| Italy |
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| Nickname(s) | The Boot; The Belpaese |
| National Anthem | Il Canto degli Italiani
(also known as Inno di Mameli)
The Song of the Italians |
| Official languages | Italian |
| Capital | Rome |
| Geocode | 41°54'N 12°29'E |
| Largest city | capital |
| Demonym | Italian |
| Government | Info |
| Government | Parliamentary republic |
| President | Giorgio Napolitano (PDS) |
| Prime Minister | Silvio Berlusconi (PdL) |
| Legislature | Parliament |
| Upper house | Senate |
| Lower house | Chamber of Deputies |
| EU accession | 25 March 1957 (founding member) |
| EU seats | 78 |
| Area (km2) | 301,338 |
| General | Info |
| Area (sq mi) | 116,346 (71st) |
| Water (%) | 2.4 |
| Population estimate | 60,231,214 |
| Pop. Est. Rank | 23rd |
| Population estimate year | 2009 |
| Population | 56,995,744 (2001) |
| Density (sq mi) | 517.4 (54) |
| GDP (PPP) | $1.817 trillion (2008) (10th) |
| GDP (PPP) per Capita | $30,631 (27th) |
| GDP | $2.314 trillion (2008) (7th) |
| GDP per capita | $38,996 (21st) |
| Independence | Info |
| Independence | Formation |
| Unification | 17 March 1861 |
| Republic | 2 June 1946 |
| HDI | (+) 0.951 (2007) (18th) (very high) |
| Currency | Euro (-) (EUR) |
| Timezone | CET |
| Timezone UTC | +1 |
| Timezone DST | CEST |
| Timezone (DST) UTC | +2 |
| Drives on the | Right |
| Internet TLD | .it |
| Calling code | 39 |
| Gini | 36 (2000) |
| Gini category | medium |
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Italy , officially the Italian Republic, is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia. The independent states of San Marino and the Vatican City are enclaves within the Italian Peninsula, and Campione d'Italia is an Italian exclave in Switzerland. The territory of Italy covers 301,338 km² and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. With 60.2 million inhabitants, it is the sixth most populous country in Europe, and the twenty-third most populous in the world.
The land known as Italy today has been the cradle of European cultures and peoples, such as the Etruscans and the Romans. Italy's capital, Rome, was for centuries the political center of Western civilization, as the capital of the Roman Empire. After its decline, Italy would endure numerous invasions by foreign peoples, from Germanic tribes such as the Lombards and Ostrogoths, to the Normans and later, the Byzantines, among others. Centuries later, Italy would become the birthplace of the Renaissance,
. an immensely fruitful intellectual movement that would prove to be integral in shaping the subsequent course of European thought.
Through much of its post-Roman history, Italy was fragmented into numerous kingdoms and city-states (such as the Kingdom of Sardinia, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and the duchy of Milan), but was unified in 1861, a tumultuous period in history known as the "Risorgimento". In the late 19th century, through World War I, and to World War II, Italy possessed a colonial empire, which extended its rule to Libya, Eritrea, Italian Somaliland, Ethiopia, Albania, Rhodes, the Dodecanese and a concession in Tianjin, China.-->
Modern Italy is a democratic republic and a developed country with the eighth-highest quality of life index rating in the world. Italy enjoys a high standard of living, and is the world's 18th most developed country.http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2009_EN_Complete.pdf It is a founding member of what is now the European Union, having signed the Treaty of Rome in 1957, and it is a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It is a member of the G8 and G20, having the world's seventh-largest nominal GDP, and is also a member state of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Council of Europe, and the Western European Union. It has the world's eight-largest defence budget and shares NATO's nuclear weapons.
Italy, especially Rome, has an important place in political, military and cultural affairs, with worldwide organizations such as Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Food Programme (WFP), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Glocal Forum, and the NATO Defence College being headquartered in the country and the city. The country's European political, social and economic influence make it a major regional power, alongside the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Russia.jstor.orgforeignaffairs.org Ben W. Heineman, Jr., and Fritz Heimann speak of Italy as a major country or "player" along with Germany, France, Japan, and the United Kingdom, in "The Long War Against Corruption".M. De Leonardis, Il Mediterraneo nella politica estera italiana del secondo dopoguerra, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2003, p. 17carabinieri.itbooks.google.com The country has a high public education level, high labour force, is a globalised nation, and also has 2009's sixth best international reputation.--> Italy also has the world's 19th highest life expectancy, after New Zealand and Bermuda. Italy is the world's fifth most visited country, with over 43.7 million international arrivals, and boasts a long tradition of excellence in all the arts and sciences, including the fact that Italy has the world's greatest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites to date (44).
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Weir will skip world championships - AFP 
AFP---...- champion Johnny Weir, sixth at the Vancouver Olympics, will not compete at the World Championships later this month in -Italy-, he announced Tuesday. ...
Date : Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:30:40 GMT+00:00
Spotlight on the World Cup contenders: Italy - Independent
Independent--Around this time before the last World Cup -Italy- thrashed Germany in Florence, laying down a marker for what proved to be a triumphant tournament. ...
Date : Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:01:49 GMT+00:00
Robinson keeps faith in his side despite result in Rome - Independent
Independent--They led until the 79th minute against Wales in Cardiff and until the 67th minute against -Italy- in Rome. Now the challenge for Scotland is ...
Date : Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:00:58 GMT+00:00
Andy Robinson asks referee to take tough stance on England 'blocking' tactics - Times Online
Times Online--Unveiling a Scotland side showing one change in personnel from the one that lost in -Italy-, Andy Robinson, the head coach, has already started the verbal ...
Date : Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:57:25 GMT+00:00
Bayern advances on away goals over Fiorentina - USA Today
USA Today--FLORENCE, -Italy- (AP) — Bayern Munich lost 3-2 to Fiorentina but still managed to advance to the Champions League quarterfinals on away goals Tuesday. ...
Date : Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:50:07 GMT+00:00
Robinson demands performance in grudge match - The Press Association
The Press Association--Robinson has made just one personnel change from the side beaten in -Italy- 10 days ago, which left Scotland firm favourites for the wooden spoon. ...
Date : Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:30:12 GMT+00:00
SunPower to Build New Plants in Italy - GetSolar.com (blog)
GetSolar.com (blog)--The two 1-MW solar plants are just the latest additions to SunPower's activities in -Italy-, as it already operates a 24-MW solar power plant in Montalto di ...
Date : Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:24:26 GMT+00:00
Internet companies under fire in cyber-bullying cases: Google execs convicted ... - New York Daily News
New York Daily News--Google faces legal recriminations in -Italy- after a court found the Internet giant guilty of privacy violation due to a video posted by a user ...
Date : Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:58:01 GMT+00:00
Hedge Fund Manager Survey:Greek Debt Crisis Spreading In Europe - Wall Street Journal
Wall Street Journal--However, there also are concerns about other indebted countries in the euro zone, including Portugal, -Italy-, Ireland and Spain. ...
Date : Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:03:29 GMT+00:00
Heirs delay sale of historic papers in Italy tax tussle - BBC News
BBC News--The papers were seized by -Italy's- tax authorities in lieu of unpaid debts by the Italian count who owned them. Some reports say he tried to sell them for ...
Date : Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:22:48 GMT+00:00
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