Italy - Europe: Favorite Travel Destination Italy (Italian: Italia) is a country in Southern Europe. Together with Greece, it is acknowledged as the birthplace of Western culture. Not surprisingly, it is also home to the greatest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the world. High art and monuments are to be found everywhere around the country. It is also famous worldwide for its delicious cuisine, its trendy fashion industry, luxury sports cars and motorcycles, diverse regional cultures and dialects, as well as for its beautiful coast, alpine lakes and mountain ranges (the Alps and Apennines). No wonder it is often nicknamed the Bel Paese (the Beautiful Country). Quick Facts: Capital: Rome Government: Parliamentary Republic Currency: Euro (€) Area total: 301,340km² water: 7,200km² land: 294,140km² Population: 59,433,744 (2011 census) Language: Italian (official); minor German, French and Slovene-speaking communities Religion: predominately Roman Catholic with mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant Electricity: 230V, 50Hz (European or Italian plug) Country code: +39 Internet: TLD .it Time Zone: UTC+1 Emergencies: dial 112 Two independent mini-states are surrounded entirely by Italy: San Marino and Vatican City. While technically not part of the European Union, both of these states are also part of the Schengen Area and the European Monetary Union (EMU). Apart from different police uniforms, there is no evident transition from these states and Italy's territory, and the currency is the same. Italian is also the official language in both countries. WikiTravel - The free travel network This video contains the following attributions: “Italy” (https://vimeo.com/52314425) by Sarah Lasker which is licensed under CC by 3.0 “Orienting Italy: Trailer 1” (https://vimeo.com/47567165) by Will Leonard which is licensed under CC by 3.0 “Trezzone – Italy” (https://vimeo.com/67792631) by Mario Epsley which is licensed under CC by 3.0 “Venezia: preview” (https://vimeo.com/80640691) by Matt Devir which is licensed under CC by 3.0 “MessyBase 2011” (https://vimeo.com/37415022) by Marco L. Regina which is licensed under CC by 3.0 “Orienting Italy: Trailer 2” (https://vimeo.com/51421371) by Will Leonard which is licensed under CC by 3.0 “Just Italy’s Nice Places” (https://vimeo.com/35795112) by Gian Nicola Beraldo which is licensed under CC by 3.0 “Italy. Moments. 2011” (https://vimeo.com/28042321) by Marius Kazemekaitis which is licensed under CC by 3.0 “Cruel Summer – Vol. 1 Italia” (https://vimeo.com/57646705) by Basia Opiol which is licensed under CC by 3.0

• published: 02 Dec 2014
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