Outline of Italy

The location of Italy

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Italy:

Italy is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe, located primarily upon the Italian Peninsula. It is where Ancient Rome originated as a small agricultural community about the 8th century BC, which spread over the course of centuries into the colossal Roman empire, encompassing the whole Mediterranean Sea and merging the Ancient Greek and Roman cultures into one civilization. This civilization was so influential that parts of it survive in modern law, administration, philosophy and arts, providing the groundwork that the Western world is based upon.

General reference[edit]

An enlargeable basic map of Italy

Name of Italy
- Pronunciation: /ˈɪtəli/ (listen)
  - Italian: [iˈtaːlja]
- Common English country name: Italy
- Official English country name: Italian Republic^[1]
- Common endonym(s): Italia
- Official endonym(s): Repubblica italiana
- Adjectival(s): Italian
- Demonym(s): Italian
Date and time notation in Italy
International rankings of Italy
ISO country codes: IT, ITA, 380
ISO region codes: See ISO 3166-2:IT
Internet country code top-level domain: .it

Geography of Italy[edit]

An enlargeable topographic map of Italy

An enlargeable satellite image of Italy

Crater on Vulcano Island

Mount Vesuvius as seen from the ruins of Pompeii

View of Brescia

Capri from the sea

Piedmont landscape

Geography of Italy

Italy is:
- a peninsula
- a country
  - a member state of the European Union
Location:
- Northern Hemisphere and Eastern Hemisphere
- Eurasia
  - Europe
    - Western Europe
    - Southern Europe
      - Italian Peninsula
- Time zone: Central European Time (UTC+01), Central European Summer Time (UTC+02)
- Extreme points of Italy
  - North: Glockenkarkopf
  - South: Punta Pesce Spada
  - East: Capo d'Otranto
  - West: Rocca Bernauda
  - High: Monte Bianco 4,810 m (15,781 ft)
  - Low: Contane on the Po Delta −3.2 m (−10 ft)
- Land boundaries: 1,899 km

Switzerland (outline) 740 km

France (outline) 488 km

Austria (outline) 430 km

Slovenia (outline) 199 km

San Marino (outline) 39 km

Vatican City (outline) 3 km

Coastline: 7,600 km
Sharing Adriatic Sea with Croatia

Population of Italy: 60,067,554 people (2009/01/31 estimate)^[2] - 23rd most populous country
Area of Italy: 301,338 km² (116,347 sq mi) - 71st largest country
Atlas of Italy

Environment of Italy[edit]

Climate of Italy
Conservation in Italy
- Renewable energy in Italy
Geology of Italy
- Volcanism of Italy
National parks of Italy
Wildlife of Italy
- Flora of Italy
- Fauna of Italy
  - Birds of Italy
  - Mammals of Italy

Geographic features of Italy[edit]

Neighbors of Italy[edit]

Italy shares its north border with:

Austria
France
Slovenia
Switzerland shares Italy's northern border, and Campione d'Italia is an Italian exclave in Switzerland.

Independent states surrounded by Italy (otherwise within Italy's borders) include:

Government and politics of Italy[edit]

Politics of Italy

Form of government: parliamentary multi-party representative democratic republic
Capital of Italy: Rome
Corruption in Italy
Elections in Italy
- Primary elections in Italy
Political ideologies in Italy
- Anarchism in Italy
- Liberalism and radicalism in Italy
Political parties in Italy
Political scandals of Italy
Racism in Italy
Taxation in Italy

Branches of the government of Italy[edit]

The Italian parliament in joint session

Palazzo Montecitorio, seat of the Italian Chamber of Deputies

Government of Italy

Head of State[edit]

President of Italy (see also Head of State)
- List of Presidents of Italy

Executive branch[edit]

President of the Council of Ministers of Italy (a.k.a. Prime Minister, see also Head of government)
- List of Prime Ministers of Italy
Council of Ministers of Italy

Legislative branch[edit]

Parliament of Italy
- Italian Chamber of Deputies (lower house)
- Italian Senate (upper house)

Judicial branch[edit]

Supreme Court of Cassation (Corte Suprema di Cassazione)
Constitutional Court of Italy
Judiciary of Italy

Foreign relations of Italy[edit]

Foreign relations of Italy

CIA activities in Italy

International organization membership[edit]

The Italian Republic is a member of:^[3]

African Development Bank Group (AfDB) (nonregional member)
Arctic Council (observer)
Asian Development Bank (ADB) (nonregional member)
Australia Group
Bank for International Settlements (BIS)
Black Sea Economic Cooperation Zone (BSEC) (observer)
Caribbean Development Bank (CDB)
Central American Integration System (SICA) (observer)
Central European Initiative (CEI)
Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI)
Council of Europe (CE)
Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) (observer)
Economic and Monetary Union (EMU)
Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC)
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
European Investment Bank (EIB)
European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)
European Space Agency (ESA)
European Union (EU)
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
Group of Seven (G7)
Group of Eight (G8)
Group of Ten (G10)
Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (G20)
Inter-American Development Bank (IADB)
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)
International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
International Criminal Court (ICCt)
International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol)
International Development Association (IDA)
International Energy Agency (IEA)
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRCS)
International Finance Corporation (IFC)
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
International Hydrographic Organization (IHO)
International Labour Organization (ILO)
International Maritime Organization (IMO)
International Mobile Satellite Organization (IMSO)
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
International Olympic Committee (IOC)
International Organization for Migration (IOM)

International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (ICRM)
International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (ITSO)
International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)
Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)
Latin American Economic System (LAES) (observer)
Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)
Nonaligned Movement (NAM) (guest)
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA)
Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)
Organization of American States (OAS) (observer)
Paris Club
Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA)
Schengen Convention
Southeast European Cooperative Initiative (SECI) (observer)
Unione Latina
United Nations (UN)
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)
United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP)
United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO)
United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO)
Universal Postal Union (UPU)
Western European Union (WEU)
World Confederation of Labour (WCL)
World Customs Organization (WCO)
World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU)
World Health Organization (WHO)
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)
World Trade Organization (WTO)
World Veterans Federation
Zangger Committee (ZC)

Law and order in Italy[edit]

Carabinieri with capes

In 2004 the Polizia di Stato received two Lamborghini Gallardo equipped with V10 engines in the classic blue white livery

Guardia di Finanza police in central Rome

Corazzieri at the Quirinal Palace in Rome

Military of Italy[edit]

Frecce Tricolori, the aerobatic demonstration team of the Italian Italian Air Force

Military of Italy

Armed forces of Italy:
- Army of Italy: Esercito Italiano
- Navy of Italy: Marina Militare
  - Corps of the Port Captaincies – Coast Guard
- Air force of Italy: Aeronautica Militare
- Gendarmerie of Italy: Carabinieri
Military history of Italy

History of Italy[edit]

Prehistoric step pyramid of Monte d'Accoddi

Greek temple at Selinunte, built in the 5th century BC

The Roman Forum, the commercial, cultural, and political center of the city at the time of the Roman Republic

Castel del Monte, a 13th-century citadel and castle situated on a hill in Andria

Archbasilica of St. John Lateran

History of Italy

By period[edit]

Timeline of Italian history

Prehistoric Italy
Magna Graecia (8th–7th centuries BC)
Italy during Roman times (8th century BC – 6th century AD)
Italy in the Middle Ages (6th–14th centuries)
Italian Renaissance (14th–16th centuries)
Italian Wars (1494–1559)
History of Italy during foreign domination and the unification (1559 –1814)
Modern history of Italy
- Italian unification (1814 –1861)
- History of the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
  - Italian Fascism
  - Italian Colonial Empire
- History of the Italian Republic (1945 – present)
  - Years of Lead (Italy) (1969–1988)
  - Berlusconi era (2001 – present)

By region[edit]

By subject[edit]

Culture of Italy[edit]

Villa Capra "La Rotonda", a fine example of Palladian architecture

A typical Italian vineyard scene, with vines growing together with olive trees

Vittoriale degli italiani, the amphitheatre

Masks at the Carnival of Venice

The Italian tricolor flying at Vittoriano, Rome

Portrait of Dante Alighieri

The School of Athens, a famous fresco by the Italian Renaissance artist Raphael

Portrait of Galileo Galilei

The auditorium of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the leading opera and ballet theatre in Italy

Giuseppe Verdi, portrait by Giovanni Boldini

Leonardo da Vinci

Portrait of Christopher Columbus by Ridolfo Ghirlandaio

Culture of Italy

Art in Italy[edit]

People in Italy[edit]

Ethnic groups in Italy[edit]

Religion in Italy[edit]

Monumental façade of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, the world's largest Christian church

Milan Cathedral, the fourth-largest church in the world

Florence Cathedral: Brunelleschi's Dome, the nave, and Giotto's Campanile as seen from the South

Religion in Italy

Sport in Italy[edit]

Michele Alboreto, won the 1985 German Grand Prix for Ferrari

Giancarlo Fisichella, the most recent Italian racing driver to win a Formula One Grand Prix

Italy at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Sport in Italy

Football in Italy[edit]

The Italian national football team, called Azzurri or squadra azzurra for their blue shirts, are the second-most successful national team in the world