|RNational holiday:|N Anniversary of the Republic, June 2.
|RNature and climate:|N Comprises the Italian boot-like peninsula, the big islands Sicily and Sardina and the smaller islands Elba, between the Italian mainland and French Corsica, the Ponziane Islands, off the Golf of Gaeta, the Lipari Islands and Ustica Island, north of Sicilia, and Linosa Island, Pelagie Island and Pantelleria Island off the Tunisian coast.
The European Alps form Italy's natural northern border to France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia. Highest peak, Monte Rosa, reaches 4633 m.a.s.l.
The Italian peninsula is dominated by the Apennine mountainchain, running from northwest to southeast and bends westward and continues on the island Sicily. The highest peak of the Apennines is Monte Corno reaching 2914 m.a.s.l. There are some still active volcanoes in the Apennines, Etna on Sicily is the most known.
Between the Alps and the Apennines are the fertile plains surrounding Po river.
Extensive stockraising have devastated most of the natural forests in Italy. Vegetation is today mainly brushwood and steppe.
The fauna is destituted by man, but in inaccessible parts of the Apennines still live bears and wolfs. Many migratory birds stop by at the Po plains on their way between north Europe and Africa.
Average temperature in January between 2 and 5°C, with 0°C in the Alps and 10°C by the southern coasts. Average temperature in July between 20 and 25°C.
Percipitation between 600 and 800 mm.
|RPeople:|N Homogeneous Italian with small minorities of Germans, French and Slovenians in the north and Albanians in the south.
|REconomy:|N 10% of the labour force is occupied in agriculture, 32% in industry and commerce and 58% in services and government.
42% of the land is cultivated and the most important crops are grains, grapes, olives, citrus fruits and vegetables. italy is the world's largest producer of olive oil and Europe's largest producer of wine.
The farms are usually very small. Average area 7.5 hectares. less than 2% of the farms have bigger area than 50 hectares. Especially in the south vast areas are artificially irrigated.
The most important minerals are mercury, potash and sulphur, but Italy also have oil and fairly rich resources of natural gas.
Italian industry and manufacturing is well developed. Manufacturing is concentrated to the northern parts.
Textiles and clothing is one of the most important industries. Italian design has a world reputation.
Other important industries are steel, machinery, cars, shoes, machine tools and chemicals. Italy have an advanced industry producing aeroplanes and manufacturing of computers, TV:s and household machines is extensive.
The food industry is most important in southern Italy.
Tourism is an important source of income as more than 50 million tourists visit the country every year.
|RHistory:|N The whole Italian peninsula show remnants of settlements from the Stone Age. The Bronze Age, starting about 1500 BC saw several high cultures prosper, but about 1000 BC people from the Balkan Peninsula invaded and settled in the area. From this time Greek people lived in several colonies in southern Italy. These colonizers usually stayed in the coastal areas and founded several towns there.
About 700 BC the Etruscan people, living between the rivers Arno and Tibern, developed a high culture, with international contacts and an increasing wealth, and in the 6th century the Etruscans conquered vast areas.
During the 5th and 4th century BC the Po-valley was invaded by Celtic tribes from Central Europe. These tribes made raids and plundered vast areas. Best known is the plundering of Rome in 390BC.
These plunderings finally weakened the Etruscans so much that rome could expand to the north.
After these Celtic plunderings the townstate Rome armoured and expanded. First to the south and later to the north. At about 300 BC Rome had conquered the whole Italian peninsula from Pisa in the north.
The importance and power of Rome increased and competed with Carthage in the Mediterranean trade. Three wars were fought between these townstates. In the first, 264 to 241 BC, Rome conquered Sicily, Sardinia and Corsiq. In the second war, 218 to 201 bC, Rome conquered Carthage's colonies in Spain, and in the third war, in 146 BC, the town Carthage fell and was destroyed.
At this time Rome was at war also in Greece and Turkey and conquered the northernmost part of the Italian peninsula up to the Alps.Rome also conquered most of the Iberian peninsula and the coastal strip of Yugoslavia.
At the end of the 2nd century BC two germanic tribes conquered areas in southern France and destroyed two Roman armies. The people's assembly in Rome elected Gaius Marius consul and reelected him several years. He created a legionary army and defeated the intruding tribes 102 and 101 BC.
His legionary army became one of the bases for the Roman Empire. Under command of Gnaeus Pompejus a Roman army conquered vast areas in the Middle East in the 60:ies BC and an army under Caesar conquered all of Gallia (France). Caesar was elected dictator in 46BC but was murdered in 44. Ceasar had made the son of his niece, Caesar Octavianus, his heir, but the consul Marius Antonius tried to head the army. Octavianus and Antonius made peace and shared power. Octavianus stayed in Italy and Antonius moved to the eastern part of the empire. He entered an alliance with the Egyptian queen Cleopatra and also married her. This alliance was regarded as a treason by Rome and the armies of Octavianus and Antonius met in 31 BC and Antonius was defeated. Soon after this Antonius and Cleopatra committed suicide and the Roman empire was united under Octavianus. In 27 BC the senate gave him the name Augustus, the noble, and it is under this name he is most known today. He ruled an empire that surrounded the Mediterranean Sea and died in 14 AD.
Small areas were conquered by succeeding emperors. Britain in 43 AD, and emperor Trajanus, 98 to 117 AD, crossed the Danube and conquered Armenia, Assyria and Mesopotamia and reached the Persian Gulf.
During the 3rd century the authority and administration declined and the external enemies gained power. Eastern tribes harassed the country and the empire was bankrupt.
In 270 to 275 emperor Aurelianus reconquered most western areas but hundreds of towns were plundered and the empire never gained the old power and strength. Constantine, emperor from 306 to 337, founded Constantinopel that later became capital of the Eastern Roman Empire.
In the 4th century Goths settled in the Balkan area and in 378 they made an uprising extinquishing the emperors army and killing the emperor himself. The succeeding emperor, Theodisius, hired a new legionary army, most of the men were Goths and from then on almost all leading generals were Goths.
When Theodisius died 395 the empire was divided in an eastern and a western part by his sons. The western part was attacked several times and lost importance and strength. From 460 the emperors only ruled the Italian peninsula and the power was actually in the hands of their Gothic supreme commander. in 476 the general Odovakar gave the emperor pension and the eastern emperor was made emperor of the west. This is usually acknowledged as the end of the western Roman empire.
But the east Roman emperors did have no real power over the west and an attempt by emperor Justinianus, 527 to 565, to reconquer failed.
About 570 Langobards invaded and founded a Germanic country on the Italian soil. The Langobards threatened the Popes and in 754 the Frankish king Pippin the Short defeated the Langobards. He gave vast areas to the Pope, thus founding the Papal States. From 800 the Frankish kings called themselves Roman Emperors a title that 862 were given the German Emperors.
From the 10th century Italy was actually divided in a number of independent towns and principalities like Florence, Terrara, Mantua, Milan, Venice and Genoa.
But these rich and prosperous towns tempted French and Spanish conquerers that in the early 16th century attacked many of the towns and finally in 1159 most of Italy fell in Habsburg hands. The Habsburgs expanded their Italian areas in the 17th century.
However these invasions and conquests weakened the formerly very prosperous towns and and both economy and culture stagnated.
In the Napoleon wars France conquered the whole peninsula and in 1805 the kingdom Italy was established in personal union with France.
The Italian discontent with the French sovereignty was great, but in 1815, at the Congress of Vienna, Austrian sovereignty was reestablished as well as the kingdom of Sardinia and the Papal States.
Uprisings against the foreign powers started in the 1840:ies but were crushed by French and Austrian troops, but in 1859 Sardinian troops defeated Austria and in 1860 Sardinia supported uprisings in Sicily and in 1861 a new Italian kingdom was established. This newborn country in 1866 conquered Venezia and in 1871 in conquered the Papal States, leaving only the Vatican City in the hands of the Pope.
Italy participated in World War I against Germany and Austria and at the peace 1919 it received the Tyrol, Istria and Trieste.
The years after World War I was a time of economic depression and unemployment. The Fascists. led by Mussolini, took advantage of this and he became Prime Minister in 1922. He made himself dictator in 1925 and pursued a foreign policy that aimed at Italian dominance around the Mediterranean Sea.
In 1936 Italy conquered Ethiopia and in 1939 Albany. In 1940 joined Germany in World War II and declared war on the Allies.
Italian troops tried to conquer Greece but failed and in 1943 the Allies invaded southern Italy and Mussolini was dismissed. The new government signed a peace treaty with the Allies.
Mussolini fled to northern Italy and established a government there with German help, but he was executed by Partisans in 1945.
After the war monarchy was abolished in 1946 and Italy became a republic.
There has been a steady growth in industry and living standards since World War II but often the political scene has been unstable.
In the 1970:ies the Red Brigade terrorists kidnaped and murdered several people, among them the former Prime Minister Aldo Moro.
The Mafia have great influence both in economics and in politics, especially in the south, and in a referendum 1993 the Italian people approved electoral reforms amid political corruption.
