The Italian Republic, Vatican City, Rome capital of Italy,

Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is 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, while Campione d'Italia is an Italian exclave in Switzerland.

Italy has been the home of many European cultures, such as the Etruscans and the Romans, and later was the birthplace of the movement of the Renaissance, that began in Tuscany and spread all over Europe. Italy's capital Rome has been the center of Western civilization, and is the center of the Catholic Church.

Map of Italy by Tourizm Maps © 2006
Today, Italy is a democratic republic, and a developed country with the 7th-highest GDP, the 8th-highest Quality-of-life index, and the 20th-highest Human Development Index rating in the world. It is a founding member of what is now the European Union (having signed the Treaty of Rome in 1957), and also a member of the G8, the Council of Europe, the Western European Union, and the Central European Initiative.

Beginning January 1, 2007, Italy became a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.

Area: 301,318 km²
Population: 59,448,163
Capital: Rome
Currency: Euro (€)
Calling code: +39
Internet TLD: .it
Regions of Italy:
Abruzzo
Aosta Valley
Basilicata
Calabria
Campania
Emilia-Romagna
Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Lazio
Liguria
Lombardy
Marche
Molise
Piedmont
Puglia
Sardinia
Sicily
Trentino-Alto Adige
Tuscany
Umbria
Veneto