, where she plays a role similar to Santa Claus. The Epiphany is associated with the folklore figure of Befana, a broomstick-riding old woman who, on the night of 5 January, brings good children gifts, and bad ones charcoal or bags of ashes. The Assumption of Mary coincides with Ferragosto on 15 August, the summer vacation period. The Italian national patronal day, on 4 October, celebrates Saints Francis and Catherine. Each city or town also celebrates a public holiday on the festival of the local patron saint. Natale di Roma, historically known as Dies Romana and also referred to as Romaia, is the festival linked to the foundation of Rome, celebrated on 21 April.
Festivals and festivities include the Palio di Siena horse race, Holy Week rites, Saracen Joust of Arezzo, and the calcio storico fiorentino. In 2013, UNESCO included among the intangible cultural heritage Italian festivals and pasos, such as the Varia di Palmi, the Macchina di Santa Rosa in Viterbo, and faradda di li candareri in Sassari. Other festivals include carnivals in Venice, Viareggio, Satriano di Lucania, Mamoiada, and Ivrea. The Venice Film Festival, awarding the Golden Lion and held since 1932, is the oldest in the world and one of the "Big Three" European film festivals, alongside Cannes and Berlin.
See also
Notes
- Italian: Italia, pronounced [iˈtaːlja]
- Italian: Repubblica Italiana, pronounced [reˈpubblika itaˈljaːna]
- Italy is often grouped in Western Europe.
- Kingdom of Naples is used by historians, but not by its rulers, who kept the original 'Kingdom of Sicily' (i.e., there existed two Kingdoms of Sicily).
- The Guardia di Finanza operates a large fleet of ships, aircraft and helicopters, enabling it to patrol Italy's waters and to participate in warfare scenarios.
- The Holy See's sovereignty has been recognised explicitly in many international agreements and is particularly emphasised in article 2 of the Lateran Treaty of 11 February 1929, in which "Italy recognises the sovereignty of the Holy See in international matters as an inherent attribute in conformity with its traditions and the requirements of its mission to the world" (Lateran Treaty, English translation).
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External links
- Italy from BBC News
- Italy. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency.
- Italy from UCB Libraries GovPubs
- Italy from the OECD
- Italy at the European Union
Wikimedia Atlas of Italy
Geographic data related to Italy at OpenStreetMap- Key Development Forecasts for Italy from International Futures
- Government website (in Italian)
- Italian tourism official website
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