The history of Italy helps tourists to better understand its sights. The masterpieces of its great masters are a separate story, but they cannot be appreciated without understanding how much art is inseparable from the way of life of the peoples inhabiting the Apennine Peninsula.
Italy is the name of the southern lands of the small ancient people of Italians or Itals, which are mentioned in ancient writings as "Vitellium", "ιταλοί", "vituli", etc. Local tribes at war with each other claimed their piece of fertile land, and this did not contribute unification into a single state. with its imperial history and culture - a separate page.
As one art guide aptly put it, the history of Italy is a whole library that can be studied for centuries. But our goal is a short excursion into the depths of the centuries of this European treasury.
The climatic conditions of the Apennine Peninsula were harsher than in the Middle East and North Africa, but this land has given the world several civilizations. Some left behind amazing fortifications, others - magnificent architecture in the form of palazzo (palaces) and temples with sculptures. Much later, during the Renaissance, unsurpassed masterpieces of painting and arts and crafts appeared here.
The construction of the first large cities in Italy dates back no earlier than 1000 BC. Small and well-fortified settlements of a round shape or chaotic buildings on the edge of impregnable cliffs were built here. Some of them have survived to this day, but historians are sometimes at a loss to guess who they belonged to.
It is known that the territory of the peninsula has been inhabited by Neanderthals since the Paleolithic. Since the Neolithic era, 10,000 years ago, when the active settlement of the territory began, artifacts, buildings and ruins have left the ancient cultures - Terramare, Camuna, Canegrate, Vilanova and Remedello. Due to the frequent volcanic eruptions, solid buildings the ancient world and castle monuments have survived worse than in places where other civilizations flourished.
If you look at the ancient maps of Italy, it seems that they are incorrect, but the ancient geographers were accurate. It's just that the Apennine Peninsula juts far into the stormy Mediterranean Sea, it is "shaken" by earthquakes and geological processes changing outlines.
During the Ice Age, the peninsula was connected to nearby islands. The plains were flooded due to climate change, prompting tribes to relocate. Fertile land and a relatively warm climate contributed to the development of agriculture, the development of agriculture, which prompted the ancient hunters to settle.
Nations moved across Northern Italy until the Late Middle Ages. The ancient Greeks and Romans gave different names to the northern and southern lands. In the descriptions one can find "Έσπερία", "Αύσονία", "Οινώτρία". The lands south of the Alps joined Italy under the emperor Diocletian, and 3 new regions will add a dozen separate areas of the peninsula.
Italy is the cradle of many civilizations
In the south of Italy, agriculture developed, fishing villages settled in the coastal territories, but many mountain areas were empty. Because of the earthquakes, local peoples learned to build houses on piles and deep stone foundations. New cultures and civilizations developed:
- The Etruscans, who gave the Italians the alphabet, lived in the north and in the central part;
- The Venets settled in the northeast;
- The Ligurs mastered the coast of northwestern Italy;
- Siculs and Sicans came to Sicily;
- The Yapigi departed to the southeast;
- After the raids, the militant Gauls settled in the river valley.
In Tuscany (then Eturia), the Etruscans built cities, many of which still exist today - Perugia and Arezzo. The developed economy and culture contributed to the flourishing of the peoples living here. The Phoenicians and Hellenes, with their antiquity, who actively populated the coast in the 7th-5th centuries, contributed a lot to the cultural exchange. BC.
Ancient Rome period
The future cradle of civilizations was built on scattered hills, and gradually the settlements of the warring masters were united into, thanks to the construction. Year 754 BC. is considered to be the date of its founding by the Latins.
The politics and way of life of a warlike people are strife between patricians and plebeians, the conquest of neighboring lands, real triumphs and dubious successes. Roman soldiers in 290 BC conquered the lands of Central Italy."Pyrrhic victory" over the Greek general Pyrrhus in 265 BC. (with the loss of a large army of the Romans) - the time of the conquest of the southern lands.
Sculptural busts of most of the emperors and conquerors have survived - they are exhibited in museums in Rome.
Rome is known for endless military conflicts and the cruelty of its tyrants - emperors and generals. It is surprising, when did they manage to build their stunning masterpieces of architecture, such as the Colosseum (completed under Domitian in 96), in order to go there demanding "bread and circuses"?
Then there were the Punic Wars with Carthage (from 264 to 146 BC), the conquest of Corsica, Sicily and Sardinia, the spread of the Roman Empire to the west and east, which led to the formation of a major power in the Mediterranean.
Many pages of history have been deposited for everyone since school:
- The slave system and the uprising led by Spartacus (from 73 to 71 BC);
- The generation of a part of the lands of modern Italy and France (58–51 BC), up to Britain (43 AD);
- The annexation of Egypt to the Roman Empire (30 BC);
- The conquest of Judea and Palestine with the destruction of Jerusalem (the beginning of the 1st century, part of the events is described in the Bible);
- The development of the economy, the construction of roads throughout Europe and up to Jerusalem, the introduction of a common monetary system and the active construction of new cities.
The crisis and fall of the Roman Empire begins in the III century due to the loss of real power by the often replaced emperors and their palace intrigues. After that, the Visigoths (barbarians) captured and plundered its capital - Rome fell in 455. Many works of art were irretrievably lost, temples and palaces of noble Romans were destroyed, many prosperous cities were wiped off the face of the earth. The destructive work was completed by the Goths, Ostrogoths and Lombards.
Middle Ages and the period of papal rule
Historians claim that the power of the church is strengthened in different countries in times of devastation or before the beginning of any reformation. Cause – the peoples have no other support in society, as it was in Catholic Italy after the fall of Rome, and the papacy received unlimited power. This is the period of the Holy Roman Empire - a new form of power. But over time, the unlimited power and luxury of the papacy led to a conflict between ecclesiastical and secular authorities.
The new redistribution of territories, with the decline of the once prosperous state, led to the development of feudalism and primitive economic relations - the natural exchange of goods. The ruins of the once majestic cities were not restored, the fortified buildings were adapted for monasteries. The clergy levied cunning taxes on the poor population of Italy and sold them indulgences.
The Papal States were isolated in 756 in the basin of the Tiber and Ravenna. The period of the dark Middle Ages has come with its Inquisition and Gothic art.
Italy is gradually turning into an "apple of discord" for the stronger European states claiming dominance. New wars and conflicts have led to the fact that the map of Italy is constantly being redrawn. This is the territory of not just a dozen and a half regions, but the fiefdom of several empires!
During the Renaissance, separate regions and fortified cities developed -,. They shape their culture and even build colonies elsewhere in the Mediterranean. A developed economy and a strong fleet of the republics contribute to the strengthening of foreign economic relations and opposition to the authorities Ottoman Empire in the 15th - 16th centuries. Military conflicts and conquests did not stop, and later Napoleon's troops invaded Italy in 1796-1814.
Italian art during the Renaissance
Examining the masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance masters in the museums of Rome, tourists are amazed at how such works of art could have been created! The term (Renaissance or "Renaissance") originated in the 16th century - a period of spiritual Reformation that came with the Protestant movement of the German monk Martin Luther. Suppressed by the religious oppression of the inquisitors, medieval Europe began to awaken. Progressive medicine, science and art began to take timid steps.
This period is described in detail in the works of Giorgio Vasari (painter, historian and biographer of several artists, his contemporaries). Many creations of this period are well known to the world:
- "Venus" by Giorgione;
- "David";
- Leda and Swan;
- The Last Judgment by Michelangelo;
- The Fortune Teller;
- Allegory of Love and Time by Agnola Bronzino;
- "Sistine Madonna" and other works.
All these authors have left a noticeable mark on art. The Reformation brought a lively spirit to art - dynamic lines, natural proportions, lively emotions on the faces of the characters, more colors in the illuminated silhouettes. Religious circles of the Middle Ages considered such images unacceptable. Before that, Biblical subjects dominated art, but now illustrations to legends and myths, secular subjects and genre sketches have come. Fruits, colors and game appeared on the canvases - this is how the still life appeared. Portrait painting received a new round of development, but rich nobles still ordered it to poor masters.
Art critics have identified separately the periods of the Renaissance of Italy:
- Proto-Renaissance (XIII century - early XIV century, Nicolo Pisano, Cimabue, Giotto de Bondone);
- Early Renaissance (XIV century - early XV century, Sandro Botticelli, Donatello Masaccio, Gentile da Fabriano, Filippo Lippi, Andrea Mantegna, Luca Signorelli, Carlo Crivelli, Giovani Bellini);
- High Renaissance (XV and XVI centuries, Bramante, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Giorgione, Jacopo Sansovino, Titian);
- Late Renaissance (2nd half of the 16th - 17th centuries, Paolo Veronese, Jacopo Pontormo, Benvenuto Cellini, Agnolo Bronzino, Parmigianino Tintoretto, Andrea Palladio).
From the Reformation to the present day
Luther's reformation and the Protestant movement in Europe in the XIV-XV centuries significantly weakened the papal power, Italy also rose and developed., Florentine painting. Skillful tapestries and frescoes, sculptural and pictorial masterpieces adorned the basilicas and cathedrals under construction.
Talented sculptors and painters flock to Rome, willingly fulfilling orders for wealthy nobles for generous fees. Against the background of the flourishing of baroque art, the general poverty of the bulk of the population is leveled. But the fragmentation of the North and South of Italy is becoming more and more noticeable. In 1860-1866, with the troops, he liberated Italy from the Austrians for the sake of its unification.
Rome was finally liberated in 1870, becoming the capital of the united country. Around the same time, the papal authority was abolished and separated from the state. - all that was left to them from the numerous lands. Monarch of Italy Umberto I goes to an agreement with Austria-Hungary and Germany through the Triple Alliance.
Shocks and wars of the twentieth century
In the First World War (since 1915), Italians are fighting on the side of the Entente, and the signed peace Treaty of Saint Germain joins Trieste, South Tyrol and Istria, separated from Austria. The economy of the northern territories of the country is strengthening.
Since 1922, the power has led to the development of fascism in Italy, and in the Second World War it becomes an ally of the Third Reich. The charismatic Italian "leader" is supported by the people, unaware of the general catastrophe that is coming in Europe. The fate and outcome of the war for Italy was deplorable. For a long time, the people rose from the "dust and ashes", having gone through several economic and political crises in the country and in foreign policy.
Despite everything, Italy is rising rapidly - it is one of the most influential and economically developed countries in the European Union.
- "Mecca" for tourists and connoisseurs of art, - the world capital of fashion and shopping lovers. It hosts international festivals of opera and classical music. The largest cities in Italy are treasures of ancient artifacts and masterpieces of the Great Masters.
The capital of Italy is the cradle of several civilizations. A trip to Rome is an opportunity to immerse yourself in World history in a few days, from the depths of centuries to our time.
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The famous Russian poet Alexander Blok, having visited Italy, wrote 24 poems about this amazing country in 1909, which were included in his cycle "Italian Poems". The same enthusiastic impression about Italy is felt by any tourist who has visited it, even if he is not a poet. Ancient Roman architectural monuments, unique palaces, castles, cathedrals, museums with paintings by Raphael, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, and Michelangelo, magnificent ski, beach and spa resorts attract tens of millions of tourists to Italy every year ...
Geography of Italy
Italy is located on the Apennine Peninsula in south-central Europe. In the north, Italy borders with Switzerland and Austria, in the northeast with Slovenia, and in the northwest with France. Independent states San Marino and the Vatican are enclaves in Italy. In turn, Campione d "Italy" is an Italian enclave in France.
Italy owns several islands. The largest of them are Sicily and Sardinia. Italy is washed by five seas at once - the Mediterranean, Tyrrhenian, Ionian, Ligurian and Adriatic. The total area of this country is 301,338 sq. km, including the islands.
Throughout Italy, from north to south, stretch the Apennine Mountains, which border the Alps. The highest peak in Italy is Mont Blanc in the Alps (4,808 meters).
There are many rivers in Italy, but they are not too big. The most famous of them are Po (652 km), Adige, Brenta, Piave, and Reno.
Italy has several active volcanoes - Etna in Sicily, Vesuvius near Naples, and Stromboli and Vulcano in the Tyrrhenian Sea.
Capital
The capital of Italy is Rome, which is now home to about 2.8 million people. According to legend, it was founded by Romulus and Remus in 753 BC. Archeology claims that human settlements on the site of modern Rome existed long before this date.
Official language
The official language in Italy is Italian, which belongs to the Romance group of the Indo-European language family.
Religion
About 90% of Italy's population are Roman Catholics. Moreover, about 37% of Italians go to church every week (or more often).
State structure
According to the current Constitution of 1946, Italy is a parliamentary republic. The executive power belongs to the President, who is elected by the Parliament for 7 years.
Parliament in Italy is bicameral - the Senate of the Republic (315 people) and the Chamber of Deputies (630 people). The Prime Minister and Cabinet are appointed by the President, but they need parliamentary approval.
Climate and weather
The climate in Italy is temperate, but the weather fluctuates markedly depending on how far or close an Italian region is to the Alps and the sea.
The average annual air temperature in Italy is + 15.8C. The warmest months in Italy are July and August, when average temperature air reaches + 31C. The coldest month is January, when the average temperature is + 3C.
Sea in Italy
Italy is washed by the Mediterranean, Tyrrhenian, Ionian, Ligurian and Adriatic seas. The total coastline in Italy is 7,600 km.
Average temperature of the Adriatic Sea near Italy:
January - + 10C
- February - + 9C
- March - + 10C
- April - + 13C
- May - + 18С
- June - + 21C
- July - + 23C
- August - + 22C
- September - + 21C
- October - + 18С
- November - + 15C
- December - + 13C
Rivers and lakes
In Italy, most of the rivers flow in the north of the country. The largest Italian rivers are Po (652 km), Adige, Brenta, Piave, and Reno.
There are many lakes in the Alps in eastern Italy. The largest Italian lakes are Garda, Lake Maggiore, Como, and Ledro.
History of Italy
The history of few countries can be compared with the history of Italy. Probably only Greece can be put on a par with Italy in terms of the number of historical monuments.
Modern people settled in Italy about 40 thousand years ago. Before the Romans, the Umbrians, the Latins (in fact, the ancestors of the Romans), Samnites, Celts, and many other tribes lived here.
Around the 8-7th centuries BC. in the south of Italy and in Sicily, the ancient Greeks founded several of their colonial cities. On the coast of Sicily and Sardinia, the Phoenicians built their colonies.
Ancient Rome was originally a small agricultural community that appeared in the 8th century. BC, but gradually he spread his influence to near and distant lands. The result was a huge empire that embraced the entire Mediterranean. In the Ancient Roman Empire, Greek and Roman culture were combined into one civilization.
In the 2nd century A.D. the decline of the Roman Empire begins. It finally disintegrated in 395 into the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire. Ultimately, Italy was conquered by the Franks, Vandals, Huns, Goths, and other barbarians. In the 6th century A.D. the emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire conquered Rome and Italy from the barbarians, but the Germanic tribes of the Lombards managed to gain a foothold in the north of the country.
At the end of the 8th century A.D. part of the territory of Italy was included in the kingdom of the Frankish emperor Charlemagne. The Frankish kings helped form the Papal States in Central Italy, which belonged to the popes.
Many historians believe that it was because of the existence of the Papal Region that Italy was divided into feudal city-states for many centuries.
In the Middle Ages, the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire tried to subjugate Italian cities-states, however, they actively resisted these plans.
During this period, the heyday of the Italian maritime republics - Venice, Pisa, Genoa and Amalfi - begins. Very soon Venice and Genoa became the main traders in Europe with the East, thanks to which their wealth and power increased even more.
In turn, Florence at this time turned into European capital silk, wool, jewelry and banking.
From 1559, Italy was ruled by Habsburg Spain, and from 1713 it was conquered by Austria.
In the era Napoleonic Wars part of the Italian lands was annexed to France, and the rest of the territory was proclaimed the Kingdom of Italy.
On March 17, 1961, after the campaigns of the Italian army led by Giuseppe Garibaldi, the united Italian Kingdom was proclaimed. But only after 1866 Venice was annexed to the Italian Kingdom.
During the First World War, Italy sided with the Entente, as a result of which more than 650 thousand Italian soldiers died on the battlefields.
In late 1920 - early 1935, Benito Mussolini came to power in Italy. In 1939, Italy occupied Albania, and during the Second World War fought on the side of Germany and Japan. In September 1943, Italy surrendered.
In 1946 Italy became a Republic, and in 1949 it entered the NATO military bloc. In 1957, Italy was among the founders of the European Economic Union, which later became the European Union.
The culture
Italian history goes back several thousand years, which means that Italians have had a huge impact on European peoples.
Thanks to Italy, the world has received a large number of brilliant writers, artists, philosophers and scientists:
Literature - Giovanni Boccaccio, Dante Alighieri, Francesco Petrarca, Carlo Collodi, Josue Carducci and Umberto Eco;
- Classical music - Alessandro Scarlatti, Antonio Vivaldi, Gioacchino Rossini, Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini;
- Art - Giotto, Paolo Uccello, Botticelli, Piero della Francesca, Leonardo da Vinci, Rafael Santi, Titian and Michelangelo Buonarroti;
- Architecture - Donato Bramante, Andrea Palladio;
- Philosophy - Boethius, Anselm of Canterbury, Peter of Lombard, Francis of Assisi and Bonaventure;
- Science - Leonardo of Pisa, Paolo Toscanelli and Gerolamo Cardano;
- Navigators and travelers - Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci.
Kitchen
Italy is made up of twenty different regions and each has its own culinary traditions. Moreover, every Italian city, every village is sure to be proud of its own culinary recipe. In addition, the same dish is prepared differently in different regions of Italy. So, spaghetti in Naples tastes nothing like spaghetti in Piedmont.
The culinary traditions of some regions of Italy have been shaped by strong Arab or Greek influences. Other regional Italian cuisines have been heavily influenced by the French and Austrians.
In Italy, we definitely advise tourists to try the following traditional dishes: carpaccio, Caprese salad, frittata omelette, bruschetta borebrod, minestrone thick vegetable soup, cacucco thick fish soup, margarita pizza, closed pizza "calzone", pasta "bolognese", risotto, rolls of dough with cheese "cannoli".
In Italy, tourists should definitely try also local ice cream, because this country is considered his "homeland".
Italy is world famous for its wines. The tradition of Italian winemaking dates back to the era Ancient rome... Wine in Italy is made in almost all regions, from Sicily to Lombardy.
Sights of italy
Italy occupies, perhaps, one of the first places in the world in terms of the number of attractions. In Italian museums, thousands of paintings and sculptures by the great masters of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, the New Age and the present are kept. For tourists in Italy, we definitely advise you to see the following 10 best attractions:
Colosseum in Rome
The ancient Roman amphitheater Colosseum was built by the Roman emperors in 72-80 AD. Once upon a time, gladiator fights and whole sea battles were held in the Colosseum. Now the Colosseum is a symbol of Rome, which is visited by hundreds of thousands of tourists every year.
Roman forum
This was the name of the central square in ancient Rome. Until now, the Forum has preserved the ruins of several ancient Roman temples and basilicas (the Temple of Saturn, the Arch of Titus, Basildica Julius, the Temple of the Dioscuri).
Pantheon in Rome
This temple was built during the reign of Emperor Hadrian in the II century. AD Later the temple became the Catholic Church. The Italian kings Victor Emmanuel II and Umberto I are buried in it.
St. Mark's Square in Venice
It is on this square that the famous architectural and historical Venetian monuments are located - the Doge's Palace, Palazzo Dandolo, St. Mark's Cathedral, Logetta and Palazzo Grassi.
Basilica of Saint Clement
Built in Rome in 384 AD Until now, this basilica has preserved several amazing, very old frescoes ("The Life of St. Alexis", "Mass of St. Clement" and "The Posthumous Judgment").
Leaning tower of pisa
The Leaning Tower of Pisa was built in 1360 as the bell tower of a Catholic cathedral. Now the slope of this tower is about 3 degrees.
Trevi Fountain in Rome
This largest fountain in Rome to date was built in the middle of the 18th century by the architect Nicola Salvi. Italians are sure that if a person throws one coin into the Trevi Fountain, then he will come to Rome again. Every year, employees of the Roman public service remove coins worth hundreds of thousands of euros from this fountain.
Duomo Cathedral in Milan
The construction of this largest Gothic cathedral in the world took 430 years. Italians claim that it can accommodate about 40 thousand people. However, this information has not yet been officially confirmed.
Uffizi Gallery in Florence
This palace, which now houses an art gallery, was built in 1560-1581 by architects Giorgio Vasari and Bernardo Buontalenti. This museum now houses hundreds of paintings by great masters, including Botticelli, Giotto, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael and Titian.
Pompeii near Naples
The ancient Roman city of Pompeii was covered with ash from the Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Now Pompeii is an open-air museum, which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Cities and resorts of Italy
The largest Italian cities are Rome, Milan, Turin, Palermo, Naples, Genoa, Florence, Bari, Bologna, Catania, and Venice.
Italy has a large number of beautiful seaside resorts with great beaches.
Top 10 best beach resorts in Italy, in our opinion:
1.Island of Capri
2. Cefalu in Sicily
3. Amalfi on the Tyrrhenian Sea coast
4. Lido di Jesolo near Venice
5. Rimini
6.The island of Sardinia
7. Tropea in Calabria
8. Otranto
9. Scilla in Calabria
10. Castellammare del Golfo in Sicily
Top 10 best Italian beaches, in our opinion:
1. San Vito Lo Capo - Sicily
2. Isola del Giglio - Tuscany
3. Taormina - Sicily
4. Mondello - near Palermo, Sicily
5. Capalbio - Tuscany
6. Domus de Maria - Sardinia
7. Salina - Eopian Islands near Sardinia
8. Posada
9. Vendicari
10. Castiglione della Pescaia
Italy is also famous for its great ski resorts. The most popular of them are in the Dolomites - Cortina d'Ampezzo, Alta Pusteria, Val Gardena, Val di Fiemme, San Martino di Castrozza, Valle Isarco, Madonna di Campiglio, Val di Sole, Pinzolo, and Monte Bondone.
Many tourists come to Italy specifically to relax at local spa resorts. The most famous of them are Abano Terme, Merano, Sirmione, Montecatini Terme, Terme de Medici, San Giuliano Terme, and Ischia.
Souvenirs / shopping
For tourists from Italy, we recommend bringing Italian clothes and accessories, jewelry, bijouterie, olive oil, sweet and sour balsamic vinegar, Tuscan pie, various Italian biscuits, ceramics (we recommend buying them from small towns and villages), dishes, bed linen, towels, T-shirts, scarves of Italian football clubs, etc.
Opening hours of institutions
Banks work:
Mon-Fri: 08: 35-13.35 and 15: 00-16: 00
On Saturday banks are open until 13.30.
In some tourist regions, banks are open without lunch break.
Store opening hours:
Mon-Sat: 09: 00-13: 00 and 15: 30-19: 30
Some large shops are open without lunch until 20:00.
Many shops are also open on Sundays.
Mail:
Mon-Fri: 08:30 - 13:30
Sat: 08:30 - 13:00
Restaurants in Italy are generally open from 12:00 to 14:30 and from 19:00 to 23:00.
Visa
Ukrainians need to obtain a visa to enter Italy.
Currency
Italy is a member of the European Union. This means that the euro is used as currency on its territory.
At the mention of a country with this beautiful name, many people imagine pictures of rich architecture, bright sun, gorgeous food and fashion weeks. The origin of the word Italia is a moot point. The most widespread opinion says that this word is Greek and means “country of calves”.
Italy is a unique country. It is located in the center of the Mediterranean and occupies the territory of the peninsula in the form of a "boot", whose name is the Apennine, as well as the territory of the islands of Sicily and Sardinia and a number of small islands. Italy has access to four seas: Tyrrhenian, Ionian, Adriatic, Ligurian
The capital of Italy is the city of Rome, which has a long history. Other major cities are Milan, Naples, Palermo, Genoa. Italy has common borders with France, Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia. In addition, it has internal borders with the Vatican and San Marino.
Population density |
197.6 people per km² |
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Population |
59 464 644 people (according to the results of the last census) |
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301 thousand km² |
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Italian |
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Religion |
Catholicism |
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Form of government |
parliamentary republic with a presidential form of government |
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euro / EUR (1 euro = 100 euro cents) |
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Timezone |
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International dialing code |
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Domain zone on the Internet |
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Electricity |
220 V, 50 Hz (note that an adapter is required for non-European type plugs) |
Climate and weather
Italy is located on an elongated territory that unites the south and north. Therefore, it is impossible to say definitely what the climate is in this country. According to the climate, Italy can be divided into 3 zones: north, center and south. From the north, Italy is surrounded by the Alps, in winter it is cool and foggy (in January about 0 ° C), but in summer it is hot (in July about + 24 ° C), although it is sometimes rainy. In the mountains, snow can lie for up to 6 months, and on the tops of the mountains it lies constantly. In the central part of Italy, summers are hot (from +24 to 32 ° С), and winters are mild and warm (not lower than +5 ° С). The South is a paradise for tourists who love very hot weather. Here, 8 months a year (from March to October), the temperature is kept at the level of + 30-35 ° С, while winter here is very warm - +18 ... + 22 ° С.
The main time of the year, which accounts for the bulk of precipitation, is spring, as well as summer. Floods can occur in spring and summer.
Nature
Italy is a country with a rich and varied nature. Here you can find mountains, lakes, forests, seas and rivers. The rivers of Italy are full of fish, forests - mushrooms, birds and animals, mountains - clean air and unique flora.
Mountains, Alps and Apennines occupy about 80% of Italy. It is worth noting that there are active volcanoes in the south of the country. In addition, earthquakes are not uncommon here.
The rivers of Italy are shallow, but very beautiful. Few can resist beauty stormy river originating in the mountains and hurrying to fall into the sea. The largest river in Italy is the Po. Many lakes are located in the north, surrounded by mountains. The largest and deepest lake is Garda.
Forests cover more than a fifth of Italy. In this country, the flora is very diverse, especially in the north of the country in the mountains, where people do not manage. Many have heard about alpine meadows. And for good reason. Indeed, it is in the Alps that the meadows are lush and rich. They are often used as pastures. Clean air and cold mountain rivers, as well as alpine meadows, attract many tourists. In the south of the country there are palms, cork oaks, as well as such exotic plants as orange, lemon, olive, pomegranate, figs, walnuts. It is worth noting that there is little greenery in the cities of Italy. The parks are small and few in number.
The fauna of Italy is not surprising with its diversity. The forests are inhabited by bears, lynxes, wolves, fallow deer. In the mountains you can find marmots, mountain goats, which amaze with their ability to "rock climbing", foxes, martens, hares and squirrels. Italy is more of a “bird” country than an “animal” one. There are over 4,000 bird species on the territory of this country. Water world rich in cod, trout, mullet, tuna, which is good news for those who like fishing.
sights
You can endlessly talk about the sights of Italy. This country itself is one big attraction. However, let's go through the brightest of them.
Rome is the sacred Eternal City on seven hills. In this ancient city, a tourist simply needs to see the world famous Pantheon (the ancient temple of all the gods, which was erected in 27 BC); the antique Colosseum or the Flavian Amphitheater; ruins of the Forum; Palantin hill, from which the history of Rome began; Capitol Hill, where coins were minted; St. Mary's Church at the Heavenly Altar on the Capitol, which can be reached by a staircase of 122 steps; Sacred road (the main antique street of Rome), passing along which you can see many architectural monuments. In Rome, you can get close to the cradle of Catholicism - the Vatican. Also in the capital of Italy there are many museums where you can admire various works of art.
Milan is a fashion dream for chic performances and fine fabrics. However, Milan is not only famous for boutiques. In this worldwide famous city it is worth visiting the Duomo Cathedral, made in the Gothic style; in the church "Santa Maria delle Grazie", which is famous for the fresco by da Vinci "The Last Supper"; at the Brera art gallery; La Scala theater; the castle "Castello Sforzesco"; gallery Francesco Emmanuele.
Venice is one of the most famous cities in Italy, famous for its romance. Venice has almost 400 bridges, the most famous of which is the "Bridge of Sighs", which escorted criminals to prisons. Among the architecture of Venice, the Cathedral of San Marco is worth seeing; Doge's Palace; Correr Museum; the luxurious opera house "La Fenice". However, the main attraction of Venice is St. Mark's Square.
Verona is a city famous for the actions described in the Shakespeare play. Here you can visit the House of Juliet and the House of Romeo; Amphitheater; monument to Dante Alighieri; Verona Cathedral - main Catholic cathedral cities; church "Santa Maria Antica".
Among other sights of Italy, it is worth noting the Leaning Tower of Pisa on the Field of Miracles, which surprises tourists with its incredible slope.
And this is just the beginning. Italy is a country rich in history and culture, and each city has at least one attraction worth seeing.
Nutrition
Italians are a nation that has a special relationship with food. Italian cuisine is rich and varied. Like the climate, it differs in different regions of the country. The homeland of pasta is southern Italy. Here you can taste pasta with a variety of unimaginable sauces. Pizza is another of the national dishes of southern Italy. In the north of this country, they prefer rice (from which risotto is prepared), as well as corn porridge (polenta). At the same time, the northerners themselves note that real polenta or risotto should be cooked over an open fire.
In general, food preparation has a significant place in Italy. Lunch is by no means missed here.
They love to cook here and seaming for the winter. The art of making cheese is part of the culture of Italy. It is here that the famous mozzarella, parmesan and gorgonzolla are made. In this country, they love coffee, especially cappuccino.
Italians also have a special relationship with alcohol. For lovers of a stronger drink, we advise you to try "grappa" - grape vodka. The Italians themselves say that having tried this drink, you will love or hate it. Wine occupies a special place in Italian cuisine. Italians are very jealous of wine and very rarely serve non-Italian wine. At the same time, we advise you to carefully choose this drink in restaurants: in certain places of your stay it is worth ordering a wine of a certain type.
Accommodation
In Italy you can choose suitable option from a wide range of accommodations: from branded world-class hotels to family resorts. Housing prices are also varied. The choice of a place to stay depends on the purpose of your stay in the country. However, we advise you to worry in advance about the place of temporary stay in Italy: there may be no places.
Today, farm accommodation is gaining popularity, especially in northern Italy. Here you are provided with tasty and healthy food, excellent views for a relatively low fee. In addition, you can set up your tent on the territory of the farm by agreement with its owner.
Don't forget about the accommodation tax for tourists. In Italy, its size depends on the place of stay of the tourist, but it should not exceed 5 € per night.
Entertainment and recreation
Italy is a country that loves football. Some believe that sports are taken more seriously in Italy than politics. While in this country, try not to get involved in the debate about football and respect the nation that loves this sport so reverently. Cycling is also loved in Italy. It is not for nothing that one of the three largest cycling races in Europe, the Giro d "Italia, takes place here every year.
Many tourists go to Italy for its unique beaches, others for its magical mountains.
Italian beaches are municipal and private. The first ones are free, the second ones are paid. The free beaches are sand and sea, and you will have to bring your own towel and umbrella. The private ones will offer you an umbrella, a shower stall and a towel. The most popular resort beaches are Rimini, Capri Island, Portofino, San Remo, Sorrento, Taormina.
The beaches of Sicily and Sardinia attract windsurfing enthusiasts. Mountain rivers are often visited by connoisseurs of rafting.
The Alps are simply a fabulous place for ski lovers.
except alpine skiing here you can go ice skating, visit the thermal pools.
Purchases
At the word Italy, the imagination draws us not only an unsurpassed landscape, but also chic boutiques in which mannequins are dressed according to the latest fashion. Where else but in Italy you can combine shopping with rest.
The largest trade cities in Italy are, of course, Rome and Milan - the capital of fashion. Plaza de España in Rome, as well as the streets adjacent to it, is the place where the main boutiques of Italy are located, where you can buy fashionable and, accordingly, expensive clothes and shoes. In Milan, the main place for fashionistas and couturiers is the "fashion" or "golden triangle" area, whose sides are the streets adjacent to the "Piazza Duomo": Via della Spiga, Via Sant "Andrea, Via Montenapoleone. leading Italian and world designers.
While in Italy, you should buy fashionable clothes, shoes, perfumes, and accessories. Do not forget about culinary delights: parmesan, martadella (sausage of extraordinary size, not at all like our sausage of the same name), sun-dried tomatoes, wine, olive oil. It should be noted that food prices (excluding fish and meat) are at the domestic level.
Opening hours of shops, excluding shopping centers and hypermarkets, are from 09:00 to 19:00 (or from 09:30 to 19:30) daily, except Sunday. Lunch in Italian shops from 13:00 to 15:00. At this time, you can sit in cozy cafes. Going to Italy in the second and third weeks of August, you need to be prepared for the fact that most shops are closed during this period. This is due to the national holidays.
You can pay in local stores in cash or by card.
Large, widespread sales in Italy take place twice a year: in winter (from January 7 to March 1) and in summer (from July 10 to the end of summer). The amount of discounts depends on the brand and location of the store: from 15 to 75%. World famous brands do not seek to reduce prices for their exclusive items, so discounts here are small. However, in stores of less popular trade marks you can buy quality items at a good discount.
Value added tax in Italy is 20%. It can be returned only to tourists from countries that are not members of the EU. Please note that VAT is refundable only for purchases over 155 €. In this case, the amount of VAT refund will decrease by the amount of the administrative tax (14.5%) of the purchase price. To apply for a VAT refund, you must have with you a receipt for payment for the goods, a Tax-free receipt issued in the store, and a passport. Yes, and don't forget to have your unopened purchase with you.
Transport
You can travel around Italy by rail, car or bus.
The bus is the most popular form of transport, especially in the mountains. All major bus companies are part of the IBus transport alliance. Thanks to this, you can travel around Italy by bus without any problems. In addition, you can visit other European countries on the buses of the IBus alliance.
There are 9 types of trains in Italy. Some of them are more expensive, others are cheaper. For example, Interregionale and Regionale are inexpensive types of trains, but they are unstable and often stop along the way.
Intercity trains run more consistently, but they are not entirely comfortable. Their cars are divided into compartments with six seats, so it is not very comfortable to sit there. However, on this train, you will be provided with a specific seat indicated on the ticket.
Certain guaranteed seats are also available on train types TBiz, Eurostar Italia, Intercity Plus. The carriages of the TBiz and Eurostar Italia trains have sockets. Tickets for this type of train are not cheap.
We would like to note that there are often long queues at railway stations, so it is worth arriving early for tickets. You won't be able to get through with a "hare": there are always conductors on Italian trains who closely monitor free riders and are always ready to demand a fine of 50 € from them. However, remember that the conductors do not have to stamp your ticket, you must do this before boarding in the yellow box (Convalida).
If you want to travel a lot in Italy, you can purchase the Trenitalia Card. With its help, you have the right to travel for the selected number of days. However, for travel on trains such as TBiz, Eurostar Italia, Intercity Plus and Intercity you will have to pay an additional fee (from 5 to 25 €).
The quality of the northern roads differs significantly from the southern ones: in the south of Italy the roads are worse, the number of highways is less. Most motorways charge a toll. The speed limit on toll motorways is 130 km / h, on free ones - 110 km / h. Note that you are constantly monitored by cameras to detect speed violations. If you do not want troubles in a foreign country, do not violate the traffic rules.
Most cities offer a one-day pass for which you will have to pay about 2 €, a pass for a week will cost you 12 €.
Taxis can be ordered by telephone, which can be advised at the hotel, at the railway station or at the bar. As a rule, the cost of a taxi trip includes the costs of the taxi driver for arriving at the place of departure. Taxis in Italy have a lot of prices: for boarding, for luggage, for a night crossing, etc. Each car has a plate with a detailed description of services and prices in English.
Water transport is usually represented by ferries.
The number of service companies is very large. They can take you to the nearby islands of Italy such as Sicily, Elba and Sardinia, as well as from smaller islands and between continental cities. The regularity of ferry services depends on the destination. So, from the island of Elba to the continent by ferry, you can get 15 times a day, and from some small islands - once a day.
Connection
Internet. Wireless Internet is widespread here, which can be either paid or free. Internet cafes are common. The cost of the Internet in such establishments ranges from 1 to 2 € per hour.
Telephone. If you want to call an Italian number, you must dial it in full, along with the code. Number mobile phone starts with 3, and landline - from 0. There are three mobile operators in Italy - Vodafone, Telecon Italia and Wind Telecomunicazioni. Roaming in Italy is quite expensive, so many people prefer to purchase a SIM-card from an Italian operator. SIM-card price is fixed - € 10. The most suitable tariff for a tourist is the Prepaid tariff (no contract is required for its purchase).
Security
Tourists are very often victims of fraud in foreign countries. Therefore, be careful!
To avoid misunderstandings, remember that you have to pay for a photo with people in suits, animals or birds (including pigeons) on the street.
Remember that if you decide to ride the train without a ticket, the fine is 50 €, and you must validate your ticket before boarding the train, but not after.
The amount of the fine for speeding depends on how much you exceeded the speed: for 5 km / h - a fine of 35 €, for 30 km / h - a fine of 250 €. If you exceed the speed limit by more than 30 km / h, you will have to pay a € 500 fine and surrender your driver's license.
We bring to your attention numbers for emergency cases(such calls are free):
112 - emergency calls;
113 - police;
115 - fire service;
118 - ambulance.
Business climate
Italy is a country that occupies one of the leading positions in the world economy. The Italian legislation provides for a wide variety of organizational and legal forms. Each of them has its own characteristics of creation, activity and liquidation. There are a lot of representatives of small businesses, small entrepreneurs who are engaged in various activities: from trade to cheese production.
Taxation in Italy has many nuances. In addition, a distinction is made between federal taxation, the proceeds of which go to the development of the country as a whole, and regional taxation, the funds of which are directed to improving and solving the problems of a particular region. We can say that those regions where more responsible taxpayers live are better off. The general income tax rate is 37.25%. It is worth noting that VAT in Italy can be paid at five rates.
Italy is famous for its exhibitions and conferences. It hosts international exhibitions in a variety of areas: architecture and design, textiles and floristry, cosmetics and perfumery, asphalt and energy, cars and IT technologies. All of them are united by a high level of organization, the most modern and leading technologies. Most of them are held in Milan, Verona, Bologna. The world's leading companies from various countries present their products and services at these exhibitions. This is a great way to "show yourself and see others." By the way, companies can take part in them in absentia.
Real estate
Real estate in Italy is very popular. Prices for it vary greatly depending on its location. So, small apartment in a large city you can buy for 100,000 €, while you can buy the same apartment in Liguria for 250,000 €. The cost of a villa in the outskirts of Venice or near Rome will cost € 6,000,000 and more. A rural villa can be purchased for € 2,500,000.
Italian laws allow a citizen of any country to buy real estate in Italy. However, you cannot apply for a residence permit in this case.
Very often in the "Duomo of Milan" visitors are not allowed in shorts and with bare shoulders. To avoid misunderstandings, take care of your appearance when planning your visits to this cultural property.
- a sea and mountainous country located in the south of Europe from the Alps to the Mediterranean Sea, occupies the Apennine Peninsula, the islands of Sicily, Sardinia, etc. In the north-west, Italy borders with France, in the north - with Switzerland and Austria, and in the north-east - with Slovenia. It is washed in the east by the Adriatic Sea, in the west by the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian seas, in the south by the Ionian and Mediterranean seas. Within Italy are the tiny states of San Marino and the Vatican.
The country is named after the ethnonym of the Italic tribe.
Official name: Italian Republic
Capital: Rome
The area of the land: 301 thousand sq. km
Total population: 60 million people
Administrative division: Italy is divided into 20 provinces with 94 provinces. Areas: Abruzzi, Basilica ta, Vale d "Aosta, Veneto, Calabria, Campania, Lazio, Liguria, Lombardy, Marche, Molise, Puglia, Piedmont, Sardinia, Sicily, Tuscany, Trentino Alto Adigeuli, Umbria, Fri Venice Giulia, Emilia Romagna.
Form of government: Republic.
Head of State: President elected for a term of 7 years.
Population composition: 94% are Italians. The corresponding sub-ethnic groups are also distinguished (Sicilians, Sardinians, Tuscans, Calabrians, Ligurians, etc.)
Friuli (furlans) also live, who live in the north of Italy in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, the Romansh (Romansh) and Ladins who live in the North. Italy living in several valleys of the Dolomites around the Sella massif (Trentino-Alto Adige region). Of the foreigners live: Germans, French, Slovenes, Greeks, Albanians, but their number is insignificant.
Official language: Italian, but each region has its own dialects. German officially recognized as equal with Italian in Bolzano and South Tyrol, Slovene has regional status in Gorizia and Trieste, French- in the Aosta Valley. Frule in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region.
Religion: 96% are Catholics, 4% are atheists.
Internet domain: .it
Mains voltage: ~ 230 V, 50 Hz
Country dialing code: +39
Country barcode: 80-83
Climate
Italy is located in a zone of subtropical Mediterranean climate, and the influence of the sea is enhanced by the Alps, which are a barrier to northerly and westerly winds.
In the Alpine (northernmost) zone, the climate has a continental character, the altitudinal zonation is manifested. At the foot of the Alps, the average July temperature is 20-22 ° C. In Bardonecchia (western part), the average annual temperature is 7.4 ° C, and the average annual rainfall is 660 mm. The eastern part is less warm with more moisture, in Cortina d'Ampezzo these figures are 6.6 ° C and 1055 mm.
In Valle d'Aosta (western part of the zone), permanent snow cover starts at 3110 m, and in the Julian Alps, snow falls to 2545 m.In autumn and winter, a hot dry foehn blowing from Switzerland or Austria sometimes causes sharp temperature rises in some valleys (Aosta, Susa). In the eastern part of the Alps, gusts of dry and cold bora winds can reach 200 km / h. In summer, it rains in high-altitude regions, and in autumn and spring it moves to the edges of the climatic zone.
Snow falls only in winter, the amount (from 3 to 10 m) depends on the year and the proximity to the coast. The foothills receive more heavy snowfalls than the mountainous regions. In mountainous areas, frosts are frequent up to 15-20 ° С. The lakes located in the region soften the local climate, the average January temperature in Milan is 1 ° C, and in Salo, on Lake Garda - 4 ° C. There are several hundred glaciers on the territory of the Italian Alps, such as Miagge (in the Mont Blanc massif, the largest in Italy) and Calderone (on Mount Corno Grande, the southernmost in Europe).
On the Padan Plain, the climate is transitional from subtropical to temperate - hot summers and severe winters, softening when moving to the eastern coast. In Turin, the average winter temperature is 0.3 ° C, summer - 23 ° C. It rains mainly in the off-season, increasing with altitude. Little snow falls on the high plains. Temperatures on the Adriatic coast rise from north to south partly due to increased latitude and partly due to a shift in prevailing winds from east to south. The average annual temperature in Venice is 13.6 ° C, in Ancona - 16 ° C, and in Bari - 17 ° C. Precipitation is small - 750 mm in Venice, 650 mm in Ancona and 600 mm in Bari.
In the Apennines, the severity of winter is determined by the height, precipitation in the form of snow and rain is moderate (except in some places). Cyclones in the middle of winter cause frequent weather changes, and snow can fall in the southern regions. Average annual temperatures and rainfall are 12.1 ° C and 890 mm in Urbino (east), and 12.5 ° C and 1000 mm in Potenza (Basilicata region). On the eastern slopes of the Apennines and in the interior regions of the peninsula, 600-800 mm of precipitation falls per year, in the interior regions of Sicily and Sardinia - less than 500 mm per year.
Along the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Ligurian Riviera, the temperature and precipitation are influenced by the sea, full openness to the midday sun, the prevailing south-westerly winds and the proximity of the Apennine ridge, which does not let the northerly winds through. In Sanremo (western part of the riviera) annual precipitation is 680 mm, in La Spezia (southeastern part of the riviera) it is more rainy - 1150 mm. On the Adriatic coast, it is generally colder (by 1-2 ° C) and drier than on the shores of the Tyrrhenian Sea.
The mountainous Calabria and Sicily are surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea and therefore the temperatures are higher than in the mountains of the northern part of the peninsula. In the hinterland, it rarely rains in winter, with more rainfall in the western and northern regions of Sicily. In Reggio Calabria, the average annual temperature and rainfall are 18.2 ° C and 595 mm, in Palermo - 18 ° C and 970 mm, respectively.
From North Africa, a hot and very humid sirocco wind often blows, heating the air to 40-45 ° C and reaching the south of Sardinia. The climate of Sardinia is also influenced by the cold mistral that blows over its northwestern coast. In Sassari (north-west of the island) the average annual temperature and precipitation are 17 ° C and 580 mm, while in Orosei (the eastern coast of the island) these figures are 17.5 ° C and 540 mm.
Geography
The Italian Republic (Italy) is a state in the south of Europe, in the center of the Mediterranean. It borders with France in the northwest (border length - 488 km), with Switzerland (border length - 740 km) and Austria (border length - 430 km) in the north and Slovenia in the north-east (border length - 232 km). It also has internal borders with the Vatican (border length - 3.2 km) and San Marino (border length - 39 km). It is one of the states of the Schengen Agreement.
Italy is a predominantly mountainous country that occupies the Apennine Peninsula (on which the Apennine mountains ( highest point- Mount Corno Grande, 2914 m), the Padan plain, the southern slopes of the Alps (with the highest point of Western Europe, Mount Blanc, 4808 m), the islands of Sicily, Sardinia and a number of small islands (most of the small islands are divided into archipelagos, for example the Tuscan archipelago, which includes the island of Elba, to which Napoleon Bonaparte was exiled). Active volcanoes - (Vesuvius, Etna); earthquakes are frequent. The longest river in Italy is Po, its length is 682 km. The largest lake is Garda.
From the east, the Apennine Peninsula is washed by the Adriatic Sea with the Gulf of Venice in its northern part. The Otranto Strait between Apulia and Albania connects the Adriatic Sea with the Ionian Sea. Between Apulia and Calabria, the Gulf of Taranto penetrates deep into the land. The very narrow Strait of Messina separates Calabria from Sicily, and the Sicilian (or Tunisian) Strait, 135 km wide, separates Sicily from North Africa. The Tyrrhenian Sea is a basin triangular framed by Sardinia, Corsica, the Tuscan archipelago, the Apennine peninsula and Sicily. To the north of Corsica lies the Ligurian Sea with the Gulf of Genoa.
Flora and fauna
Vegetable world
The vegetation of Italy is even more varied than the soil. More than half of all European species are concentrated in the territory that makes up 1/30 of Europe. About 1/10 of the entire flora are endemic species, at the same time, many exotic plants have taken root in Italy, brought from other continents during the era of the great geographical discoveries.
The Alps and the Padan plain belong to the Central European forest zone, while the Apennine peninsula and islands lie in the subtropical Mediterranean. Altitudinal zonation is clearly manifested in the mountains.
Everywhere, with the exception of the highlands, cultural landscapes prevail. Once forests covered almost the entire Padan Plain and the Apennine Peninsula, but gradually, starting from the era of Ancient Rome, they were predatory exterminated for fuel and construction and now occupy only 21% of the territory, mainly in the mountains and hills, while the plains are practically treeless ... Italy would be even more treeless if it were not for the regular (albeit far from sufficient) plantations, which have been going on for more than 200 years.
The densely populated and almost entirely cultivated Padan Plain is practically devoid of wild vegetation. In the Po floodplain, along the roads, along the banks of canals and rivers, poplars, willows grow, white acacia... Among the monotonous fields one can come across oak, less often - birch and pine groves.
A strip of evergreen trees and shrubs stretches along the coastal lowlands of the Apennine Peninsula and islands. They penetrate the mountains along river valleys up to an altitude of 500-600 m above sea level. Stone and cork oaks, mastic trees, pine trees, cypresses, palms, cacti, agaves coexist here. The place of felled and burnt forests was taken by thickets of maquis, consisting of strawberry and carob trees, treelike juniper, gorse, oleander, wild olive, laurel. For drier places, another type of thickets is characteristic - garriga, consisting of odorous evergreen shrubs and perennial xerophytic grasses. However, the coastal zone is dominated by cultivated species, primarily subtropical: citrus fruits, olives, almonds, pomegranates, figs, man-planted cork oak groves.
In the Apennines, at an altitude of 500-800 m above sea level, evergreen subtropical vegetation is replaced by deciduous deciduous forests, more precisely, their small islands left after centuries of felling. In the Alps, however, they represent the lower vegetation belt. Oak forests with an admixture of chestnut, hornbeam, ash, beech are interspersed with orchards, vineyards, arable lands, potato plantings.
Above, the belt of mixed coniferous-beech forests begins (in the Alps at an altitude of 900 m, in the Apennines - 2000 m). Above them is a belt of coniferous forests, consisting of various European species of pine, spruce, larch, fir. Above the coniferous forests, there are subalpine tall grass meadows for which the Alps are especially famous. Further, they give way to alpine meadows, and finally, up to the very peaks or glaciers, there are slopes covered with moss and lichens. Saxifrage and primroses bloom in places at the very edge of the snowfields.
Animal world
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Due to the destruction of forests, the increase in population density and the area of cultivated land in Italy, few wild animals have survived. Only in hard-to-reach areas of the Alps and Apennines, mainly in reserves, are bears, wolves, chamois, roe deer found, on the island of Sardinia - a mouflon, a fallow deer, a wild forest cat. Wild boars are widespread. There are many foxes in the Alps.
Small predators and rodents (weasels, martens, marmots, squirrels) and hares are much better preserved. Hedgehogs and bats are ubiquitous. The world of reptiles and birds is rich. Italy abounds in lizards, snakes, turtles. The fauna of birds includes about 400 species. In the mountains there are goshawk, vulture, golden eagle, in the highlands of the Alps - wood grouse, hazel grouse, ptarmigan, swift. On the plains, along the shores of lakes, there are many geese and ducks. From marine fish, mullet, cod, sardines, tuna, flounder are of great commercial importance, and from river fish - carp, trout, and eel.
sights
- Pyramid of Cestius
Banks and currency
The monetary unit of Italy is the euro. Euro is equal to 100 cents. In circulation there are banknotes in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 euros, as well as coins in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents.
Open from Monday to Friday from 8.30 to 13.30 and from 15.00 to 16.15-16.30 (or one hour in the afternoon), Saturday and Sunday are days off. In Lombardy, many banks close at 13:00.
Currency can be exchanged at currency exchange offices, banks and post offices. At airports, as a rule, the rate is less favorable, but exchange offices there work around the clock. There are many exchange machines that accept US dollars. Credit cards and travelers' checks are widely used.
Visa, American Express, Mastercard, Diner "s Club and Carte Blanche are accepted in many restaurants, hotels, shops and department stores in cities. In establishments that accept cards, they usually display announcements in the" Carta - si "window. Most gas stations require cash payment In rural areas, card settlement is difficult.
Useful information for tourists
In Italy, there is a state monopoly on the sale of tobacco products - you can buy them at kiosks with a special emblem. Smoking is prohibited on public transport, in taxis, in most theaters and cinemas, and in some shops.
In Rome, too frivolous clothing such as shorts and T-shirts is not encouraged. In this form, they may not be allowed not only to museums and cathedrals, but also to shops. In the Vatican and in St. Peter's Basilica, shorts, very short skirts for women are unacceptable. The shoulders should not be exposed.
Florence is famous for leather goods and gold, Venice - for carnival masks and products from the famous Venetian glass, made on the island of Murano. Bring from Italy a hat made from Italian straws, a T-shirt from one of the many Italian football clubs and a bottle of the world famous Chianti wine.
When using Italian transport, remember:
1. The ticket must be bought in advance at tobacco shops or bars. It must be validated at the bus stop or in the passenger compartment, after which it will be valid for 75 minutes. For all types of transport - tickets of the same sample.
2. All stops are on demand.
Italy(Italian Italia), the official name is the Italian Republic (Italian Repubblica Italiana) - a state in the south of Europe, in the center of the Mediterranean. The country is named after the ethnonym of the Italic tribe.
It borders with France in the north-west (the length of the border is 488 km), with Switzerland (740 km) and Austria (430 km) - in the north and with Slovenia - in the north-east (232 km). It also has internal borders with the Vatican (3.2 km) and San Marino (39 km).
Occupies the Apennine Peninsula, the Padan Plain, the southern slopes of the Alps, the islands of Sicily, Sardinia and a number of small islands.
Italy is among the states of the Schengen Agreement.
State symbols
Flag
The Italian tricolor first appeared on January 7, 1797 in Emilia as the flag of the republic proclaimed by Giuseppe Compagnoni. During Napoleon's reign, the flag was also used as a symbol of the French Revolution.
After the Congress of Vienna and the Restoration, the tricolor remained a symbol of freedom and was used in the revolutionary movements of 1831 and 1848.
Article 12 of the Italian Constitution states that “the flag of Italy is a tricolor, green, white and red in the form of three equal vertical stripes. ”it: Bandiera italiana
National anthem
The Italian anthem, also known as "The Brothers of Italy" and "The Song of the Italians", has been unofficially the anthem of the Italian Republic since October 12, 1946. On November 17, 2005, the Senate passed the law on the official anthem in the first reading, but then the law did not pass and the anthem remained unofficial. The text of the anthem was written in the fall of 1847 by Goffredo Mameli, and the music, a little later, by the composer Mikel Novaro. In the 1980s, an excerpt from Giuseppe Verdi's opera Nabucco, which was performed as a hymn, was also widely circulated.
Coat of arms
The official emblem of the Italian Republic was unveiled by the President of Italy, Enrico de Nicola, on May 5, 1948. The design for the emblem was made by the artist Paolo Paschetto, who won the right in the 1946 and 1947 competitions among 500 other candidates and almost 800 designs.
The coat of arms is a white star with five corners - the symbol of the Risorgimento, which is enclosed in a wreath of oak leaves, symbolizing the strength and dignity of the Italian people.
Administrative division
The capital of the state is Rome. The country is divided into 20 regions - Valle d'Aosta, Lombardy, Trentino-Alto Adige, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Piedmont, Liguria, Veneto, Tuscany, Umbria, Emilia-Romagna, Marche, Abruzzo, Lazio, Molise, Basilicata, Campania, Calabria , Apulia, Sardinia and Sicily, (of which 5 - Sicily, Sardinia, Trentino-Alto Adige, Valle d'Aosta and Friuli-Venezia Giulia - have a special status), including 110 provinces as an administrative-territorial unit. The provinces, in turn, are divided into communes, with a total of 8101 communes. Autonomous regions have their own parliaments - regional councils and governments - juntas, which have powers in matters of local self-government.
Political structure
The head of state is the President of Italy.
The executive branch and the Government are headed by the President of the Council of Ministers of Italy.
Legislature - Italian bicameral parliament elected for 5 years.
Italian Chamber of Deputies - 630 members.
Italian Senate - 315 members.
Leading political parties - Left Democrats, Democratic Union, Italian People's Party, United Christian Democrats, Freedom People, League of the North. The parties are united in coalitions - right (People of Freedom, CDP, League of the North), and left (DPLS, SP, People's Party, environmentalists).
International membership:
UN (1955)
NATO (1949)
CE (1949)
EU (1957)
Trade unions and other public organizations:
The General Italian Confederation of Labor (VICT) was formed in 1906. It has 3.5 million members. Part of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). In 1948, the Italian Confederation of Workers' Trade Unions (ICPT) was created. The Italian Labor Union was formed in 1950.
In 1972, the Italian General Confederation of Labor, the Italian Confederation of Workers' Trade Unions and the Italian Labor Union merged into a federation.
The National League of Cooperatives was founded in 1886. It unites 7920 cooperatives. Part of the International Cooperative Alliance.
The Christian Association of Italian Workers is a Catholic organization of a semi-union type, founded by the Vatican in 1945. The number of members is 500 thousand.
Italian foreign policy
Until 1861, Italy was fragmented, therefore, numerous Italian states pursued their own foreign policy, focusing on neighboring powerful states.
Since 1861, the policy of a united Italy was aimed at joining the regions with the Italians living there, namely the Papal States, Trentino, Istria, Dalmatia. Also, Italy sought to create its own colonial empire. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, Italy annexed the Papal States. Further, she focused on Germany in foreign policy, since she wanted to gain a foothold in Tunisia, which France also claimed. However, due to the desire to annex Istria and Trentino, Italy enters into a confrontation with Austria-Hungary at the end of the 19th century. - the beginning of the 20th century.
Since 1914 Italy has been negotiating with the Entente, being in an alliance with Germany, bargaining with them. As a result, in 1915, the Entente countries promised Italy the desired territories if she agreed to side with the Entente. And in 1915 Italy attacks Austria-Hungary. As a result of the Paris Peace Conference of 1918, Italy received Istria, Trentino and a number of islands in the Adriatic Sea. After the First World War, Italy had a new rival - the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, which in 1929 became Yugoslavia.
After the Nazis came to power foreign policy Italy is becoming extremely radical. Conflicts with Yugoslavia became relevant until the end of World War II, as a result of which Italy returned Dalmatia, Istria to Yugoslavia, and granted independence to Albania. After World War II, Italy's policy was passive, the country followed in the mainstream of NATO and the United States in particular. The country was dominated by the idea of the role of Italy as the role of a "middle power". In the late 1980s, this ideology began to change in connection with the events in neighboring Yugoslavia. Italy began to pay more attention to the processes in the post-Yugoslav area and in the Mediterranean in general.
Italy took part in the NATO Balkan operation, in the Kosovo operation, and also sent its soldiers to Iraq and Afghanistan.
It was after the crisis in Kosovo that the idea of a “middle power” was transformed into the idea of a “world of protagonists,” that is, a world in which Italy has an important place. Later, Italy declared the Balkans an area of its "responsibility" within the framework of NATO.
Italy's foreign policy priorities include: the Mediterranean, the Balkan region, the United States, the European Union, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, and Russia.
Etymology
The origin of the word Italia is not exactly known. According to the most common point of view, the term came from Greece and means "country of calves." The bull was a symbol of the peoples inhabiting the south of Italy and was often depicted gutting the Roman she-wolf. Initially, the name Italia was applied only to that part of the territory that is now occupied by Southern Italy (present-day province of Calabria).
Ancient Rome
In the V-III centuries BC. NS. the territory of Italy was the main part of the Roman state.
Middle Ages
The characteristic form of the Italian medieval state was the city-state with a republican system. Early capitalist relations developed in the cities of Northern and Central Italy in the XIV-XVI centuries. So, Venice was ruled by the Doges, and in Genoa, Florence, Lucca and other cities a hereditary aristocratic system was formed (Medici in Florence, etc.). By the end of the Middle Ages, Italy and Germany, the only Western European countries, remained fragmented.
Renaissance
In the 16th century, the rule of Spain was consolidated in a significant part of Italy, after the war for the Spanish inheritance of 1701-1714, the rule of the Austrian Habsburgs. From the end of the 18th century, a movement for national liberation and the elimination of territorial fragmentation (Risorgimento) began in Italy. From the end of the 18th century to 1814, Italy was under French occupation; states dependent on Napoleonic France were created on its territory, which were ruled by relatives or henchmen of Napoleon. The Congress of Vienna in 1814-1815 restored feudal-absolutist monarchies in Italy.
New time.
The struggle for a united Italy was led by the Carbonari, "Young Italy" and other organizations, the key figures in which were Giuseppe Garibaldi and Giuseppe Mazzini. By the end of 1860, the territory of Italy was mainly united around the Kingdom of Sardinia (from 1861 the Kingdom of Italy), in 1870 Rome was annexed to the Italian Kingdom.
XX century
In 1922, after the Blackshirts campaign against Rome and the presentation of their demands to the king, the fascists came to power and established a dictatorship headed by Benito Mussolini (1922-1943). In 1929, according to the Lateran Treaty, Italy guaranteed the sovereignty of the Vatican. Italy captured Ethiopia (1935-1936), Albania (1939). Having entered into a military alliance with Nazi Germany and Japan, Italy in 1940 entered the Second world war... In 1945, the actions of the Resistance Movement (the highest point - the April Uprising of 1945) and the Anglo-American troops in Italy overthrew the fascist regime.
In 1946 Italy became a parliamentary republic.
In November 1947, the Constitution of the Italian Republic was adopted, it officially entered into force on January 1, 1948. After the Second World War, the Christian Democratic Party of Italy (CDP) established itself in the political arena, which formed governments in 1945-1981 and 1987-1992.
A sharp increase in corruption at all levels of government led to a change in the electoral system. Was approved on 4 August 1993 new law about parliamentary elections.
XXI Century
The post-war history of Italy is characterized by frequent changes of government. Silvio Berlusconi's government, formed in April 2005, has become the fifty-ninth in a row.
On April 9-10, 2006, elections to the Italian Chamber of Deputies took place. The center-left opposition, led by Romano Prodi (Union bloc), won.
Romano Prodi won by a narrow margin of just over 25,000 votes (49.81%). Silvio Berlusconi's House of Freedoms coalition received 49.74%. According to Italian law, a coalition that won a relative majority in the elections to the Chamber of Deputies automatically receives 54% of the seats in it. The opposition also won the Senate elections with a minimal advantage of one Senate seat.
Berlusconi, who came to power after the resignation of Giuliano Amato and the victory in the parliamentary elections of the Forza, Italia party on June 10, 2001, set a record for the length of tenure as chairman of the Council of Ministers.
After the publication of the election results, Silvio Berlusconi announced that he did not intend to admit defeat, and demanded a recount. On April 20, Italy's highest court declared Romano Prodi's final victory.
Early parliamentary elections were held in Italy on April 14, 2008, and Silvio Berlusconi's center-right coalition, The People of Freedom, triumphed in both chambers of parliament by about a 10 percent lead over its rivals. On May 8, Italy's richest man, 71-year-old Silvio Berlusconi, took over the Italian government for the third time.
Has diplomatic relations with The Russian Federation(installed from the USSR on February 7, 1924, interrupted by Italy on June 22, 1941, restored on October 25, 1944).
Geography
Italy is a predominantly mountainous country.
In the north - the southern slopes of the Alps with the highest point of Western Europe, Mount Blanc (4808 m), to the south - the Padan plain; on the peninsula - the Apennine mountains (the highest point is the Corno Grande mountain, 2914 m). The Apennines are also divided into: Ligurian, Tuscan-Emilian, Umbro-Marc, Abruzzian, Campanian, Lucanian, Calabrian Apennines and Sabini mountains. Also in the eastern part of the peninsula is the Gargano Peninsula, in the southeast and southwest of the Salentina and Calabria peninsulas, respectively. Active volcanoes - (Vesuvius, Etna); earthquakes are frequent.
Washing seas - from the east, the Apennine Peninsula is washed by the Adriatic Sea with the Gulf of Venice in its northern part. The Otranto Strait between Apulia and Albania connects the Adriatic Sea with the Ionian Sea. Between Apulia and Calabria, the Gulf of Taranto penetrates deep into the land. The very narrow Strait of Messina separates Calabria from Sicily, and the Sicilian (or Tunisian) Strait, 135 km wide, separates Sicily from North Africa. The Tyrrhenian Sea is a triangular basin flanked by Sardinia, Corsica, the Tuscan archipelago, the Apennine Peninsula and Sicily. To the north of Corsica lies the Ligurian Sea with the Gulf of Genoa.
In the northeastern part of the island of Sicily are the Nebrodi mountains, and in the southwestern part of the island of Sardinia the Campidano plain.
Most of the small islands are divided into archipelagos, such as the Tuscan archipelago, which includes the island of Elba, to which Napoleon Bonaparte was exiled.
The longest river in Italy is Po, its length is 682 km. The largest lake is Garda.
Earthquakes
Italy is in the rift area rocks therefore earthquakes are not uncommon. The largest earthquakes recorded in the XX and XXI centuries.
1908: earthquake in Reggio and the city of Messina
1915: earthquake in Marsica
1929: earthquake in Bologna
1932: earthquake in Abruzzo
1972: earthquake in Ancona
1976: earthquake in Friuli
1990: earthquake in Santa Lucia
1997: earthquake in Umbria and the Marche
2002: earthquake in San Giuliano and Puglia
2009: earthquake in L'Aquila
Volcanoes
Italy has both active and extinct volcanoes. Among them, there are four of the largest:
1 Etna is the tallest active volcano Europe - 3340 m. It is located in the northeast of the island of Sicily, presenting, along with other craters, a landscape of incredible beauty that opens from the coast of the Calabria region. The volcano is active.
2. Vesuvius - (1277 m) towers over Naples and the bay - this landscape is world famous. The most famous eruption of Vesuvius occurred in 79 AD. e., when almost completely under the lava and ash were Pompeii, Stabia, Herculaneum. The last time Vesuvius woke up in 1944, but experts say that in the future the volcano will be constantly active and very dangerous.
3. Stromboli is an active volcano that forms part of the Aeolian Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea.
4. Vulcano - another volcano of the Aeolian Islands, located on the island with the same name.
Minerals
Italy has a wide variety of minerals. But the deposits of many of them are small in terms of reserves, scattered over the territory of the country, and often lie inconvenient for development. So, in 1982, the mining of iron ore was completely stopped in the country, including on the island of Elba, on which the Etruscans were still mining iron.
Italy is much richer in lead-zinc ores with an admixture of silver and other metals. These deposits are located in Sardinia and the Eastern Alps. The Tuscany region is rich in reserves of pyrites and mercury ore - cinnabar, the reserves of which Italy ranks second in the world; Antimony ores occur in the limestones of Sardinia. Sulfur deposits, known since ancient Rome, are concentrated mainly in the Caltanissetta region on the island of Sicily. The bowels of Italy are rich in a variety of construction and finishing materials(marble, granite, tuff, etc.). Marble is quarried in a number of places, but especially in the Carrara region. In terms of reserves of other types of raw materials, the territory of Italy is poor. Anthracite is found in small quantities in the Valle d'Aosta region, colloidal lignites in Tuscany, peat and peat-like lignites. There are small deposits of manganese in Central Italy and Liguria. Bauxites, which were mined for a long time from the karst depressions of Apulia, are now almost exhausted. The island of Sicily has reserves of potash and rock salt, asphalt, bitumen.
Italy's energy resources meet the country's energy needs by only 15%. In Sardinia, Tuscany, Umbria, Calabria there are deposits of brown and low-quality coal. Limited oil reserves in the island of Sicily, the Padan Plain and the east coast of Central Italy provide less than 2% of Italy's oil needs. Natural gas deposits of the Padan Plain and its underwater continuation - the continental shelf of the Adriatic Sea are very important for the country's economy. Natural gas is found in the Northern, Central and Southern Apennines and Sicily.
In the post-war years, quite significant (for Italy) oil resources were discovered - in the Padan lowland, in the strip of alpine foothills, as well as on the island of Sicily. In addition to these are bituminous shales, on the island of Sicily in the Ragusa region, at San Valentino in the Abruzzo e Molise region, and in the Frosinone region (Lazio).
Economy
Advantages: A competitive and rather creative middle class. Sets fashion all over the world in the field of design, production and products, clothing and household appliances. The leading firms include Fiat (car industry), Montedison (plastics industry), Olivetti (communications), Benetton (clothing). High-performance agriculture and tourist products, famous fashion houses.
Weaknesses: Government deficits and rising debt are still large. Small economic growth, inefficient service sector, which is being intensively privatized. Unequal distribution of wealth between the rich North and the poor South, where unemployment is 3 times higher. Insufficient tax discipline, improving recently. Relatively small enterprises oriented towards international competition. Strong dependence on energy imports.
Italy is a highly developed industrial and agricultural country. The predominantly industrial and highly developed north and the poor, agricultural south. The gross national product per capita is $ 30,000 per year. Leading industries: mechanical engineering, metallurgy, chemical and petrochemical, light and food. Italy is one of the largest manufacturers and suppliers of cars, bicycles and mopeds, tractors, washing machines and refrigerators, typewriters and calculating machines, radio-electronic products, industrial equipment, steel pipes, plastics and chemical fibers, car tires as well as ready-to-wear and leather shoes, pasta, cheese, olive oil, wine, fruit and tomato preserves. Large-scale production of cement, natural essences and essential oils from flowers and fruits, art products from glass and faience, jewelry. Extraction of pyrites, mercury ores, natural gas, potash salt, dolomites, asbestos.
In agriculture, crop production prevails. The main crops are wheat, corn, rice (1st place in harvest in Europe; over 1 million tons per year), sugar beets. Italy is one of the world's largest and leading European producers of citrus fruits (over 3.3 million tons per year), tomatoes (over 5.5 million tons), grapes (about 10 million tons per year; over 90% is processed into wine), olives. Floriculture and poultry farming are developed.
Italy is the largest region of international tourism (over 50 million people a year). Tourism in Italy is one of the leading sectors of the economy and accounts for 12% of GDP. Now anyone can buy tours to Italy. Italy accounts for 5.6% of the global tourism market. According to this indicator, the country ranks third in the EU after France and Spain.
The monetary unit is the euro.
Total economically active population: 24.86 million (2007)
Agriculture - 4%, industry - 31%, tertiary sector - 65%.
Currently, the regional imbalances in Italy in the structure of employment are as follows:
1. Differences between the North-West and North-East regions remain insignificant. The percentage of people employed in the industrial sector in these regions is exactly the same. Differences are observed only in the number of people employed in the tertiary sector and agriculture. The North-West region is traditionally a more developed region, in which a powerful industry was formed earlier (here is the main industrial triangle of Italy Milan-Turin-Genoa). The northeastern region acquired its industrial structure after the 1970s, when powerful enterprises of the aluminum industry, energy, oil refining and petrochemicals were built in it.
2. The center has traditionally been characterized by average indicators for the country, and this region was considered a transitional region between the industrial north and the agrarian south. At present, the Center has also retained these middle positions, but earlier the gap between the Northern regions and the Center was more significant than at present. We can say that now the distribution of employed by sectors of the economy in the Northern and Central regions is almost the same. Only in terms of employment in the tertiary sector, the Central Region is significantly ahead of its northern neighbors (by 8-11%). This increase in the number of employed in the tertiary sector comes at the expense of the Lazio region, which is the metropolitan area and which naturally has the highest share of employment in the service sector in the country. In two districts of the Central Region (Tuscany and Umbria), the indicators remain about the same as the national average, but this does not smooth out the too high indicator in the tertiary sector of the Lazio region.
3. The southern part of Italy, which can be divided according to the physical and geographical principle into two regions (island and peninsular), is proposed to be divided in a slightly different way. Analyzing employment in the sectors of the economy of southern Italy, we can conclude that here, by analogy with the northern part, the southwestern and southeastern regions can also be distinguished. Between the western and eastern regions of the south (as opposed to the northern ones), there is no such uniformity in the distribution of the number of employed by sectors of the economy. So, the South-West region differs from the South-East region by a more pronounced predominance in the structure of employment of the tertiary sector of the economy, and in the South-East region the industrial sector is more developed. And uniting the South-West and South-East regions is a very high rate of employed in the agricultural sector, 7% and 9%, respectively, which is about 2 times higher than the national average. It should be noted that the employment rate in the agricultural sector back in 1995 was 11% in the South-West region, and 12% in the South-East.
Thus, the Center for Employment Indicators in Sectors of the Economy "pulled up" to the northern regions, and the South improved its employment structure by increasing the number of people employed in the tertiary and industrial sectors and, accordingly, reducing those employed in the agricultural sector. This gives grounds to single out in modern Italy a "dual" structure of employment of the population. The first part of this structure includes the regions of the North-West, North-East and Center, and the second - the South.
Due to the small territory and high population density, in modern Italy, the issue of waste recycling is acute (see Garbage Crisis in Italy).
In terms of its economic level, Italy occupies an intermediate position between the most economically developed countries and countries with an average level of development of productive forces. As in other highly developed countries, industry in Italy is the leading sector of the economy, although it employs a smaller part of the economically active population than in the intensively and disproportionately growing service sector. The value of industrial products exceeds the value of agricultural products, in which less capital is invested annually than in industry. Manufactured products are also sharply dominated by Italian exports. A significant part of Italy's national wealth is in the hands of monopolies, most of which are among the largest concerns of the capitalist world. They dominate the chemical and electrical industries (Montadison), the automotive industry (FIAT), and the rubber industry (Pirelli). At the same time, there are a great many medium, small and smallest firms in the country, mainly in the light and food industries, as well as in the production of household electrical appliances, equipment for the processing of synthetic materials, in some subsectors of machine-tool construction. Since the 70s, there has been a tendency towards a reduction in large and an increase in the role of small and medium-sized firms and enterprises. The Italian state actively and in various forms intervenes in the country's economy: its specialized bodies participate in joint-stock companies as holders of a controlling stake, industrial enterprises are created in accordance with various state programs. The state has become the country's largest entrepreneur. Its positions are especially strong in the energy sector, metallurgy, and shipbuilding. He also owns many light industry enterprises. The largest banks were also nationalized. In terms of the rate of development, the public sector surpasses the development of the Italian economy as a whole. V modern conditions state intervention in the economy is not limited to helping individual monopoly associations to develop the least profitable or requiring particularly large capital investment industries. The main goal of government intervention is to ensure the continuity of the reproduction process. A new important feature of the development of state-monopoly capitalism in Italy has become a nationwide long-term programming of the economy, reflecting the increased degree of concentration and centralization of production and capital, increased monopolization and nationalization of the economy.
Population
By the end of 2008, the population of Italy exceeded 60 million. At the moment, the country is in fourth place in terms of population among the countries of the European Union and in 23rd place among countries around the world. The population density is 199.2 people per sq. kilometer - the fifth place in the European Union. The highest density is in Northern Italy, home to almost half of the country's total population. The most densely populated areas of Italy are the plains of Campania, Lombardy and Liguria, where one square meter. km, there are over 300 inhabitants. This is due favorable conditions for the development of intensive agriculture, various industries, port activities and tourism here. The province of Naples in Campania is especially crowded with population, where 1 km². concentrated 2531 people. Mountainous areas are inhabited much less often. Here, the population density drops to 35 people per 1 km²., In the arid and economically underdeveloped regions of Sardinia and Basilicata, the population density is 60 people per 1 km².
After World War II, Italy experienced a prolonged economic boom, which caused rural migrations to cities and stopped emigration, as well as making the country an attractive destination for immigrants. The birth rate remained high until the 1970s, but soon dropped below the replacement level. In 2008, one in five Italian was over 65 years old. Despite this, mainly due to massive immigration in the last two decades, the 2000s saw an increase in the birth rate (especially in the northern regions) for the first time in many years. The fertility rate also increased: in 2008 it was 1.41 against 1.32 in 2005.
Population:
1931 - 41.2 million people
1960 - 51.0 million people
1977 - 56.3 million people
2000 - 57.7 million people
2007 - 60.1 million people
2008 - 59.9 million people
2009 - 60.2 million people
Immigrants in Italy
According to the data of the Italian government, as of January 2009, 3,891,295 foreign nationals were registered in Italy, which is about 6.5% of the total population. About half a million children of immigrants born in Italy play a significant role in the overall demographic picture. Also, a significant number of illegal immigrants live in the country. In May 2008, The Boston Globe estimated their number at 670,000.
With the expansion of the European Union, the latest wave of immigration has been from nearby countries, especially from Eastern Europe and increasingly Asia, replacing North Africa as the main source of migrants. About 800 thousand Romanians, of whom about 10% are Roma, are officially registered as living in Italy, overtaking other ethnic minorities such as Albanians and Moroccans in this parameter. The number of unregistered Romanians is difficult to calculate, but in 2007 the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network estimated their number at about half a million or more.
As of 2009, the geography of origin of foreign born Italian residents was presented as follows: Europe (53.5%), Africa (22.3%), Asia (15.8%), America (8.1%) and Oceania (0.06%). The distribution of the foreign population of Italy is uneven: 87.3% live in the most economically developed northern and central regions of the country, while only 12.7% live in the agricultural southern part of the peninsula.
Language
State language - Italian, belongs to the Romance group of languages of the Indo-European family. There are also different dialects of Italian in Italy. It is customary to divide all dialects into dialects of the North, Center and South. Modern Italian can be called a dialect that has managed to "make a career", it is widely used in social and political life. At the same time, in the Florentine dialect, they no longer talk about politics, but about culture, like the greatest people of art who were born in Florence - Dante Alighieri, Giovanni Boccaccio.
German is officially recognized as equal with Italian in Bolzano and South Tyrol, Slovene has regional status in Gorizia and Trieste, and French in the Aosta Valley.
Military establishment
The armed forces of Italy include: army, navy, air force, carabinieri; Draft age: 18 years old;
Service life: 10 months;
Active population (men): 15-49 years old - 14248674 in 2001;
Active population (men): correspond to military service 15-49 years - 12244166 for 2001;
Military labor reserves (reach draft age annually): 304369 people in 2001;
Military spending: $ 20.7 billion, or 1.7% of GDP
In Italy, a law was passed on the abolition of military service and the creation of a professional army. Young people born after December 31, 1985 are no longer eligible for conscription. "A landmark event" - so emotionally Italian Defense Minister Sergio Mattarella described the decision of the national parliament to abolish compulsory military service by 2007. However, emotions were quite appropriate here. First of all, because a full-fledged professional army is finally being born in the Apennines, and millions of young Italians will no longer have to experience contradictory feelings when receiving the notorious conscription summons. Indeed, a whole era is coming to an end, the beginning of which was laid by Napoleon back in 1802. However, if desired, the idea of forming an army according to the draft principle can be considered an Italian invention, since three centuries before Napoleon, the wise Nicolo Machiavelli put forward it, not believing in the power of the Florentine mercenaries.
Formally, the new law deals only with the suspension of military service, since Article 52 of the Italian Constitution provides that "the defense of the Fatherland is the sacred duty of a citizen." Thus, in the event of a war or other extreme situation, the practice of conscription into military service can be resumed. Nevertheless, it is obvious that Rome has taken a course towards creating a professional army, the number of which by the end of 2006 should be 190 thousand, that is, it will be reduced by 80 thousand troops. The law provides for a five-year service for soldiers with the option to renew the contract twice for two years. It is also possible to conclude a contract for only one year. It is assumed that, having left the ranks of the armed forces, most of yesterday's military personnel will be admitted to the police, fire brigades, and the civil defense service. Contract soldiers will be paid 2 million lire (about $ 1,000) a month, while now the rank and file receive only 180 thousand lira. In addition, the reform opens up the opportunity for women to occupy almost any position in all branches of the military.
Transport connection
Italy has a developed network of railways and highways. More than 90% of passengers and over 80% of cargo are transported by cars. In external traffic, sea transport prevails.
The merchant fleet of Italy has 1.5 thousand ships - 10th place in terms of total tonnage in the world.
In the internal transportation of goods and passengers, the main role is played by road transport, followed by rail. In terms of the level of electrification of railways, the country occupies one of the first places in the world.
A dense network of modern highways and railways links the cities of Northern Italy. Due to the elongation of the country from north to south, its network of railways and highways developed mainly in the meridional direction. Latitudinal communications, with the exception of the Padan plain, are not enough. Many roads and railways in Italy are laid on steep mountain slopes and therefore have many bridges and tunnels, which makes them more expensive to operate. In Italy, the role of road transport is exceptionally great: it accounts for 3/4 of all land transportation of goods. About half of the roads are in northern Italy; in the south of the country, the density of the road network is much less. Railways are inferior in importance to automobile roads, but now more capital is invested in railway construction than in road transport. Some of the main lines stand out sharply in terms of technical equipment. As a result of such modernization, for example, on the Rome-Florence line, the train can reach speeds of up to 200 km / h. Sea transport plays a very important role in both internal and external transport of the country. This is due to the position of Italy on the Mediterranean waterway, the large length of the coastline, and the presence of islands within the country. There are 144 ports on the shores of Italy. Oil and other mineral raw materials prevail in the turnover of the ports. The largest Italian port of Genoa is one of the most important in the entire Mediterranean. Genoa serves as a gateway to the outside world for the entire North-West of Italy, as well as for Switzerland. The main rival and competitor of Genoa on the Adriatic is Trieste, the second largest in Italy in terms of cargo turnover and one of the most important oil ports in Europe. Through Trieste, northeastern Italy connects with other countries of the Mediterranean, the Near and Middle East, East Africa and East Asia. The cargo turnover of the ports of southern Italy (Augusta and Taranto) has significantly increased, which is explained by the development of the oil refining and petrochemical industries. One of the country's largest passenger ports, Naples is the center of the Apennine peninsula's connections with Sicily, Sardinia and other islands.
River transport in Italy is poorly developed due to the lack of large rivers. The civil aviation of Italy is developing quite rapidly. Air lines connect the largest cities in Italy with many cities in Europe and other continents. The country's largest airports - Leonardo da Vinci near Rome, Malpensa and Linate near Milan, serve as important hubs for the international airline network. For economic development Italy's foreign economic relations are vital. Almost 15% of all imports are oil. Italy also imports raw materials for metallurgical and other industries. Machine tools, industrial equipment, timber, paper, different kinds food. The main export items are engineering products, mainly vehicles, various equipment, typewriters and calculating machines, agricultural and food products, especially fruits and vegetables, canned tomatoes, cheeses, ready-made dress, footwear, chemical and petrochemical products. Trade with France and Germany is especially active. Italy is annually visited by 50 million foreign tourists, mainly from Germany, France, and the United States. In Italy, the material base for receiving a large number of tourists has long been formed. In terms of the number of hotel rooms, it ranks first in Europe Abroad.
Pipeline transport: length of pipelines: crude oil - 6503 km, petroleum products - 2148 km, natural gas - 19400 km.
Italian time is 2 hours down from Moscow time.
Religion
As of March 31, 2003, the number of parishioners of the Roman Catholic Church in Italy ranges from 57,610,000 to 55,752,000 (about 96.77% of the Italian population), of which 33 to 38% are active parishioners; 10% of Catholics participate in various church services.
Among other Christian denominations, the largest are Jehovah's Witnesses (430,890 parishioners, of which 237,738 are publishers (2008)), the Assemblies of God in Italy, Orthodoxy, the Federation of Evangelical Churches in Italy (Waldensians, Lutherans, Baptists, Pentecostals, Seventh-day Adventists).
The culture
Holidays
January 1 - New Year (Il Capodanno);
January 6 - Epiphany (l'Epifania) or Befana (La Befana), Epiphany, Baptism of the Lord;
March 8 - International Women's Day (La Festa della Donna);
April 25 - Day of Liberation from Fascism and German occupation(La Liberazione);
May 1 - Labor Day (Labor Day) (La Festa del Lavoro);
June 2 - Day of the Proclamation of the Republic of Italy (La Festa della Repubblica);
August 15 - Ferragosto (Il Ferragosto) Assumption of the Virgin or Ascension (L'Assunzione);
November 2 - All Saints Day, Memorial Day (Il giorno della Commemorazione dei Defunti);
November 4 - Day of National Unity of Italy (La Festa delle Forze Armate);
December 25 - Christmas (Il Natale).