Italy facts for kids

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Italian Republic

Repubblica italiana
Flag of octopoop
Flag
{{{coat_alt}}}
Emblem
Anthem: Il Canto degli Italiani  
The Song of the Italians
Location of  Italy  (dark green)– on the European continent  (green & dark grey)– in the European Union  (green)  —  [Legend]
Location of  Italy  (dark green)

– on the European continent  (green & dark grey)
– in the European Union  (green)  —  [Legend]
Capital
and largest city
 Rome
Official languages Italian
Demonym(s) Italian
Government Unitary parliamentary
constitutional republic
Sergio Mattarella
Giuseppe Conte
• President of the Senate
 Elisabetta Casellati
• President of the
Chamber of Deputies
 Roberto Fico
Legislature Parliament
Senate of the Republic
Chamber of Deputies
Formation
17 March 1861
• Republic
 2 June 1946
Area
• Total
 301,338 km2 (116,347 sq mi) (71st)
• Water (%)
 2.4
Population
• April 2011 estimate
 60,681,514 (23rd)
• 2001 census
 56,995,744
• Density
 201.2/km2 (521.1/sq mi) (61st)
GDP (PPP) 2011 estimate
• Total
 $1.828 trillion (10th)
• Per capita
 $30,165 (30th)
GDP (nominal) 2011 estimate
• Total
 $2.245 trillion (8th)
• Per capita
 $37,046 (24th)
Gini (2006) 32
medium
HDI (2011) Increase 0.874
very high · 24th
Currency Euro (€)2 (EUR)
Time zone UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)
 UTC+2 (CEST)
Driving side right
Calling code 394
Internet TLD .it3
  1. French is co-official in the Aosta Valley; Slovene is co-official in the province of Trieste and the province of Gorizia; German and Ladin are co-official in the province of South Tyrol.
  2. Before 2002, the Italian Lira. The euro is accepted in Campione d'Italia, but the official currency there is the Swiss Franc.
  3. The .eu domain is also used, as it is shared with other European Union member states.
  4. To call Campione d'Italia, it is necessary to use the Swiss code +41.

Italy is a country in Europe and a member of the European Union. Its official name is Repubblica Italiana. Italy is a democratic republic and is a founding member of the European Union.

Italy is also a member of the G8, as it has the 8th largest Gross Domestic Product in the world. Before 1861, it was made up of smaller kingdoms and city-states.

Geography

Satellite image of Italy in March 2003
Satellite image of Italy

Italy is a peninsula, meaning it is encompassed by the sea on all of its sides apart from one side of the country (its north side). Northern Italy is separated from France, Switzerland, and Austria by the Alps, a chain of mountains. Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco in Italian or white mountain in English), the highest mountain in western Europe, belongs to this chain. The second important chain of mountains in Italy is the Apennines (Appennini in Italian), which are in central and southern Italy.

The capital of Italy is Rome. Other cities in Italy are Milan, Turin, Florence, Genoa, Naples, Palermo and Venice. The country has a number of islands, the biggest of which are Sicily and Sardinia, which can be reached by ship or aircraft.

The Po River is the longest river in Italy. It flows through 5 cities: Torino, Piacenza, Cremona Ferrara and Rovigo. The Tiber River runs through the city of Rome.

Northern Italy has some of the biggest lakes in the country, such as Lake Garda, Lake Como, Lake Maggiore and Lake Iseo. Because it is surrounded by the sea, Italy has many kilometers of coast, which brings tourists from all over the world. Tourists also come to see Italy's many historical places.

Two very small countries are located within Italy. They are San Marino, which is surrounded by part of Northern Italy, and the Vatican City, which is inside Rome.

People and culture

Leonardo self
Leonardo Da Vinci

People from Italy are called Italians. Nearly all the Italians are Christians, and most of these are Roman Catholics, which is based in the Vatican City and home to its leader, the Pope.

The population of Italy is a little over 60 million. About 2.7 million of them live in Rome, and 1.3 million in Milan. As of 31 December 2015, over 5 million foreigners were living in Italy, which is 8.3% of the total population.

The official language of Italy is Italian and in some small areas German, Slovenian or French. People also speak languages such as Sicilian and Sardinian, which are very similar to Italian, but are different dialects of Italian.

There are many different dialects spoken in Italy. They vary between regions and, in some cases, also between provinces.

The people of Italy are partly descendant from the ancient Romans.

Italy is home to more World Heritage Sites than any other nation in the world. These sites are culturally important and valued according to UNESCO. About 60% of the works of art of the world are in Italy. Italy is also a big wine producer. In 2005 it made over 5 million tonnes.

Economy

Italy has a modern social welfare system. The labor market enjoys relative strength, with many foreigners, especially from Romania, working in Italy where the wages are much higher. But it could have been much more workers on the labor market because men and women already retired in the age of 57 and the unemployment rate is relatively high at 8.2 percent. Italy's modern society has been built up through loans and now the country has a catastrophic high debt of €1.9trn or 120 percent of the country's total GDP. And the government can't pay back the loans during the time period the EU wish.

Religion

Italy religiosity
religion percent
Christianity
  
 90%
No religion
  
 7%
Islam
  
 2%
Others
  
 1%

Most people in Italy are Roman Catholics, but the Catholic Church is no longer officially the state religion. 87.8% of the people said they were Roman Catholic. Only about a third said they were active members (36.8%). There are also other Christian groups in Italy, more than 700,000 Eastern Orthodox Christians. 180,000 of them belong to the Greek Orthodox Church.

550,000 are Pentecostals and Evangelicals (0.8%). 235,685 Jehovah's Witnesses (0.4%), 30,000 Waldensians, 25,000 Seventh-day Adventists, 22,000 Mormons, 20,000 Baptists, 7,000 Lutherans, 4,000 Methodists. The country's oldest religious minority is the Jewish community. It has roughly 45,000 people. It is no longer the largest non-Christian group. About 825,000 Muslims live in Italy. Most of them immigrated. (1.4% of the total population) Only 50,000 are Italian citizens. In addition, there are 50,000 Buddhists 70,000 Sikh and 70,000 Hindus in Italy.

Regions

Italy is divided into 20 Regions (Regioni in Italian) and every Region is divided into Provinces.

There are 20 Regions. 5 of them have a special status, they are called autonomous. This means that they can make certain local laws more easily. These regions are marked with an asterisk (*) below.

Gondola-Venice-Italy
In Venice, gondolas are a way for people to get around.
Region Capital Area (km²) Population
Abruzzo L'Aquila &&&&&&&&&&010794.&&&&&010,794 &&&&&&&&01324000.&&&&&01,324,000
Aosta Valley* Aosta &&&&&&&&&&&03263.&&&&&03,263 &&&&&&&&&0126000.&&&&&0126,000
Apulia Bari &&&&&&&&&&019362.&&&&&019,362 &&&&&&&&04076000.&&&&&04,076,000
Basilicata Potenza &&&&&&&&&&&09992.&&&&&09,992 &&&&&&&&&0591000.&&&&&0591,000
Calabria Catanzaro &&&&&&&&&&015080.&&&&&015,080 &&&&&&&&02007000.&&&&&02,007,000
Campania Naples &&&&&&&&&&013595.&&&&&013,595 &&&&&&&&05811000.&&&&&05,811,000
Emilia-Romagna Bologna &&&&&&&&&&022124.&&&&&022,124 &&&&&&&&04276000.&&&&&04,276,000
Friuli-Venezia Giulia* Trieste &&&&&&&&&&&07855.&&&&&07,855 &&&&&&&&01222000.&&&&&01,222,000
Lazio Rome &&&&&&&&&&017207.&&&&&017,207 &&&&&&&&05561000.&&&&&05,561,000
Liguria Genoa &&&&&&&&&&&05421.&&&&&05,421 &&&&&&&&01610000.&&&&&01,610,000
Lombardy Milan &&&&&&&&&&023861.&&&&&023,861 &&&&&&&&09642000.&&&&&09,642,000
Marche Ancona &&&&&&&&&&&09694.&&&&&09,694 &&&&&&&&01553000.&&&&&01,553,000
Molise Campobasso &&&&&&&&&&&04438.&&&&&04,438 &&&&&&&&&0320000.&&&&&0320,000
Piedmont Turin &&&&&&&&&&025399.&&&&&025,399 &&&&&&&&04401000.&&&&&04,401,000
Sardinia* Cagliari &&&&&&&&&&024090.&&&&&024,090 &&&&&&&&01666000.&&&&&01,666,000
Sicily* Palermo &&&&&&&&&&025708.&&&&&025,708 &&&&&&&&05030000.&&&&&05,030,000
Tuscany Florence &&&&&&&&&&022997.&&&&&022,997 &&&&&&&&03677000.&&&&&03,677,000
Trentino-Alto Adige* Trento &&&&&&&&&&013607.&&&&&013,607 &&&&&&&&01007000.&&&&&01,007,000
Umbria Perugia &&&&&&&&&&&08456.&&&&&08,456 &&&&&&&&&0884000.&&&&&0884,000
Veneto Venice &&&&&&&&&&018391.&&&&&018,391 &&&&&&&&04832000.&&&&&04,832,000

Politics

Obelisk of montecitorio arp
The Chamber of Deputies

The Head of State is Sergio Mattarella, whose task began in February 2015. Mattarella is currently the President of the Italian Republic. The first president was Enrico De Nicola.

The Head of Government is Matteo Renzi, who became Prime Minister on February 22, 2014, succeeding Enrico Letta. Renzi was previously the Mayor of Florence and is Italy's youngest-ever Prime Minister, at age 39 when taking office.

Italy was one of the first members of the European Union and in 2002, along with 11 other European countries, it changed to using the euro as its official currency. Before this, the Italian lira had been used since 1861.

Anyone who wants to be President of Italy must have Italian citizenship, be at least 50 years old, and must be able to hold political and civil rights.

History

Colosseum in Rome, Italy - April 2007
The Colosseum in Rome. Its original name is Flavian Amphitheatre, being built under the Flavian dynasty, an imperial Family of the Ancient Rome.
Leaning tower of pisa 2
Leaning Tower of Pisa

Before 1861, Italy was not a state. The area was made of a group of independent states, ruled by other countries (such as Austria, France, and Spain). In the 1850s the Earl of Camillo Cavour was the Head of Government of the "State of Sardinia". He talked to the Austrians in Lombardy and Veneto and said they should create a Northern Italian state. This happened, but other Central and Southern Italian states also joined Piedmont to create a bigger state.

In 1860, Giuseppe Garibaldi took control of Sicily, creating the Kingdom of Italy in 1861. Vittorio Emanuele II was made the King. But, in 1861, Latium and Veneto were still not part of Italy, because they were ruled by the Pope and Austrian Empire.

Veneto was made part of Italy in 1866 after a war with Austria, and Italian soldiers won Latium in 1870. That was when they took away the Pope's power. The Pope, who was angry, said that he was a prisoner to keep Catholic people from being active in politics. That year, Italy finally came back together.

Italy participated in World War I as an ally of Great Britain, France, and Russia against the Central Powers. Almost all of Italy's fighting was on the Eastern border, near Austria. After the "Caporetto defeat", Italy thought they would lose the war. But, in 1918, the Central Powers surrendered, and Italy gained the Trentino-South Tyrol, which once was owned by Austria.

In 1922, a new Italian government started, and it was ruled by Benito Mussolini, the leader of Fascism in Italy. He became Head of Government and dictator, calling himself "duce" - which means "leader" in Italian. He became friends with German dictator Hitler, and Mussolini followed him into World War II. Italy entered the war in 1940 as an ally of Germany and Japan against France, Great Britain, and Russia. During the war, Italy controlled most of the Mediterranean Sea.

On July 25, 1943, Mussolini was removed by the Great Council of Fascism, and, on September 8, 1943, Badoglio said that the war as an ally of Germany was ended. Italy started fighting as an ally of France and the UK, but Italian soldiers did not know who to shoot. In Northern Italy, a movement called Resistenza started to fight against the German invaders.

Mussolini tried to make another Northern Italian fascist state, the Republic of Salò, but it failed. On April 25, 1945, Italy became free. The state became a republic on June 2, 1946, and, for the first time, women were able to vote. Italian people ended the Savoia dynasty and adopted a republic government.

In February 1947, Italy signed a peace treaty with the Allies losing all the colonies and some territorial areas (Istria and parts of Dalmatia).

Since then Italy has joined NATO and the European Community (as a founding member), becoming one of the seven biggest industrial economies in the world.

Transportation

Rom Fiumicino Airport 2008 by-RaBoe
Rome-Fiumicino Airport was the sixth busiest airport in Europe in 2008.

The railway network in Italy totals 16,627 kilometres (10,331 mi), the 17th longest in the world. High speed trains include ETR-class trains which travel at 300 km/h (190 mph).

Related pages

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