Italy

Italy,officially theItalian Republic,is a country inSouthernandWesternEurope.It consists ofa peninsulathat extends into theMediterranean Sea, with theAlpson its northern land border, as well asnearly 800 islands, notablySicilyandSardinia.Italy shares its borders withFrance,Switzerland,Austria,Slovenia, and two enclaves—Vatican CityandSan Marino. It is thetenth-largest country in Europe by area, covering 301,340 km(116,350 sq mi), and the third-most populousmember state of the European Union, with nearly 60 million inhabitants. Italy's capital andlargest cityisRome; other major urban areas includeMilan,Naples,Turin,Palermo,Bologna,Florence,Genoa, andVenice.
The history of Italy goes back to numerousItalic peoples, notably including theancient Romans, who conquered the Mediterranean world during theRoman Republicand ruled it for centuries during theRoman Empire.With the spread of Christianity, Rome became the seat of theCatholic Churchand thePapacy.Barbarian invasionsand other factors led to the decline andfall of the Western Roman Empirebetweenlate antiquityand theEarly Middle Ages. By the 11th century,Italian city-statesandmaritime republicsexpanded, bringing renewed prosperity through commerce and laying the groundwork for modern capitalism.TheItalian Renaissanceflourished during the 15th and 16th centuries and spread to the rest of Europe. Italian explorers discovered new routes to the Far East and theNew World, contributing significantly to the EuropeanAge of Discovery.
After centuries of political and territorial divisions, Italy was almost entirely unified in 1861, following wars of independence and theExpedition of the Thousand, establishing theKingdom of Italy.From the late 19th to the early 20th century, Italy rapidly industrialised, mainly in the north, and acquireda colonial empire,whilethe southremained largely impoverished, fuelinga large immigrant diasporato the Americas.From 1915 to 1918, Italytook part in World War Iwith theEntenteagainst theCentral Powers. In 1922, theItalian fascistdictatorship was established.During World War II, Italy was first part of theAxisuntil its surrender to theAllied powers(1940–1943), then a co-belligerent of the Allies during theItalian resistanceand theliberation of Italy(1943–1945). Following the war, the monarchy was replaced by a republic and the country enjoyeda strong recovery.
Adeveloped countrywithan advanced economy, Italy has theninth-largest nominal GDPin the world, thesecond-largest manufacturing industryin Europe, andplays a significant role in regionaland—to a lesser extent—globaleconomic, military, cultural, and political affairs. Italy is afoundingandleading member of the European Union, andis part of numerous other  international organizations and forums. As acultural superpower, Italy has long been a renowned global centreof art,music,literature,cuisine,fashion,science and technology, and the source ofmultiple inventions and discoveries.It has thehighest numberofWorld Heritage Sites(60) and is thefourth-most visited countryin the world.
Hypotheses for the etymology ofItaliaare numerous.One theory suggests it originated from anAncient Greekterm for the land of theItalói, a tribe that resided in the region now known asCalabria. Originally thought to be namedVituli, some scholars suggest theirtotemicanimal to be the calf (Latin:vitulus;Umbrian:vitlo;Oscan:Víteliú).Several ancient authors said it was named after a local rulerItalus.
The ancient Greek term for Italy initially referred only to the south of theBruttiumpeninsula and parts ofCatanzaroandVibo Valentia. The larger concept ofOenotriaand "Italy" became synonymous, and the name applied to most ofLucaniaas well. Before the Roman Republic's expansion, the name was used by Greeks for the land between thestrait of Messinaand the line connecting thegulfs of SalernoandTaranto, 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 ofRoman Italy,Italia, are better established. Cato'sOriginesdescribes Italy as the entire peninsula south of the Alps.In 264 BC, Roman Italy extended from theArnoandRubiconrivers 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, andMaltawere added to Italy byDiocletianin 292 AD,which made late-ancient Italy coterminous with the modernItalian geographical region.
The LatinItalicuswas used to describe "a man of Italy" as opposed to aprovincial, or one from theRoman province.The adjectiveitalianus, from whichItalianwas derived, is frommedieval Latinand was used alternatively withItalicusduring theearly modern period.After thefall of the Western Roman Empire, theOstrogothic Kingdomof Italy was created. After theLombardinvasions,Italiawas retained as the name for their kingdom, and itssuccessor kingdomwithin theHoly Roman Empire.
Lower Paleolithicartefacts, dating back 850,000 years, have been recovered fromMonte Poggiolo.Excavations throughout Italy revealed aNeanderthalpresence in the Middle Palaeolithic period 200,000 years ago,whilemodern humansappeared about 40,000 years ago atRiparo Mochi.
Theancient peoplesof pre-Roman Italy wereIndo-European, specifically theItalic peoples. The main historic peoples of possible non-Indo-European orpre-Indo-Europeanheritage include theEtruscans, theElymiansandSicaniof Sicily, and the prehistoricSardinians, who gave birth to theNuragic civilisation. Other ancient populations include theRhaetian peopleandCamunni, known for theirrock drawings in Valcamonica.A natural mummy,Ötzi, dated 3400–3100 BC, was discovered in theSimilaunglacier in 1991.
The first colonisers were thePhoenicians, who establishedemporiumson the coasts of Sicily and Sardinia. Some became small urban centers and developed parallel toGreek colonies.During the 8th and 7th centuries, Greek colonies were established atPithecusae, eventually extending along the south of the Italian Peninsula and the coast of Sicily, an area later known asMagna Graecia.Ionians,Doriccolonists,Syracusans, and theAchaeansfounded various cities.Greek colonisationplaced theItalic peoplesin contact with democratic forms of government and high artistic and cultural expressions.
Ancient Rome, a settlement on theRiver Tiberin central Italy,foundedin 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 monarchyand established an oligarchic republic.
The Italian Peninsula, namedItalia, was consolidated into a unified entity during Roman expansion, the conquest of new territories often at the expense of theother Italic tribes,Etruscans,Celts, andGreeks. A permanent association, with most of the local tribes and cities, was formed, and Rome began the conquest of Western Europe, North Africa, and theMiddle East. In the wake ofJulius Caesar's assassination in 44 BC, Rome grew into a massive empire stretching fromBritainto the borders ofPersia, 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 themetropoleof the empire, homeland of the Romans and territory of the capital.
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 Romanlegacyhas deeply influenced Western civilisation shaping the modern world. The widespread use ofRomance languagesderived 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.
After thefall of the Western Roman Empire, Italy fell under theOdoacer's kingdom, and was seized by theOstrogoths.Invasions resulted in a chaotic succession of kingdoms and the supposed "Dark Ages". The invasion of anotherGermanic tribein 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 intoFranciabyCharlemagnein the late 8th century and became the Kingdom of Italy.The Franks helped form thePapal States. Until the 13th century, politics was dominated by relations between theHoly Roman Emperorsand 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 theuniversal powersof medieval Europe. However, conflict over theInvestiture Controversyand between Guelphs and Ghibellines ended the imperial-feudal system in the north, where cities gained independence.In 1176, theLombard Leagueof city-states, defeated Holy Roman EmperorFrederick 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 independentthalassocraticcity-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, andAmalfi.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.
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 theCrusades, providing support, transport, but mostly taking political and trading opportunities.Italy first felt the economic changes which led to thecommercial revolution: Venice was able tosack Byzantine's capitaland financeMarco Polo's voyages to Asia; the first universities were formed in Italian cities, and scholars such asAquinasobtained international fame; capitalism and banking families emerged in Florence, whereDanteandGiottowere active around 1300.In the south, Sicily had become anArab Islamic emiratein the 9th century, thriving until theItalo-Normansconquered it in the late 11th century, together with most of the Lombard and Byzantine principalities of southern Italy.The region was subsequently divided between theKingdom of SicilyandKingdom of Naples.TheBlack Deathof 1348 killed perhaps a third of Italy's population.
During the 1400s and 1500s, Italy was the birthplace and heart of theRenaissance. 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 theMediciof Florence. After the end of theWestern Schism, newly electedPope Martin Vreturned to thePapal Statesand restored Italy as the sole centre of Western Christianity. TheMedici Bankwas made the credit institution of the Papacy, and significant ties were established between the Church and new political dynasties.
In 1453, despite activity byPope Nicholas Vto support the Byzantines, the city ofConstantinoplefell to theOttomans. This led to the migration ofGreek scholarsand texts to Italy, fuelling the rediscovery of Greekhumanism.Humanist rulers such asFederico da MontefeltroandPope Pius IIworked to establishideal cities, foundingUrbinoandPienza.Pico della Mirandolawrote theOration 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 asLeonardo da Vinci,Botticelli,Michelangelo,Raphael,Giotto,Donatello, andTitian, and architects such asFilippo Brunelleschi,Andrea Palladio, andDonato Bramante. Italianexplorersand 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 theAge of Discoveryand 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 theNorse;andAmerigo Vespucci, for whom the continent ofAmericais named.
A defensive alliance known as theItalic Leaguewas formed between Venice, Naples, Florence, Milan, and the Papacy.Lorenzothe Magnificentde Mediciwas the Renaissance's greatest patron, his support allowed the League toabort invasionby the Turks. The alliance, however, collapsed in the 1490s; the invasion ofCharles VIII of Franceinitiated a series of wars in the peninsula. During theHigh Renaissance, popes such asJulius 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 popesLeo X(1513–1521) andClement VII(1523–1534) faced theProtestant Reformationin Germany, England and elsewhere.
In 1559, at the end of theItalian warsbetween France and the Habsburgs, about half of Italy (the southern Kingdoms ofNaples,Sicily,Sardinia, and theDuchy 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 theCounter-Reformation, whose key events include: theCouncil of Trent(1545–1563); adoption of theGregorian calendar; theJesuit China mission; theFrench Wars of Religion; end of theThirty Years' War(1618–1648); and theGreat Turkish War. The Italian economy declined in the 1600s and 1700s.
During thewar 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 theNapoleonic Wars, north and central Italy were reorganised asSister Republicsof France and, later, as aKingdom of Italy.The south was administered byJoachim Murat, Napoleon's brother-in-law. 1814'sCongress of Viennarestored the situation of the late 18th century, but the ideals of theFrench Revolutioncould not be eradicated, and re-surfaced during thepolitical upheavalsthat characterised the early 19th century. The first adoption of theItalian tricolourby an Italian state, theCispadane Republic, occurred duringNapoleonic Italy, following the French Revolution, which advocated nationalself-determination.This event is celebrated byTricolour Day.
Thebirth of the Kingdom of Italywas the result of efforts of Italian nationalists and monarchists loyal to theHouse of Savoyto establish a united kingdom encompassing the entireItalian Peninsula. By the mid-19th century, risingItalian nationalismled to revolution.Following theCongress of Viennain 1815, the political and social Italian unification movement, orRisorgimento, emerged to unite Italy by consolidating the states and liberating them from foreign control. A radical figure was the patriotic journalistGiuseppe Mazzini, founder of the political movementYoung Italyin 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.
The most famous member of Young Italy was the revolutionary and generalGiuseppe Garibaldiwho led the republican drive for unification in southern Italy. However, the Italian monarchy of the House of Savoy, in theKingdom of Sardinia, whose government was led byCamillo Benso, Count of Cavour, also had ambitions of establishing a united Italian state. In the context of the1848 liberal revolutionsthat swept Europe, an unsuccessfulFirst Italian War of Independencewas declared againstAustria. In 1855, Sardinia became an ally of Britain and France in theCrimean War.Sardinia fought the Austrian Empire in theSecond Italian War of Independenceof 1859, with the aid of France, resulting in liberatingLombardy. On the basis of thePlombières Agreement, the Sardinia cededSavoyandNiceto France, an event that caused theNiçard exodus.
In 1860–1861, Garibaldi led the drive for unification in Naples and Sicily.Teanowas the site of a famous meeting between Garibaldi andVictor Emmanuel II, the last king of Sardinia, during which Garibaldi shook Victor Emanuel's hand and hailed him asKing 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 todeclare a united Italian kingdomon 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 withPrussiaduring theAustro-Prussian War, waged theThird Italian War of Independence, which resulted in Italy annexingVenetia. Finally, in 1870, as France abandoned Rome during theFranco-Prussian War, the Italianscaptured the Papal States, unification was completed, and the capital moved to Rome.
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 alarge and influential diaspora. TheItalian Socialist Partyincreased in strength, challenging the traditional liberal and conservative establishment. In the last two decades of the 19th century, Italy developed into acolonial powerby subjugatingEritrea,Somalia,Tripolitania, andCyrenaicain Africa.In 1913, male universal suffrage was adopted. The pre-World War Iperiod was dominated byGiovanni Giolitti, prime minister five times between 1892 and 1921.
Italy entered into the First World Warin 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 theunification of Italy.Italy, nominally allied withGermanand theAustro-Hungarianempires in theTriple Alliance, in 1915 joined theAllies, entering World War I with apromiseof substantial territorial gains that included westInner Carniola, the formerAustrian Littoral, andDalmatia, as well as parts of theOttoman 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 theBattle of Vittorio Veneto.This marked the end of war on the Italian Front, secured dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and was instrumental inendingthe 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. TheTreaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye(1919) andTreaty of Rapallo(1920) allowed for annexation ofTrentino Alto-Adige, theJulian March,Istria, theKvarner Gulf, and the Dalmatian city ofZara. The subsequentTreaty of Rome(1924) led to annexation ofFiumeby Italy. Italy did not receive other territories promised by the Treaty of London, so this outcome was denounced as a "mutilated victory", byBenito Mussolini, which helped lead to therise of Italian fascism. Historians regard "mutilated victory" as a "political myth", used by fascists to fuelItalian imperialism.Italy gained a permanent seat in theLeague of Nations's executive council.
Thesocialist agitationsthat followed the devastation of the Great War, inspired by theRussian Revolution, led to counter-revolution and repression throughout Italy. The liberal establishment, fearing a Soviet-style revolution, started to endorse the smallNational Fascist Party, led by Mussolini. In October 1922, theBlackshirtsof the National Fascist Party organised amass demonstrationand the "March on Rome"coup. KingVictor Emmanuel IIIappointed 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 inNazi GermanyandFrancoist Spain.
Fascismwas 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 ininterventionist foreign policy. In 1935, Mussoliniinvaded Ethiopiaand foundedItalian East Africa, resulting in international isolation and leading to Italy's withdrawal from theLeague of Nations. Italy thenallied with Nazi Germanyand theEmpire of Japan, and strongly supportedFrancisco Francoin theSpanish Civil War. In 1939, Italyannexed Albania.
Italy entered World War II on 10 June 1940. At different times, Italians advanced inBritish Somaliland,Egypt, theBalkans, and eastern fronts. They were, however,defeated on the Eastern Frontas well as in theEast AfricanandNorth Africancampaigns, losing their territories in Africa and the Balkans.Italian war crimesincludedextrajudicial killingsandethnic cleansingby deportation of about 25,000 people—mainly Yugoslavs—toItalian concentration campsand elsewhere.Yugoslav Partisansperpetrated their own crimes against the ethnic Italian population during and after the war, including thefoibe massacres. AnAllied invasion of Sicilybegan in July 1943, leading to thecollapse of the Fascist regimeon 25 July. Mussolini was deposed and arrested by order of King Victor Emmanuel III. On 8 September, Italy signed theArmistice 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 theItalian Social Republic(RSI), a Nazipuppet stateandcollaborationistregime with Mussolini installed as leader after he wasrescuedby German paratroopers. What remained of the Italian troops was organised into theItalian Co-belligerent Army, which fought alongside the Allies, while other Italian forces, loyal to Mussolini, opted to fight alongside the Germans in theNational 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 theItalian Resistance, who fought a guerrilla war against theNazi German occupiersand 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 andsummarily executedby 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.
Italy became a republic after the1946 Italian institutional referendumheld on 2 June, a day celebrated since asFesta della Repubblica. This was the first time women voted nationally.Victor Emmanuel III's son,Umberto II, was forced to abdicate. TheRepublican Constitutionwas approved in 1948. Under theTreaty of Paris between Italy and the Allied Powers, areas next to theAdriatic Seawere annexed byYugoslavia, resulting in theIstrian-Dalmatian exodus, which involved the emigration of around 300,000IstrianandDalmatian Italians.Italy lost all colonial possessions, ending theItalian Empire.
Fears of a Communist takeover proved crucial in1948, when theChristian Democrats, underAlcide De Gasperi, won a landslide victory.Consequently, in 1949 Italy became a member ofNATO. TheMarshall Planrevived the economy, which, until the late 1960s, enjoyed a period called theEconomic Miracle. In the 1950s, Italy became a founding country of theEuropean Communities, a forerunner of the European Union. From the late 1960s until the early 1980s, the country experienced theYears of Lead, characterised by economic difficulties, especially after the1973 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 theG7in the 1970s. However, national debt skyrocketed past 100% of GDP. Between 1992 and 1993, Italy faced terror attacks perpetrated by theSicilian Mafiaas a consequence of new anti-mafia measures by the government.Voters—disenchanted with political paralysis, massive public debt and extensive corruption uncovered by theClean Handsinvestigation—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 asocial-democraticforce. During the 1990s and 2000s,centre-right(dominated by media magnateSilvio Berlusconi) andcentre-leftcoalitions (led by professorRomano Prodi) alternately governed.
In 2011, amidst theGreat Recession, Berlusconiresignedand was replaced by the technocratic cabinet ofMario Monti.In 2014,Matteo Renzibecameprime ministerand the government started constitutional reform. This was rejected in a 2016referendumandPaolo Gentilonibecame prime minister.
During theEuropean migrant crisisof 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 the2018 general election,Giuseppe Contebecame prime minister of apopulist coalition.
With almost 200,000 victims, Italy was one of the countries with the most deaths in theCOVID-19 pandemicand one of the most affectedeconomically.In February 2021, after agovernment crisis, Conte resigned.Mario Draghi, former president of theEuropean Central Bank, formed anational unity governmentsupported by most main parties,pledging to implement an economic stimulus to face the crisis caused by the pandemic.In 2022,Giorgia Meloniwas sworn in as Italy's first female prime minister.
Italy, whose territory largely coincides with theeponymous geographical region,is located in Southern Europe (and is also considered part of Western Europe) between latitudes35°and47° N, and longitudes6°and19° E. To the north, from west to east, Italy borders France, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia, and is roughly delimited by theAlpine watershed, enclosing thePo Valleyand theVenetian Plain. It consists of the entirety of theItalian Peninsula, Sicily and Sardinia (thebiggest islandsof the Mediterranean), andmany smaller islands. Some of Italy's territory extends beyond the Alpine basin, and some islands are located outside theEurasiancontinental 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 theMediterranean Sea, theLigurianandTyrrhenianseas,theIonian Sea,and theAdriatic 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 ofSan MarinoandVatican City(the smallest country in the world and headquarters of the worldwideCatholic Churchunder the governance of theHoly See) areenclaveswithin Italy,whileCampione d'Italiais an Italianexclavein 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.TheApennine Mountainsform the peninsula's backbone, and the Alps form most of its northern boundary, where Italy's highest point is located on the summit ofMont Blanc(Monte Bianco) at 4,810 m (15,780 ft). Other well-known mountains include theMatterhorn(Monte Cervino) in the western Alps, and theDolomitesin the eastern Alps. Many parts ofItaly are of volcanic origin. Most small islands and archipelagos in the south arevolcanic islands. There are active volcanoes:Mount Etnain Sicily (the largest in Europe),Vulcano,Stromboli, andVesuvius.
Mostrivers of Italydrain into the Adriatic or Tyrrhenian Sea.The longest is thePo, which flows from the Alps on the western border, and crosses thePadan plainto the Adriatic.The Po Valley is the largest plain, with 46,000 km(18,000 sq mi), and contains over 70% of the country'slowlands.The largest lakes are, in descending size:Garda(367.94 kmor 142 sq mi),Maggiore(212.51 kmor 82 sq mi), andComo(145.9 kmor 56 sq mi).
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 fromhumid subtropicaltohumid continentalandoceanic. The Po Valley is mostly humid subtropical, with cool winters and hot summers.The coastal areas ofLiguria, Tuscany, and most of the south generally fit the Mediterranean climate stereotype, as in theKöppen 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.
Italy's varied geography, including theAlps,Apennines, central Italian woodlands, and southern ItalianGarigueandMaquis 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 theBalkans, Eurasia, and the Middle East. Italy has probably the highest level offaunalbiodiversityin 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.
Thefauna of Italyincludes 4,777endemicanimal species,which include theSardinian long-eared bat,Sardinian red deer,spectacled salamander,brown cave salamander,Italian newt,Italian frog,Apennine yellow-bellied toad,Italian wall lizard, andSicilian pond turtle. There are 119mammals species,550bird species,69reptile species,39amphibian species,623 fish species,and 56,213 invertebrate species, of which 37,303 are insect species.
Theflora of Italywas traditionally estimated to comprise about 5,500vascular plantspecies.However, as of 2005, 6,759 species are recorded in theData bank of Italian vascular flora.Italy has 1,371 endemic plant species and subspecies,which includeSicilian fir,Barbaricina columbine,Sea marigold,Lavender cotton, andUcriana violet. Italy is a signatory to theBerne Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitatsand theHabitats Directive.
Italy has many botanical and historic gardens.TheItalian gardenis stylistically based on symmetry, axial geometry, and the principle of imposing order on nature. It influenced thehistory of gardening, especiallyFrenchandEnglishgardens.The Italian garden was influenced byRomanandItalian Renaissancegardens.
TheItalian wolfis the national animal of Italy,while the national tree is thestrawberry tree.The reasons for this are that the Italian wolf, which inhabits theApennine Mountainsand 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 theItalian sparrow,while the national flower is the flower of the strawberry tree.
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 isprotected.
Italy has been one of the world's leading producers ofrenewable energy, in 2010 ranking as the fourth largest provider of installedsolar energycapacityand sixth largest ofwind powercapacity.Renewable energy provided approximately 37% Italy's energy consumption in 2020.
The country operated nuclear reactors between 1963 and 1990 but, after theChernobyl disasterandreferendums, 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 theFukushima nuclear accident.
Air pollution remains severe, especially in the industrialised north. Italy is thetwelfth-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 ofsulphur dioxidedecreasing.
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 1963Vajont Damflood, the 1998Sarno,and the 2009Messina mudslides.
Italy has been a unitaryparliamentary republicsince 1946, when the monarchywas abolished. Thepresident of Italy,Sergio Mattarellasince 2015, is Italy's head of state. The president is elected for a single seven-year term by theItalian Parliamentand regional voters in joint session. Italy has a written democraticconstitutionthat resulted from aConstituent Assemblyformed by representatives of theanti-fascistforces that contributed to the defeat of Nazi and Fascist forces during the liberation of Italy, in World War II.
Italy has a parliamentary government based on a mixedproportionaland majoritarian voting system. The parliament is perfectlybicameral; each house has the same powers. The two houses: theChamber of Deputiesmeets inPalazzo Montecitorio, and theSenate of the RepublicinPalazzo Madama. A peculiarity of theItalian Parliamentis the representation given toItalian citizenspermanently living abroad: 8 Deputies and 4 Senators are elected in four distinctoverseas constituencies. There aresenators for life, appointed by the president "for outstanding patriotic merits in the social, scientific, artistic or literary field". Former presidents areex officiolife senators.
Theprime minister of Italyis 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 otherparliamentary 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'sForza Italia, andMaurizio Lupi'sUs Moderates, won most seats in parliament. The rest were taken by the centre-left coalition, which included the Democratic Party, theGreens 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 theAssociative Movement of Italians Abroad.
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).TheConstitution of 1948is the highest source.TheConstitutional Court of Italyrules on the conformity of laws with the constitution. The judiciary bases their decisions onRoman lawmodified by theNapoleonic Codeand later statutes. TheSupreme Court of Cassationis the highest court for both criminal and civil appeals.
Italy lags behind other Western European nations inLGBT rights.Italy's law prohibiting torture is considered behind international standards.
Law enforcement is complex with multiple police forces.The national policing agencies are thePolizia di Stato('State Police'), theCarabinieri, theGuardia di Finanza('Financial Police'), and thePolizia Penitenziaria('Prison Police'),as well as theGuardia Costiera('Coast Guard Police').Although policing is primarily provided on a national basis,there are also theprovincialandmunicipalpolice.
Since their appearance in the middle of the 19th century,Italian organised crimeand 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 610comuniwhich 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.
Italy is a founding member of theEuropean Economic Community(EEC), now the European Union (EU), and ofNATO. Italy was admitted to the United Nations in 1955, and is a member and strong supporter of international organisations, such as theOECD, theGeneral Agreement on Tariffs and Trade/World Trade Organization(GATT/WTO), theOrganization for Security and Co-operation in Europe(OSCE), theCouncil of Europe, and theCentral European Initiative. Its turns in the rotating presidencies of international organisations include theOrganization for Security and Co-operation in Europein 2018,G7in 2017, and theEU Councilin 2014. Italy is a recurrentnon-permanent memberof theUN 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 inSomalia,Mozambique, andEast Timor. Italy provides support for NATO and UN operations inBosnia,Kosovo, andAlbania, and deployed over 2,000 troops to Afghanistan in support ofOperation Enduring Freedom(OEF) from 2003.
Italy supported international efforts to reconstruct and stabilise Iraq, but it had withdrawn itsmilitary contingentof 3,200 troops by 2006. In August 2006, Italy deployed about 2,450 troops for theUnited Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.Italy is one of the largest financiers of thePalestinian Authority, contributing €60 million in 2013 alone.
Themilitary history of Italychronicles a vast time period, lasting from the military conflicts fought by theancient peoples of Italy, most notably the conquest of the Mediterranean world by theancient Romans, through the expansion of the Italiancity-statesandmaritime republicsduring the medieval period and the involvement of thehistorical Italian statesin theItalian Warsand thewars of succession, to the Napoleonic period, theItalian unification, the campaigns of thecolonial empire, the twoworld wars, and into the modern day, with worldpeacekeepingoperations under the aegis ofNATO, theEUor theUN.
TheItalian Army,Navy,Air Force, andCarabiniericollectively form the Italian Armed Forces, under the command of theHigh Council of Defence, presided over by the president, per theConstitution of Italy. According to Article 78, theParliamenthas 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, theGuardia di Finanzahas 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'snuclear sharingstrategy, Italy hosts 90 USB61 nuclear bombslocated at theGhediandAvianoair 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 theDardoinfantry fighting vehicle, theB1 Centaurotank destroyer, and theArietetank, and among its aircraft are theMangustaattack helicopter, deployed on EU, NATO, and UN missions. It has at its disposalLeopard 1andM113armoured vehicles.
The Italian Navy is ablue-water navy. It was also formed in 1946 from what remained of theRegia 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 theRegia Aeronautica('Royal Air Force'). After World War II, it was renamed as theRegia Aeronautica. In 2021, the Italian Air Force operated 219 combat jets. A transport capability is guaranteed by a fleet of 27C-130JsandC-27J Spartan. The acrobatic display team is theFrecce Tricolori('Tricolour Arrows').
An autonomous corps of the military, the Carabinieri are thegendarmerieandmilitary policeof Italy, policing the military and civilian population alongsideItaly'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.
Italy is constituted of 20 regions (regioni)—five of which havespecial autonomous statuswhich enables them to enact legislation on additional matters.
Theregionicontain 107 provinces (province) or metropolitan cities (città metropolitane), and 7,904 municipalities (comuni).
In 2020, Italy had 60,317,116 inhabitants.Its 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-scaleinternal migration from the rural south to the industrial north, a consequence of theItalian economic miracleof the 1950–1960s. High fertility and birth rates persisted until the 1970s, after which they started to decline; thetotal 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 as of 2013 the TFR is expected to reach 1.6–1.8 in 2030,in 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 thefourth 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 ofItalian 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.
In the 1980s, until then a linguistically and culturally homogeneous society, Italy began to attract substantial flows of immigrants.After thefall 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 theArab Spring. Growing migration fluxes from Asia-Pacific (notably Chinaand the Philippines) and Latin America have been recorded.
In 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 excludeillegal immigrants, which was estimated to be 670,000 in 2008.About one millionRomaniancitizens are registered as living in Italy, representing the largest migrant population.
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 aregional 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 ofmass mediaand 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 inSouth Tyrol, andLadinas well in some parts of the same province and in parts of the neighbouring Trentino;andSlovenein the provinces ofTrieste,Gorizia, andUdine.Other Ethnologue, ISO, and UNESCO languages are not recognised under Italian law. Like France, Italy has signed theEuropean 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 theItalian 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).
TheHoly See, theepiscopal jurisdiction of Rome, contains the government ofVatican Cityand the worldwideCatholic Church. It is recognised as asovereignentity, 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 Italyis declining.Most Catholics are nominal; the Associated Press describesItalian Catholicismas "nominally embraced but rarely lived".Italy has the world'sfifth-largest Catholic populationand 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, whileProtestantismhas been growing.Italy has for centuries welcomed Jews expelled from other countries, notably Spain. However, about 20% of Italian Jews were killed duringthe Holocaust.This, together with emigration before and after World War II, has left around 28,000 Jews.There are 120,000 Hindusand 70,000 Sikhs.
The state devolves shares of income tax to recognised religious communities, under a regime known aseight 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 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: theliceoprepares students for university studies with a classical or scientific curriculum, while theistituto tecnicoand theistituto professionaleprepare pupils for vocations.
In 2018, secondary education was evaluated as being below the average amongOECDcountries.Italy scored below the OECD average in reading and science, and near the OECD average in mathematics.A wide gap exists between northern schools, which perform near average, and the south, which had much poorer results.
Tertiary education is divided betweenpublic universities, private universities, and the prestigious and selectivesuperior graduate schools, such as theScuola Normale Superiore di Pisa. 33 Italian universities were ranked among the world's top 500 in 2019.Bologna University, founded in 1088, is theoldest universitystill in operation,and one of the leading academic institutions in Europe.Bocconi University, theUniversità Cattolica del Sacro Cuore,LUISS, thePolytechnic University of Turin, thePolytechnic University of Milan, theSapienza University of Rome, and theUniversity of Milanare also ranked among the best.
Italy's life expectancy in 2015 was 80.5 years for men and 84.8 for women, placing the country5th in the world.Compared to other Western countries, Italy has a low rate of adult obesity (below 10%), as the health benefits of theMediterranean dietare very significant.In 2013,UNESCO, prompted by Italy, added the Mediterranean diet to theRepresentative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanityof 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 theServizio 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 theWorld 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.
Italy has an advancedmixed economythat is the third-largest in theeurozoneand13th-largestin the world bypurchasing power parity-adjusted GDP.It has theninth-largest national wealthand thethird-largest central bank gold reserve. As a founding member of theG7, the eurozone, and theOECD, it is one of the most industrialised nations and a leading country ininternational trade.It is adeveloped countryranked 30th on theHuman Development Index. It performs well inlife expectancy,healthcare,andeducation. The country is well known for its creative and innovative businesses,a competitive agricultural sector(with the world'slargest wine production),and for its influential and high-quality automobile, machinery, food, design, and fashion industries.
Italy is the world'ssixth-largest manufacturing countryand the second-largest in Europe,characterised by fewer multinational corporations than other economies of comparable size and many dynamicsmall 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's10th-largest exporterin 2019. Its closest trade ties are with other EU countries, and its largest export partners in 2019 were Germany (12%), France (11%), and the US (10%).
TheItalian automotive industryis a significant part of the country's 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 vehicles, frommass market-oriented brands such asFiatandpremiumbrands likeAlfa RomeoandMaseratito luxurysupercarssuch asPagani,Lamborghini, andFerrari.
TheBanca Monte dei Paschi di Sienais 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 strongcooperativesector with the largest share in the EU of the population (4.5%) employed by a cooperative.TheVal d'Agriarea, Basilicata, hosts the largestonshorehydrocarbon fieldin Europe.Moderate natural gas reserves, mainly in thePo Valleyand 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 ofpumice,pozzolana, andfeldspar.Another notable resource is marble, especially the famous whiteCarrara marblefrom Tuscany.
Italy is part of a monetary union, the eurozone, which represents around 330 million citizens, and of theEuropean 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, theeuro, in 2002.Its monetary policy is set by theEuropean Central Bank.
Italy was hit hard by the2007–2008 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 inpublic debt, that stood at over 132% of GDP in 2017,the second highest in the EU, after Greece.The largest portion ofItalian public debtis owned by national subjects, a major difference between Italy and Greece,and the level ofhousehold debtis much lower than the OECD average.
A gapingnorth–south divideis 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.Theyouth unemployment rate(32% in 2018) is extremely high.
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%,oliveorchards 8%,vineyards5%,citrusorchards 4%,sugar beets2%, and horticulture 2%. The remainder is primarily dedicated to pastures (26%) and feed grains (12%).
Italy is the world'slargest wine producer,and a leading producer ofolive oil, fruits (apples, olives, grapes, oranges, lemons, pears, apricots, hazelnuts, peaches, cherries, plums, strawberries, and kiwifruits), and vegetables (especially artichokes and tomatoes). The most famousItalian winesare theTuscanChiantiand thePiedmonteseBarolo. Other famous wines areBarbaresco,Barbera d'Asti,Brunello di Montalcino,Frascati,Montepulciano d'Abruzzo,Morellino di Scansano, and thesparkling winesFranciacortaandProsecco.
Quality goods in which Italy specialises, particularly wines andregional cheeses, are often protected under the quality assurance labelsDOC/DOP. Thisgeographical indication certificate, accredited by the EU, is considered important to avoid confusion withersatz goods.
Italy was the first country to build motorways, theautostrade, reserved for fast traffic and motor vehicles.In 2002 there were 668,721 km (415,524 mi) of serviceableroads in Italy, including 6,487 km (4,031 mi) of motorways, state-owned but privately operated byAtlantia. In 2005, about 34,667,000 cars (590 per 1,000 people) and 4,015,000 goods vehicles circulated on the network.
Therailway network, state-owned and operated byRete 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 isTrenitalia, part of FSI. High-speed trains are in three categories:Frecciarossa('red arrow') trains operate at a maximum 300km/h on dedicated high-speed tracks;Frecciargento('silver arrow') operate at a maximum 250km/h on high-speed and mainline tracks; andFrecciabianca('white arrow') operate on high-speed regional lines at a maximum 200km/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 ofMilan Malpensa AirportandRome Fiumicino Airport.Since 2021, Italy's flag carrier has beenITA Airways, which took over fromAlitalia.
In 2004, there were 43 major seaports, includingGenoa, 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.
Italy has become one of the world'slargest producers of renewable energy, ranking as the second largest producer in the EU and the ninth in the world.Wind power,hydroelectricity, andgeothermal powerare significantsources of electricity in the country.Renewable sourcesaccount 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 energyproduction alone accounted for 9% of electricity in 2014, making Italy the country with the highest contribution from solar energy in the world.TheMontalto di Castro Photovoltaic Power Station, completed in 2010, is the largest photovoltaic (PV) power station in Italy.Italy was the first country to exploitgeothermal energyto produce electricity.Nuclear power in Italywas abandoned after1987 referendums(in the wake of the 1986Chernobyl disaster), although Italy still imports nuclear energy from Italy-owned reactors in foreign territories.
Through the centuries, Italy has fostered a scientific community that produced major discoveries the sciences.Galileo Galileiplayed a major role in theScientific Revolutionand is considered the "father" ofobservational astronomy,modern physics,and thescientific method.
TheLaboratori 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 theInternational Centre for Theoretical Physicsconduct basic research. Trieste has the highest percentage of researchers in Europe, in relation to the population.Italy was ranked 26th in theGlobal Innovation Indexin 2024.There aretechnology parksin Italy such as the Science and Technology Parks Kilometro Rosso (Bergamo), theAREA 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 asscience museumssuch as theMuseo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinciin Milan.
The north–south large difference in income leads to a "digital divide".
People have visited Italy for centuries, yet the first tovisit the peninsula for tourismwere aristocrats during theGrand 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 thefourth most visited country, with a total of 57 million arrivals in 2023.In 2014, the income from travel and tourism was EUR163billion (10% of GDP) and 1,082,000 jobs were directly related to it (5% of employment).
Tourist interest is mainly inculture,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 theApennines,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 associationI 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 mostWorld Heritage Sitesof any country: 59,of which53 are cultural and 6 natural.
Italy is one of the birthplaces ofWestern cultureand acultural 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 thecultural and historical heritage of Europe.
Italy is known for its architectural achievements,such as the construction of arches, domes, and similar structures by ancient Rome, the founding of theRenaissance architectural movementin the late 14th to 16th centuries, and as the home ofPalladianism, a style that inspired movements such asNeoclassical architectureand 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 theBasilica of Sant'Ambrogioin 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 Brunelleschicontributed 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 wasSt. Peter's Basilica, designed byDonato Bramantein the early 16th century. Andrea Palladio influenced architects throughout Western Europe with the villas and palaces he designed.
TheBaroque periodproduced outstanding Italian architects. The most original work of late Baroque and Rococo architecture is thePalazzina di caccia of Stupinigi.In 1752,Luigi Vanvitellibegan the construction of theRoyal Palace of Caserta.In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Italy was influenced by theNeoclassical architecturalmovement. 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.
The history of Italian visual arts is significant toWestern painting.Roman artwas 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 oftrompe-l'œil, pseudo-perspective, and pure landscape.
The Italian Renaissance is considered to be thegolden ageof painting, spanning from the 14th through the mid-17th centuries and having significant influence outside Italy. Artists such asMasaccio,Filippo Lippi,Tintoretto,Sandro Botticelli,Leonardo da Vinci,Michelangelo,Raphael, andTitiantook painting to a higher level through the use ofperspective. Michelangelo was also active as a sculptor; his works include masterpieces such asDavid,Pietà, andMoses.
In the 15th and 16th centuries, theHigh Renaissancegave rise to a stylised art known asMannerism. 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 ofPiero della Francescaand the calm Virgins of Raphael were replaced by the troubled expressions ofPontormoand emotional intensity ofEl Greco.
In the 17th century, among the greatest painters ofItalian BaroqueareCaravaggio,Artemisia Gentileschi,Carlo Saraceni, andBartolomeo Manfredi. In the 18th century,Italian Rococowas mainly inspired byFrench Rococo. Italian Neoclassical sculpture focused, withAntonio Canova's nudes, on the idealist aspect of the movement.
In the 19th century, Romantic painters includedFrancesco HayezandFrancesco Podesti.Impressionismwas brought from France to Italy by theMacchiaioli, andrealismbyGioacchino TomaandGiuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo. In the 20th century, withfuturism, Italy rose again as a seminal country for evolution in painting and sculpture. Futurism was succeeded by the metaphysical paintings ofGiorgio de Chirico, who exerted an influence on thesurrealists.
Formal 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 asPliny the Elder,Pliny the Younger,Virgil,Horace,Propertius,Ovid, andLivy. The Romans were famous for their oral tradition, poetry, drama, and epigrams.In the early 13th century,Francis of Assisiwas the first Italian poet, with his religious songCanticle of the Sun.
At the court ofEmperor Frederick IIin 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 wasGiacomo da Lentini, inventor of thesonnetform; the most famous early sonneteer wasPetrarch.
Guido Guinizelliis the founder of theDolce 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 poetDante Alighieri, who established the basis of modern Italian. Dante's work, theDivine Comedy, is among the finest in literature.Petrarch andGiovanni Boccacciosought 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'sThe Decameron, a very popular collection of short stories.
Renaissance authors' works includeNiccolò Machiavelli'sThe Prince, an essay on political science in which the "effectual truth" is taken to be more important than any abstract ideal.Giovanni Francesco StraparolaandGiambattista Basile, who wroteThe Facetious Nights of Straparola(1550–55) and thePentamerone(1634), respectively, printed some of the first known versions of fairy tales in Europe.The Baroque period produced the clear scientific prose ofGalileo. In the 17th century, theArcadiansbegan a movement to restore simplicity and classical restraint to poetry.
Italian writers embraced Romanticism in the 19th century; it coincided with ideas of theRisorgimento, the movement that brought Italian unification. Unification was heralded by the poetsVittorio Alfieri,Ugo Foscolo, andGiacomo Leopardi. Works byAlessandro 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 calledverismo, which extolled realism, played a major role in Italian literature.Emilio Salgari, a writer of action-adventureswashbucklersand a pioneer of science fiction, published hisSandokanseries.In 1883,Carlo CollodipublishedThe Adventures of Pinocchio, which became the most celebrated children's classic by an Italian author and one of the world'smost translatednon-religious books.A movement calledfuturisminfluenced literature in the early 20th century.Filippo Tommaso MarinettiwroteManifesto of Futurismand 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 areGabriele D'Annunzio, nationalist poetGiosuè Carducci1906 Nobel laureate, realist writerGrazia Deledda1926 laureate, modern theatre authorLuigi Pirandelloin 1936, short story writerItalo Calvinoin 1960, poetsSalvatore Quasimodoin 1959 andEugenio Montalein 1975,Umberto Ecoin 1980, and satirist and theatre authorDario Foin 1997.
Italian philosophy had an influence onWestern philosophy, beginning with the Greeks and Romans, and Renaissance humanism, theAge of Enlightenment, andmodern philosophy.Formal philosophy was introduced to Italy byPythagoras, founder of the Italian school of philosophy inCrotone.Italian philosophers of the Greek period includeXenophanes,Parmenides, andZeno. Roman philosophers includeCicero,Lucretius,Seneca the Younger,Plutarch,Epictetus,Marcus Aurelius, andAugustine of Hippo.
Italian medieval philosophy was mainly Christian, and included theologians such asThomas Aquinas, a classical proponent ofnatural theology, who reintroducedAristotelian philosophyto Christianity.Renaissance philosophers include:Giordano Bruno, a major scientific figure of the West;Marsilio Ficino, a humanist philosopher; andNiccolò Machiavelli, a founder of modernpolitical science. Machiavelli's most famous work isThe Prince, whose contribution to political thought is the fundamental break between politicalidealismandrealism.University cities such as Padua, Bologna, and Naples remained centres of scholarship, with philosophers such asGiambattista Vico.Cesare Beccariawas a significant Enlightenment figure and a father ofclassical criminal theoryandpenology.
Italy had a renowned philosophical movement in the 1800s, withidealism,sensism, andempiricism.During the late 19th and 20th centuries, there were other movements that gained popularity, such asOntologism,anarchism, communism, socialism, futurism, fascism, and Christian democracy.Antonio Gramsciremains a relevant philosopher within communist theory, credited with creating the theory ofcultural hegemony. Italian philosophers were influential in development of the non-Marxistliberal socialismphilosophy. In the 1960s, left-wing activists adopted theanti-authoritarianpro-working class theories that became known asautonomismandworkerism.
Italian feministsincludeSibilla Aleramo,Alaide Gualberta Beccari, andAnna Maria Mozzoni, and proto-feminist philosophies had previously been touched upon by Italian writers. Italian educatorMaria Montessoricreated thephilosophy of education that bears her name.Giuseppe Peanowas a founder of analytic philosophy and the contemporary philosophy of mathematics. Analytic philosophers includeCarlo Penco,Gloria Origgi,Pieranna Garavaso, andLuciano Floridi.
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 theItalic peoplesand thetheatre 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 thetroubadours.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 ofFerraraand Rome were important for the rediscovery and renewal of theatre.
During the 16th into the 18th century,commedia dell'artewas a form ofimprovisational theatre, and is still performed. Travelling troupes of players set up an outdoor stage and provided amusement in the form ofjuggling,acrobatics, and humorous plays. Plays did not originate from written drama, but scenarios calledlazzi, loose frameworks around which actors would improvise. The characters of thecommediausually represent fixed social types and stock characters, each of which has a distinctcostume.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, withVincenza ArmaniandBarbara Flaminiaas the firstprima donnas.
Ballet originated in Italy during the Renaissance, as an outgrowth of court pageantry.
Fromfolktoclassical, 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 thesymphony, concerto, andsonata, trace their roots back to innovations in 16th- and 17th-century Italian music.
Italy's most famous composers include the RenaissancePalestrina,Monteverdi, andGesualdo; theBaroqueScarlatti, andVivaldi; the classicalPaganini, andRossini; and the RomanticVerdiandPuccini. 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 pianistMaurizio Polliniand tenorLuciano Pavarotti. Italy is known as the birthplace of opera.Italian operais believed to have been founded in the 17th century.
Introduced in the early 1920s,jazzgained a strong foothold in Italy, and remained popular despite xenophobic policies of the fascists. Italy was represented in theprogressive rockand pop movements of the 1970s, with bands such asPFM,Banco del Mutuo Soccorso,Le Orme,Goblin, andPooh.The same period saw diversification in thecinema of Italy, andCinecittàfilms included complex scores by composers includingEnnio Morricone. In the 1980s, the first star to emerge fromItalian hip hopwas singerJovanotti.Italian metal bands includeRhapsody of Fire,Lacuna Coil,Elvenking,Forgotten Tomb, andFleshgod Apocalypse.
Italy contributed to the development ofdiscoandelectronic music, withItalo disco, known for its futuristic sound and prominent use of synthesisers and drum machines, one of the earliest electronic dance genres.Producers such asGiorgio 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 theSanremo Music Festival, which served as inspiration for theEurovision Song Contest.Gigliola Cinquetti,Toto Cutugno, andMåneskinwon Eurovision, in1964,1990, and2021respectively. Singers such asDomenico Modugno,Mina,Andrea Bocelli,Raffaella Carrà,Il Volo,Al Bano,Toto Cutugno,Nek,Umberto Tozzi,Giorgia, Grammy winnerLaura Pausini,Eros Ramazzotti,Tiziano Ferro, Måneskin, and others have received international acclaim.
Italian cinema began just after theLumière brothersintroduced motion picture exhibitions.The first Italian director isVittorio Calcina, who filmedPope Leo XIIIin 1896.Cabiria, from 1914, is the most famous Italiansilent film.The oldest Europeanavant-gardecinema movement,Italian futurism, took place in the late 1910s.
After decline in the 1920s, the industry was revitalised in the 1930s with the arrival ofsound. A popular Italian genre, theTelefoni Bianchi, consisted of comedies with glamorous backgrounds.Calligrafismowas a sharp contrast to theTelefoni 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 renownedCinecittà studio, for the production ofFascist propaganda.
After World War II, Italian film was widely recognised and exported until an artistic decline occurred in the 1980s.Italian film directorsincludeFederico Fellini,Sergio Leone,Pier Paolo Pasolini,Duccio Tessari,Luchino Visconti,Vittorio De Sica,Michelangelo Antonioni, andRoberto Rossellini, recognised among the greatest of all time.The mid-1940s to the early 1950s was the heyday ofItalian 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 thecommedia all'italianagenre and otherfilm genres, such assword-and-sandalandspaghetti Westerns, were popular in the 1960s and 70s.Actresses such asSophia Lorenachieved international stardom. Erotic Italian thrillers, orgialli, produced by directors such asDario Argentoin the 1970s, influenced horror.Recently, the Italian scene has received only occasional attention, with movies such asLife Is Beautiful,Cinema Paradiso, andIl 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 anAcademy Awardnomination, with 47 wins.Italy is the most awarded country at the Academy Awards forBest Foreign Language Film, with 14 wins, 3Special Awards, and 31nominations.As of 2016, Italian films have won 12 Palmes d'Or,11Golden Lions,and 7Golden Bears.
The most popular sport isfootball.Italy'steamis one of the most successful, with fourWorld Cupvictories (1934,1938,1982, and2006) and twoUEFA Eurovictories (1968and2020).Italian clubs have won 48 major European trophies, making Italy the second most successful country in Europe, after Spain. Italy's top league isSerie Aand 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. Themen's teamwon three consecutiveWorld Championships(in 1990, 1994, and 1998).Italy men's basketball team's best results were gold atEuroBasket 1983and1999, and silver at the2004 Olympics.Lega Basket Serie Ais one of the most competitive in Europe.TheItaly national rugby union teamcompetes in theSix Nations Championship, and at theRugby World Cup.
Among individual sports, bicycle racing is popular;Italians have won theUCI World Championshipsmore than any other country, exceptBelgium. TheGiro d'Italiais a cycling race held every May and one of the threeGrand Tours. Alpine skiing is a widespread sport, and the country is a popular skiing destination.Italian skiers achieve good results inWinter Olympic Gamesand theAlpine Ski World Cup. Tennis has a significant following: it is the fourth most practised sport.TheRome Masters, founded in 1930, is one of the most prestigious tennis tournaments.Italian players won theDavis Cupin 1976 and theFed Cupin 2006, 2009, 2010, and 2013.
Motorsports are popular.Italy has won, by far, the most MotoGP World Championships. ItalianScuderia Ferrariis the oldest surviving team inGrand Prixracing,competing since 1948, and the most successful Formula One team with 232 wins. TheItalian Grand PrixofFormula Onehas been held since 1921always atAutodromo Nazionale Monza(except1980).Other successful Italian car manufacturers in motorsports areAlfa Romeo,Lancia,Maserati, andFiat.
Italy has been successful in the Olympics, taking part from thefirst Olympiadand in 47 Games out of 48 (not1904).Italianshave won 618 medals at theSummer Olympic Games, and 141 at the Winter Olympics, with 259 golds, the sixth most successful for total medals. The country hosted Winter Olympics in1956and2006, and will host another in2026; and a Summer games in1960.
Italian fashion has a long tradition.Top Global Fashion Capital Rankings(2013), byGlobal Language Monitor, ranked Rome sixth and Milan twelfth.Major Italian fashion labels—such asGucci,Armani,Prada,Versace,Valentino,Dolce & Gabbana—are among the finest fashion houses in the world. Jewellers such asBulgari,Damiani, andBuccellatiwere founded in Italy. The fashion magazineVogue Italiais 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 hostsFiera Milano, Europe's largest design fair.Milan hosts major design- and architecture-related events and venues, such as theFuori Saloneand theMilan Furniture Fair, and has been home to the designersBruno Munari,Lucio Fontana,Enrico Castellani, andPiero Manzoni.
Italian cuisineis heavily influenced byEtruscan,ancient Greek,ancient Roman,Byzantine,Arabic, andJewishcuisines.Significant changes occurred with the discovery of theNew World, with items such as potatoes, tomatoes, and maize becoming main ingredients from the 18th century.TheMediterranean dietforms the basis of Italian cuisine, which is rich inpasta, 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 underEU law.Italy is home to 395Michelin star-rated restaurants.Cheese,cold cuts, andwineare central to Italian cuisine, with regional declinations andprotected designation of originorprotected geographical indicationlabels, along withpizzaand 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 asmascarponeandricottaor exotic tastes such as cocoa, vanilla, and cinnamon.Gelato,tiramisu,andcassataare among the most famous examples of Italian desserts.
TheItalian meal structureis 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, calledmerenda(pl.:merende), are often included.
Public holidays include religious, national, and regional observances. Italy's National Day, theFesta 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 theItalian Unknown Soldierand a military parade alongVia dei Fori Imperialiin 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.TheEpiphanyis associated with thefolklorefigure ofBefana, a broomstick-riding old woman who, on the night of 5 January, brings good children gifts, and bad ones charcoal or bags of ashes.TheAssumption of Marycoincides withFerragostoon 15 August, the summer vacation period.The Italian nationalpatronal day, on 4 October, celebratesSaints 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 asDies Romanaand also referred to as Romaia, is the festival linked to thefoundation of Rome, celebrated on 21 April.
Festivals and festivities include thePalio di Sienahorse race,Holy Weekrites,Saracen Joustof Arezzo, and thecalcio storico fiorentino. In 2013,UNESCOincluded among theintangible cultural heritageItalian festivals andpasos, such as theVaria di Palmi, theMacchina di Santa RosainViterbo, andfaradda di li candareriinSassari.Other festivals includecarnivalsin Venice,Viareggio,Satriano di Lucania,Mamoiada, andIvrea. TheVenice Film Festival, awarding theGolden Lionand held since 1932, is the oldest in the world and one of the "Big Three" European film festivals, alongsideCannesandBerlin.
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