Hypotheses for the etymology ofItalia are numerous.[13] One theory suggests it originated from anAncient Greek term for the land of theItalói, a tribe that resided in the region now known asCalabria. Originally thought to be namedVituli, some scholars suggest theirtotemic animal to be the calf (Latin:vitulus;Umbrian:vitlo;Oscan:Víteliú).[14] Several ancient authors said it was named after a local rulerItalus.[15]
The ancient Greek term for Italy initially referred only to the south of theBruttium peninsula and parts ofCatanzaro andVibo Valentia. The larger concept ofOenotria and "Italy" became synonymous, and the name applied to most ofLucania as well. Before the Roman Republic's expansion, the name was used by Greeks for the land between thestrait of Messina and the line connecting thegulfs of Salerno andTaranto, corresponding to Calabria. The Greeks came to apply "Italia" to a larger region.[16] In addition to the "Greek Italy" in the south, historians have suggested the existence of an "Etruscan Italy", which consisted of areas of central Italy.[17]
The borders ofRoman Italy,Italia, are better established. Cato'sOrigines describes Italy as the entire peninsula south of the Alps.[18] In 264 BC, Roman Italy extended from theArno andRubicon rivers of the centre-north to the entire south. The northern area,Cisalpine Gaul, considered geographically part of Italy, was occupied by Rome in the 220s BC,[19] but remained politically separated. It was legally merged into the administrative unit of Italy in 42 BC.[20] Sardinia,Corsica, Sicily, andMalta were added to Italy byDiocletian in 292 AD,[21] which made late-ancient Italy coterminous with the modernItalian geographical region.[22]
The first colonisers were thePhoenicians, who establishedemporiums on the coasts of Sicily and Sardinia. Some became small urban centres and developed parallel toGreek colonies.[31] During the 8th and 7th centuries, Greek colonies were established atPithecusae, eventually extending along the south of the Italian Peninsula and the coast of Sicily, an area later known asMagna Graecia.[32]Ionians,Doric colonists,Syracusans, and theAchaeans founded various cities.Greek colonisation placed theItalic peoples in contact with democratic forms of government and high artistic and cultural expressions.[33]
Ancient Rome, a settlement on theRiver Tiber in central Italy,founded in 753 BC, was ruled for 244 years by a monarchical system.[36] In 509 BC, the Romans, favouring a government of the Senate and the People (SPQR),expelled the monarchy and established an oligarchic republic.[37]
The Italian Peninsula, namedItalia, was consolidated into a unified entity during Roman expansion, the conquest of new territories often at the expense of theother Italic tribes,Etruscans,Celts, andGreeks. A permanent association, with most of the local tribes and cities, was formed, and Rome began the conquest of Western Europe, North Africa, and theMiddle East. In the wake ofJulius Caesar's assassination in 44 BC, Rome grew into a massive empire stretching fromBritain to the borders ofPersia, engulfing the whole Mediterranean basin, in which Greek, Roman, and other cultures merged into a powerful civilisation. The long reign of the first emperor,Augustus, began an age of peace and prosperity. Roman Italy remained themetropole of the empire, homeland of the Romans and territory of the capital.[38]
The Roman Empire was among the largest in history, wielding great economical, cultural, political, and military power.[39] At its greatest extent, it had an area of 5 million square kilometres (1.9 million square miles).[40] TheRoman legacy has deeply influenced Western civilisation shaping the modern world. The widespread use ofRomance languages derived from Latin,numerical system, modern Western alphabet and calendar, and the emergence of Christianity as a world religion, are among the many legacies of Roman dominance.[41]
After thefall of the Western Roman Empire, Italy fell under theOdoacer's kingdom, and was seized by theOstrogoths.[42] Invasions resulted in a chaotic succession of kingdoms and the supposed "Dark Ages". The invasion of anotherGermanic tribe in the 6th century, theLombards, reduced Byzantine presence and ended political unity of the peninsula. The north formed theLombard kingdom, central-south was also controlled by the Lombards, and other parts remained Byzantine.[43]
The Lombard kingdom was absorbed intoFrancia byCharlemagne in the late 8th century and became the Kingdom of Italy.[44] The Franks helped form thePapal States. Until the 13th century, politics was dominated by relations between theHoly Roman Emperors and the Papacy, with city-states siding with the former (Ghibellines) or with the latter (Guelphs) for momentary advantage.[45] The Germanic emperor and Roman pontiff became theuniversal powers of medieval Europe. However, conflict over theInvestiture Controversy and between Guelphs and Ghibellines ended the imperial-feudal system in the north, where cities gained independence.[46] In 1176, theLombard League of city-states defeated Holy Roman EmperorFrederick Barbarossa, ensuring their independence.
City-states – e.g.Milan,Florence,Venice – played a crucially innovative role in financial development by devising banking practices, and enabling new forms of social organisation.[47] In coastal and southern areas, maritime republics dominated the Mediterranean and monopolised trade to the Orient. They were independentthalassocratic city-states, in which merchants had considerable power. Although oligarchical, the relative political freedom they afforded was conducive to academic and artistic advancement.[48] The best-known maritime republics were Venice,Genoa,Pisa, andAmalfi.[49] Each had dominion over overseas lands, islands, lands on the Adriatic, Aegean, and Black seas, and commercial colonies in the Near East and North Africa.[50]
Venice and Genoa were Europe's gateways to the East, and producers of fine glass, while Florence was a centre of silk, wool, banking, and jewellery. The wealth generated meant large public and private artistic projects could be commissioned. The republics participated in theCrusades, providing support, transport, but mostly taking political and trading opportunities.[48] Italy first felt the economic changes which led to thecommercial revolution: Venice was able tosack Byzantine's capital and financeMarco Polo's voyages to Asia; the first universities were formed in Italian cities, and scholars such asAquinas obtained international fame; capitalism and banking families emerged in Florence, whereDante andGiotto were active around 1300.[51] In the south, Sicily had become anArab Islamic emirate in the 9th century, thriving until theItalo-Normans conquered it in the late 11th century, together with most of the Lombard and Byzantine principalities of southern Italy.[52] The region was subsequently divided between theKingdom of Sicily andKingdom of Naples.[d][53] TheBlack Death of 1348 killed perhaps a third of Italy's population.[54]
During the 1400s and 1500s, Italy was the birthplace and heart of theRenaissance. This era marked the transition from the medieval period to the modern age and was fostered by the wealth accumulated by merchant cities and the patronage of dominant families.[55] Italian polities were now regional states effectively ruled by princes, in control of trade and administration, and their courts became centres of the arts and sciences. These princedoms were led by political dynasties and merchant families, such as theMedici of Florence. After the end of theWestern Schism, newly electedPope Martin V returned to thePapal States and restored Italy as the sole centre of Western Christianity. TheMedici Bank was made the credit institution of the Papacy, and significant ties were established between the Church and new political dynasties.[55][56]
A defensive alliance known as theItalic League was formed between Venice, Naples, Florence, Milan, and the Papacy.Lorenzothe Magnificent de Medici was the Renaissance's greatest patron, his support allowed the League toabort invasion by the Turks. The alliance, however, collapsed in the 1490s; the invasion ofCharles VIII of France initiated a series of wars in the peninsula. During theHigh Renaissance, popes such asJulius II (1503–1513) fought for control of Italy against foreign monarchs;Paul III (1534–1549) preferred to mediate between the European powers to secure peace. In the middle of such conflicts, the Medici popesLeo X (1513–1521) andClement VII (1523–1534) faced theProtestant Reformation in Germany, England and elsewhere.
During theWar of the Spanish Succession (1700–1714), Austria acquired most of the Spanish domains in Italy, namely Milan, Naples and Sardinia; the latter was given to the House of Savoy in exchange for Sicily in 1720. Later, a branch of the Bourbons ascended to the throne of Sicily and Naples. During theNapoleonic Wars, north and central Italy were reorganised asSister Republics of France and, later, as aKingdom of Italy.[62] The south was administered byJoachim Murat, Napoleon's brother-in-law. 1814'sCongress of Vienna restored the situation of the late 18th century, but the ideals of theFrench Revolution could not be eradicated, and re-surfaced during thepolitical upheavals that characterised the early 19th century. The first adoption of theItalian tricolour by an Italian state, theCispadane Republic, occurred duringNapoleonic Italy, following the French Revolution, which advocated nationalself-determination.[63] This event is celebrated byTricolour Day.[64]
Thebirth of the Kingdom of Italy was the result of efforts of Italian nationalists and monarchists loyal to theHouse of Savoy to establish a united kingdom encompassing the entireItalian Peninsula. By the mid-19th century, risingItalian nationalism led to revolution.[65] Following theCongress of Vienna in 1815, the political and social Italian unification movement, orRisorgimento, emerged to unite Italy by consolidating the states and liberating them from foreign control. A radical figure was the patriotic journalistGiuseppe Mazzini, founder of the political movementYoung Italy in the 1830s, who favoured a unitary republic and advocated a broad nationalist movement. 1847 saw the first public performance of "Il Canto degli Italiani", which became the national anthem in 1946.[66]
Giuseppe Mazzini (left), highly influential leader of the Italian revolutionary movement; andGiuseppe Garibaldi (right), celebrated as one of the greatest generals of modern times[67] and as the "Hero of the Two Worlds" because of his military enterprises in South America and Europe,[68] who fought in many military campaigns that led toItalian unification
In 1860–1861, Garibaldi led the drive for unification in Naples and Sicily.[72]Teano was the site of a famous meeting between Garibaldi andVictor Emmanuel II, the last king of Sardinia, during which Garibaldi shook Victor Emanuel's hand and hailed him asKing of Italy. Cavour agreed to include Garibaldi's southern Italy in a union with the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860. This allowed the Sardinian government todeclare a united Italian kingdom on 17 March 1861,[73] with Victor Emmanuel II as its first king. In 1865, the kingdom's capital was moved from Turin to Florence. In 1866, Victor Emmanuel II, allied withPrussia during theAustro-Prussian War, waged theThird Italian War of Independence, which resulted in Italy annexingVenetia. Finally, in 1870, as France abandoned Rome during theFranco-Prussian War, the Italianscaptured the Papal States, unification was completed, and the capital moved to Rome.[67]
Sardinia's constitution was extended to all of Italy in 1861, and provided basic freedoms for the new state; but electoral laws excluded the non-propertied classes. The new kingdom was governed by a parliamentary constitutional monarchy dominated by liberals. As northern Italy quickly industrialised, southern and northern rural areas remained underdeveloped and overpopulated, forcing millions to migrate and fuellinga large and influential diaspora. TheItalian Socialist Party increased in strength, challenging the traditional liberal and conservative establishment. In the last two decades of the 19th century, Italy developed intoa colonial power[74] by subjugatingEritrea,Somalia,Tripolitania, andCyrenaica in Africa.[75] In 1913, male universal suffrage was adopted. The pre-World War I period was dominated byGiovanni Giolitti, prime minister five times between 1892 and 1921.
Italy entered into the First World War in 1915 with the aim of completing national unity, so it is also considered the Fourth Italian War of Independence,[76] from a historiographical perspective, as the conclusion of theunification of Italy.[77] Italy, nominally allied with theGerman andAustro-Hungarian empires in theTriple Alliance, in 1915 joined theAllies, entering World War I with apromise of substantial territorial gains that included westInner Carniola, the formerAustrian Littoral, andDalmatia, as well as parts of theOttoman Empire. The country's contribution to the Allied victory earned it a place as one of the "Big Four" powers. Reorganisation of the army and conscription led to Italian victories. In October 1918, the Italians launched a massive offensive, culminating in victory at theBattle of Vittorio Veneto.[78] This marked the end of war on the Italian Front, secured dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and was instrumental inending the war less than two weeks later.
Thesocialist agitations that followed the devastation of the Great War, inspired by theRussian Revolution, led to counter-revolution and repression throughout Italy. The liberal establishment, fearing a Soviet-style revolution, started to endorse the smallNational Fascist Party, led by Mussolini. In October 1922, theBlackshirts of the National Fascist Party organised amass demonstration and the "March on Rome"coup. KingVictor Emmanuel III appointed Mussolini asprime minister, transferring power to the fascists without armed conflict.[81] Mussolini banned political parties and curtailed personal liberties, establishing a dictatorship. These actions attracted international attention and inspired similar dictatorships inNazi Germany andFrancoist Spain.
In the north, the Germans set up theItalian Social Republic (RSI), a Nazipuppet state andcollaborationist regime with Mussolini installed as leader after he wasrescued by German paratroopers. What remained of the Italian troops was organised into theItalian Co-belligerent Army, which fought alongside the Allies, while other Italian forces, loyal to Mussolini, opted to fight alongside the Germans in theNational Republican Army. German troops, with RSI collaboration, committed massacres and deported thousands of Jews to death camps. The post-armistice period saw the emergence of theItalian Resistance, who fought a guerrilla war against theNazi German occupiers and collaborators.[84] An aspect of this period was theItalian civil war due to fighting between partisans and fascist RSI forces.[85][86] In April 1945, with defeat looming, Mussolini attempted to escape north,[87] but was captured andsummarily executed by partisans.[88]
Hostilities ended on 29 April 1945,when the German forces in Italy surrendered. Nearly half a million Italians died in the war,[89] society was divided, and the economy all but destroyed – per capita income in 1944 was at its lowest point since 1900.[90] In the aftermath of the war there was a revival of Italian republicanism, leading to the1946 Italian institutional referendum.[91]
Fears of a Communist takeover proved crucial in1948, when theChristian Democrats, underAlcide De Gasperi, won a landslide victory.[95] Consequently, in 1949 Italy became a member ofNATO. TheMarshall Plan revived the economy, which, until the late 1960s, enjoyed a period called theItalian economic miracle. In the 1950s, Italy became a founding country of theEuropean Communities, a forerunner of the European Union. From the late 1960s until the early 1980s, the country experienced theYears of Lead, characterised by economic difficulties, especially after the1973 oil crisis; social conflicts; and terrorist massacres.[96]
The economy recovered and Italy became the world's fifth-largest industrial nation after it gained entry into theG7 in the 1970s. However, national debt skyrocketed past 100% of GDP. Between 1992 and 1993, Italy faced terror attacks perpetrated by theSicilian Mafia as a consequence of new anti-mafia measures by the government.[97] Voters – disenchanted with political paralysis, massive public debt and extensive corruption uncovered by theClean Hands investigation – demanded radical reform. The Christian Democrats, who had ruled for almost 50 years, underwent a crisis and disbanded, splitting into factions.[98] The Communists reorganised as asocial-democratic force. During the 1990s and 2000s,centre-right (dominated by media magnateSilvio Berlusconi) andcentre-left coalitions (led by professorRomano Prodi) alternately governed.
During theEuropean migrant crisis of the 2010s, Italy was the entry point and leading destination for most asylum seekers entering the EU. Between 2013 and 2018, it took in over 700,000 migrants,[101] mainly from sub-Saharan Africa,[102] which put a strain on the public purse and led to a surge in support for far-right or euro-sceptic parties.[103] After the2018 general election,Giuseppe Conte became prime minister ofa populist coalition.[104]
The country's area is 301,230 square kilometres (116,306 sq mi), of which 294,020 km2 (113,522 sq mi) is land and 7,210 km2 (2,784 sq mi) is water.[112] Including the islands, Italy has a coastline of 7,600 kilometres (4,722 miles) on theMediterranean Sea, theLigurian andTyrrhenian seas,[113] theIonian Sea,[114] and theAdriatic Sea.[115] Its border with France runs for 488 km (303 mi); Switzerland, 740 km (460 mi); Austria, 430 km (267 mi); and Slovenia, 232 km (144 mi). The sovereign states ofSan Marino andVatican City (the smallest country in the world and headquarters of the worldwideCatholic Church under the governance of theHoly See) areenclaves within Italy,[116] whileCampione d'Italia is an Italianexclave in Switzerland.[117] The border with San Marino is 39 km (24 mi) long; that with Vatican City is 3.2 km (2.0 mi).[112]
Over 35% of Italian territory is mountainous.[118] TheApennine Mountains form the peninsula's backbone, and the Alps form most of its northern boundary, where Italy's highest point is located on the summit ofMont Blanc (Monte Bianco) at 4,810 m (15,780 ft). Other well-known mountains include theMatterhorn (Monte Cervino) in the western Alps, and theDolomites in the eastern Alps. Many parts ofItaly are of volcanic origin. Most small islands and archipelagos in the south arevolcanic islands. There are active volcanoes:Mount Etna in Sicily (the largest in Europe),Vulcano,Stromboli, andVesuvius.
Mostrivers of Italy drain into the Adriatic or Tyrrhenian Sea.[119] The longest is thePo, which flows from the Alps on the western border, and crosses thePadan plain to the Adriatic.[120] The Po Valley is the largest plain, with 46,000 km2 (18,000 sq mi), and contains over 70% of the country'slowlands.[118] The largest lakes are, in descending size:Garda (367.94 km2 or 142 sq mi),Maggiore (212.51 km2 or 82 sq mi), andComo (145.9 km2 or 56 sq mi).[121]
Italy's climate is influenced by the seas that surround the country on every side except the north, which constitute a reservoir of heat and humidity. Within the southern temperate zone, they determine a Mediterranean climate with local differences.[123] Because of the length of the peninsula and the mostly mountainous hinterland, the climate is highly diverse. In most inland northern and central regions, the climate ranges fromhumid subtropical tohumid continental andoceanic. The Po Valley is mostly humid subtropical, with cool winters and hot summers.[124] The coastal areas ofLiguria, Tuscany, and most of the south generally fit the Mediterranean climate stereotype, as in theKöppen climate classification.
Conditions on the coast are different from those in the interior, particularly during winter when the higher altitudes tend to be cold, wet, and often snowy. The coastal regions have mild winters, and hot and generally dry summers; lowland valleys are hot in summer. Winter temperatures vary from 0 °C (32 °F) in the Alps to 12 °C (54 °F) in Sicily; so, average summer temperatures range from 20 °C (68 °F) to over 25 °C (77 °F). Winters can vary widely with lingering cold, foggy, and snowy periods in the north, and milder, sunnier conditions in the south. Summers are hot across the country, except at high altitude, particularly in the south. Northern and central areas can experience strong thunderstorms from spring to autumn.[125]
Italy's varied geography, including theAlps,Apennines, central Italian woodlands, and southern ItalianGarigue andMaquis shrubland, contribute to habitat diversity. As the peninsula is in the centre of the Mediterranean, forming a corridor between Central Europe and North Africa, and having 8,000 km (5,000 mi) of coastline, Italy has received species from theBalkans, Eurasia, and the Middle East. Italy has probably the highest level offaunalbiodiversity in Europe, with over 57,000 species recorded, representing more than a third of all European fauna,[126] and the highest level of biodiversity of animal and plant species within the EU.[127]
Italy has many botanical and historic gardens.[138] The Italian garden is stylistically based on symmetry, axial geometry, and the principle of imposing order on nature. It influenced thehistory of gardening, especiallyFrench andEnglish gardens.[139] The Italian garden was influenced byRoman andItalian Renaissance gardens.
TheItalian wolf is the national animal of Italy,[140] while the national tree is thestrawberry tree.[141] The reasons for this are that the Italian wolf, which inhabits theApennine Mountains and the Western Alps, features prominently in Latin and Italian cultures, such as the legend of thefounding of Rome,[142] while the green leaves, white flowers, and red berries of the strawberry tree, native to the Mediterranean, recall the colours of the flag.[141] The national bird is theItalian sparrow,[143] while the national flower is the flower of the strawberry tree.[144]
After its quick industrial growth, Italy took time to address its environmental problems. After improvements, Italy now ranks 84th in the world for ecological sustainability.[145] The total area protected by national parks, regional parks, and nature reserves covers about 11% of Italian territory,[146] and 12% of Italy's coastline isprotected.[147]
Italy has been one of the world's leading producers ofrenewable energy, in 2010 ranking as the fourth largest provider of installedsolar energy capacity[148] and sixth largest ofwind power capacity.[149] Renewable energy provided approximately 37% Italy's energy consumption in 2020.[150]
The country operated nuclear reactors between 1963 and 1990 but, after theChernobyl disaster andreferendums, the nuclear programme was terminated, a decision overturned by the government in 2008, with plans to build up to four nuclear power plants. This was in turn struck down by a referendum following theFukushima nuclear accident.[151]
Air pollution remains severe, especially in the industrialised north. Italy is thetwelfth-largest carbon dioxide producer.[152] Extensive traffic and congestion in large cities continue to cause environmental and health issues, even if smog levels have decreased since the 1970s and 1980s, with smog becoming an increasingly rare phenomenon and levels ofsulphur dioxide decreasing.[153]
Deforestation, illegal building, and poor land-management policies have led to significant erosion in Italy's mountainous regions, leading to ecological disasters such as the 1963Vajont Dam flood, the 1998Sarno,[154] and the 2009Messina mudslides.
According toInternational IDEA’s Global State of Democracy (GSoD) Indices and Democracy Tracker, Italy performs in the high range on overall democratic measures, with particular weaknesses in rule of law.[158][159][160]
Theprime minister of Italy is head of government and has executive authority, but must receive a vote of approval from the Council of Ministers to execute most policies. The prime minister and cabinet are appointed by the president, and confirmed by a vote of confidence in parliament. To remain as prime minister, one has to pass votes of confidence. The role of prime minister is similar to most otherparliamentary systems, but they are not authorised to dissolve parliament. Another difference is that the political responsibility for intelligence is with the prime minister, who has exclusive power to coordinate intelligence policies, determine financial resources, strengthen cybersecurity, apply and protect State secrets, and authorise agents to carry out operations, in Italy or abroad.[161]
The law of Italy has several sources. These are hierarchical: the law or regulation from a lower source cannot conflict with the rule of an upper source (hierarchy of sources).[162] TheConstitution of 1948 is the highest source.[163] TheConstitutional Court of Italy rules on the conformity of laws with the constitution. The judiciary bases their decisions onRoman law modified by theNapoleonic Code and later statutes. TheSupreme Court of Cassation is the highest court for both criminal and civil appeals.
Italy lags behind other Western European nations inLGBT rights.[164] Italy's law prohibiting torture is considered behind international standards.[165]
Since their appearance in the middle of the 19th century,Italian organised crime and criminal organisations have infiltrated the social and economic life of many regions in southern Italy; the most notorious is the Sicilian Mafia, which expanded into foreign countries, including the US. Mafia receipts may reach 9%[168] of GDP.[169] A 2009 report identified 610comuni which have a strong Mafia presence, where 13 million Italians live and 15% of GDP is produced.[170] The Calabrian'Ndrangheta, probably the most powerful crime syndicate of Italy, accounts alone for 3% of GDP.[171]
At 0.013 per 1,000 people, Italy has the 47th highest murder rate,[172] compared to 61 countries, and the 43rd highest number of rapes per 1,000 people, compared to 64 countries in the world. These are relatively low figures among developed countries.
Italy strongly supports multilateral international politics, endorsing the UN and its international security activities. In 2013, Italy had 5,296 troops deployed abroad, engaged in 33 UN and NATO missions in 25 countries.[173] Italy deployed troops in support of UN peacekeeping missions inSomalia,Mozambique, andEast Timor. Italy provides support for NATO and UN operations inBosnia,Kosovo, andAlbania, and deployed over 2,000 troops to Afghanistan in support ofOperation Enduring Freedom (OEF) from 2003.
Italy supported international efforts to reconstruct and stabilise Iraq, but it had withdrawn itsmilitary contingent of 3,200 troops by 2006. In August 2006, Italy deployed about 2,450 troops for theUnited Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.[174] Italy is one of the largest financiers of thePalestinian Authority, contributing €60 million in 2013 alone.[175]
Despite not being a branch of the armed forces, theGuardia di Finanza has military status and is organised along military lines.[e] Since 2005, military service has been voluntary.[176] In 2010, the Italian military had 293,202 personnel on active duty,[177] of which 114,778 are Carabinieri.[178] As part of NATO'snuclear sharing strategy, Italy hosts 90 USB61 nuclear bombs located at theGhedi andAviano air bases.[179]
The Italian Navy is ablue-water navy. It was also formed in 1946 from what remained of theRegia Marina (the 'Royal Navy'). The Navy, being a member of the EU and NATO, has taken part in coalition peacekeeping operations around the world. In 2014, the Navy operated 154 vessels in service, including minor auxiliary vessels.[180]
The Italian Air Force was founded as an independent service arm in 1923 by King Victor Emmanuel III as theRegia Aeronautica ('Royal Air Force'). After World War II, it was renamed as theRegia Aeronautica. In 2021, the Italian Air Force operated 219 combat jets. A transport capability is guaranteed by a fleet of 27C-130Js andC-27J Spartan. The acrobatic display team is theFrecce Tricolori ('Tricolour Arrows').
An autonomous corps of the military, the Carabinieri are thegendarmerie andmilitary police of Italy, policing the military and civilian population alongsideItaly's other police forces. While different branches of the Carabinieri report to separate ministries, the corps reports to the Ministry of Internal Affairs when maintaining public order and security.[181]
Italy is constituted of 20 regions (regioni), five of which havespecial autonomous status which enables them to enact legislation on additional matters.[182]
Italy is the world'seight-largest manufacturing country and the second-largest in Europe,[191] characterised by fewer multinational corporations than other economies of comparable size and many dynamicsmall- and medium-sized enterprises, clustered in industrial districts, which are the backbone of Italian industry. This has produced a niche-markets manufacturing sector often focused on the export of luxury products. While less capable of competing on quantity, it can compete with Asian economies that have lower labour costs through higher-quality products.[192] Italy was the world's9th-largest exporter in 2023.Its closest trade ties are with other EU countries, and its largest export partners in 2019 were Germany (12%), France (11%), and the US (10%).[193]
TheBanca Monte dei Paschi di Siena is the world's oldest or second oldest bank in continuous operation, depending on the definition, and the fourth-largest Italian commercial and retail bank.[197] Italy has a strongcooperative sector with the largest share in the EU of the population (4.5%) employed by a cooperative.[198] TheVal d'Agri area, Basilicata, hosts the largestonshorehydrocarbon field in Europe.[199] Moderate natural gas reserves, mainly in thePo Valley and offshore under the Adriatic, have been discovered and constitute the country's most important mineral resource. Italy is one of the world's leading producers ofpumice,pozzolana, andfeldspar.[200] Another notable resource is marble, especially the famous whiteCarrara marble from Tuscany.
Italy is part of a monetary union, the eurozone, which represents around 330 million citizens, and of theEuropean single market, which represents more than 500 million consumers. Several domestic commercial policies are determined by agreements among EU members and EU legislation. Italy joined the common European currency, theeuro, in 2002.[201] Its monetary policy is set by theEuropean Central Bank.
Italy was hit by the2008 financial crisis, which exacerbated structural problems.[202] After strong GDP growth of 5–6% per year from the 1950s to the early 1970s,[203] and a progressive slowdown in the 1980–90s, the country stagnated in the 2000s.[204] Political efforts to revive growth with massive government spending produced a severe rise inpublic debt, which stood at over 132% of GDP in 2017;[205] the second highest in the EU, after Greece.[206] The largest portion ofItalian public debt is owned by national subjects, a major difference between Italy and Greece,[207] and the level ofhousehold debt is much lower than the OECD average.[208]
A gaping north–south divide is a major factor of socio-economic weakness;[209] there is a huge difference in official income between northern and southern regions and municipalities.[210] The richest province,Alto Adige-South Tyrol, earns 152% of the national GDP per capita, while the poorest region, Calabria, earns 61%.[211] The unemployment rate (11%) is above the eurozone average,[212] but the disaggregated figure is 7% in the north and 19% in the south.[213] Theyouth unemployment rate (32% in 2018) is extremely high.
According to the last agricultural census, there were 1.6 million farms in 2010 (−32% since 2000) covering 12,700,000 ha or 31,382,383 acres (63% are in south Italy).[215] 99% are family-operated and small, averaging only 8 ha (20 acres).[215] Of the area in agricultural use, grain fields take up 31%,olive orchards 8%,vineyards 5%,citrus orchards 4%,sugar beets 2%, and horticulture 2%. The remainder is primarily dedicated to pastures (26%) and feed grains (12%).[215]
The Autostrada dei Laghi ('Lakes Motorway'; part of theA8 andA9), the first motorway built in the world[218]
Italy was the first country to build motorways, theautostrade, reserved for fast traffic and motor vehicles.[218] In 2002 there were 668,721 km (415,524 mi) of serviceableroads in Italy, including 6,487 km (4,031 mi) of motorways, state-owned but privately operated byAtlantia. In 2005, about 34,667,000 cars (590 per 1,000 people) and 4,015,000 goods vehicles circulated on the network.[219]
Therailway network, state-owned and operated byRete Ferroviaria Italiana (FSI), in 2024 totalled 16,879 km (10,488 mi), of which 12,277 km (7,629 mi) is electrified[221], and on which 4,802 locomotives and railcars run. The main public operator of high-speed trains isTrenitalia, part of FSI. High-speed trains are in three categories:Frecciarossa ('red arrow') trains operate at a maximum 300km/h on dedicated high-speed tracks;Frecciargento ('silver arrow') operate at a maximum 250km/h on high-speed and mainline tracks; andFrecciabianca ('white arrow') operate on high-speed regional lines at a maximum 200km/h. Italy has 11 rail border crossings over the Alpine mountains with neighbouring countries.
Italy is fifth in Europe by number of passengers using air transport, with about 148 million passengers, or about 10% of the European total in 2011.[222] In 2022, there were 45 civil airports, including the hubs ofMilan Malpensa Airport andRome Fiumicino Airport.[223] Since 2021, Italy's flag carrier has beenITA Airways, which took over fromAlitalia.[224]
In 2004, there were 43 major seaports, includingGenoa, the country's largest and second-largest in the Mediterranean. In 2005, Italy maintained a civilian air fleet of about 389,000 units and a merchant fleet of 581 ships.[219] The national inland waterways network had a length of 2,400 km (1,491 mi) for commercial traffic in 2012.[193] North Italian ports, such as the deep-water port of Trieste, with its extensive rail connections to Central and Eastern Europe, are the destination of subsidies and significant foreign investment.[225]
Solar panels inPiombino, Tuscany. Italy is one of the world's largest producers of renewable energy.[227]
Italy has become one of the world'slargest producers of renewable energy, ranking as the second largest producer in the EU and the ninth in the world.Wind power,hydroelectricity, andgeothermal power are significantsources of electricity in the country.Renewable sources account for 28% of all electricity produced, with hydro alone reaching 13%, followed by solar at 6%, wind at 4%, bioenergy at 3.5%, and geothermal at 1.6%.[228] The rest of the national demand is supplied by fossil fuels (natural gas 38%, coal 13%, oil 8%) and imports.[228]Eni, operating in 79 countries, is one of the seven "Big Oil" companies, and one of the world's largest industrial companies.[229]
People have visited Italy for centuries, yet the first tovisit the peninsula for tourism were aristocrats during theGrand Tour, which began in the 17th century, and flourished in the 18th and the 19th centuries.[243] This was a period in which European aristocrats, many of whom were British, visited parts of Europe, with Italy as a key destination.[243] For Italy, this was in order to study ancient architecture, local culture, and admire its natural beauty.[244]
Italy is thefifth-most visited country, with a total of 57 million arrivals in 2024.[245] In 2014, the income from travel and tourism was EUR163billion (10% of GDP) and 1,082,000 jobs were directly related to it (5% of employment).[246]
Tourist interest is mainly inculture,cuisine,history,architecture,art, religious sites and routes, wedding tourism, naturalistic beauties, nightlife, underwater sites, and spas.[247] Winter and summer tourism are present in locations in the Alps and theApennines,[248] while seaside tourism is widespread among locations along the Mediterranean.[249] Italy is the leading cruise tourism destination in the Mediterranean.[250] Small, historical, and artistic villages are promoted through the associationI Borghi più belli d'Italia (lit.'The most beautiful villages of Italy').
The most visited regions are Veneto, Tuscany, Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, and Lazio.[251] Rome is the third most visited city in Europe, and 12th in the world, with 9.4 million arrivals in 2017.[252] Venice and Florence are among the world's top 100 destinations.
Map of Italy's population density at the 2011 censusItalian diaspora in the world
As of 2025, Italy has 58,934,177 inhabitants.[6] Its population density of 195 inhabitants per square kilometre (510/sq mi) is higher than most Western European countries. However, distribution is uneven: the most densely populated areas are the Po Valley (almost half the population) and the metropolitan areas of Rome and Naples, while vast regions such as the Alps and Apennine highlands, the plateaus of Basilicata, and the island of Sardinia, as well as much of Sicily, are sparsely populated.
Italy's population almost doubled during the 20th century, but the pattern of growth was uneven because of large-scaleinternal migration from the rural south to the industrial north, a consequence of theItalian economic miracle of the 1950–1960s. High fertility rates persisted until the 1970s, after which they started to decline; thetotal fertility rate (TFR) reached an all-time low of 1.2 children per woman in 1995, well below the replacement rate of 2.1 and considerably below the high of 5 in 1883.[255] Since 2008, when the rate climbed slightly to 1.4,[256][257] the number of births has consistently declined every year, reaching a record low of 379,000 in 2023 – the fewest since 1861.[258] In 2024, it stood at 1.2.[259]
As a result of these trends, Italy's population is rapidly aging and gradually shrinking. Nearly one in four Italians is over 65,[258] and the country has thefourth oldest population in the world, with a median age of 48 and an average age of 46.6.[193][260] The overall population has been falling steadily since 2014 and is estimated to have fallen just below 59 million in 2024, representing a cumulative loss of more than 1.36 million people in one decade.[261]
From the late 19th century to the 1960s, Italy was a country of mass emigration. Between 1898 and 1914, the peak years ofItalian diaspora, approximately 750,000 Italians emigrated annually.[262] The diaspora included more than 25 million Italians and is considered the greatest mass migration of recent times.[263]
Foreign residents as a percentage of the regional population at the 2011 census
In the1980s, until then a linguistically and culturally homogeneous society, Italy began to attract substantial flows of immigrants.[265] After thefall of the Berlin Wall and of theIron Curtain, waves of migration originated from many former socialist countries of East Europe. The EU enlargedin 2004, in 2007 (Romania and Bulgaria) and in 2013 (Croatia).
In 2010, the foreign-born population was from the following regions: Europe (54%), Africa (22%), Asia (16%), the Americas (8%), and Oceania (0.06%). The distribution of the foreign population is geographically varied: in 2020, 61% of foreign citizens lived in the north, 24% in the centre, 11% in the south, and 4% on the islands.[267]
In 2021, Italy had about 5.2 million foreign residents,[1][268] making up 9% of the population. The figures include more than half a million children born in Italy to foreign nationals, but exclude foreign nationals who have subsequently acquired Italian citizenship;[269] in 2016, about 201,000 people became Italian citizens.[270] The official figures also do not includeillegal immigrants, which was estimated to be 670,000 in 2008.[271] About one millionRomanian citizens are registered as living in Italy, representing the largest migrant population.
Italy's official language is Italian.[272][273] There are an estimated 64 million native Italian speakers around the world,[274] and another 21 million use it as a second language.[275] Italian is often natively spoken as aregional dialect, not to be confused with Italy's regional and minority languages;[276] however, during the 20th century, the establishment of a national education system led to a decrease in regional dialects. Standardisation was further expanded in the 1950s and 1960s, due to economic growth and the rise ofmass media and television.
Twelve "historical minority languages" are formally recognised: Albanian,Catalan, German, Greek, Slovene, Croatian, French, Franco-Provençal, Friulian,Ladin,Occitan, and Sardinian.[272] Four of these enjoy co-official status in their respective regions: French in the Aosta Valley;[277] German inSouth Tyrol, andLadin as well in some parts of the same province and in parts of the neighbouring Trentino;[278] andSlovene in the provinces ofTrieste,Gorizia, andUdine.[279] Other Ethnologue, ISO, and UNESCO languages are not recognised under Italian law. Like France, Italy has signed theEuropean Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, but has not ratified it.[280][281]
Due to recent immigration, Italy has sizeable populations whose native language is not Italian, nor a regional language. According to theItalian National Institute of Statistics, in 2012 Romanian was the most common mother tongue among foreign residents: almost 800,000 people speak Romanian as their first language (22% of foreign residents aged 6 and over). Other prevalent mother tongues were Arabic (spoken by over 475,000; 13% of foreign residents), Albanian (380,000), and Spanish (255,000).[282]
In 2011, minority Christian faiths included an estimated 1.5 million Orthodox Christians, whileProtestantism has been growing.[288] Italy has for centuries welcomed Jews expelled from other countries, notably Spain. However, about 20% of Italian Jews were killed duringthe Holocaust.[289] This, together with emigration before and after World War II, has left around 28,000 Jews.[290] There are 120,000 Hindus[291] and 70,000 Sikhs.[292]
The state devolves shares of income tax to recognised religious communities, under a regime known aseight per thousand. Donations are allowed to Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, and Hindu communities; however, Islam remains excluded, as no Muslim communities have signed a concordat.[293] Taxpayers who do not wish to fund a religion contribute their share to the welfare system.[294]
Education is mandatory and free from ages six to sixteen,[295] and consists of five stages: kindergarten, primary school, lower secondary school, upper secondary school, and university.[296]
Primary school lasts eight years. Students are given a basic education in Italian, English, mathematics, natural sciences, history, geography, social studies, physical education, and visual and musical arts. Secondary school lasts for five years and includes three traditional types of schools focused on different academic levels: theliceo prepares students for university studies with a classical or scientific curriculum, while theistituto tecnico and theistituto professionale prepare pupils for vocations.
In 2018, secondary education was evaluated as being below the average amongOECD countries.[297] Italy scored below the OECD average in reading and science, and near the OECD average in mathematics.[297] A wide gap exists between northern schools, which perform near average, and the south, which had much poorer results.[298]
The proportion of daily smokers was 22% in 2012, down from 24% in 2000 but above the OECD average.[308] Since 2005, smoking in public places has been restricted to "specially ventilated rooms".[309]
Since 1978, the state has run a universal public healthcare system.[310] However, healthcare is provided to all citizens and residents by a mixed public-private system. The public part is theServizio Sanitario Nazionale, which is organised under the Ministry of Health and administered on a devolved regional basis. Healthcare spending accounted for 10% of GDP in 2020. Italy's healthcare system has been consistently ranked among the best in the world;[311] according to research by theWorld Health Organization (WHO) dating back to 2000, Italy had the second best healthcare system in the world in terms of spending efficiency and access to public care for citizens, after France.[312]
Italy is one of the primary birthplaces ofWestern civilisation and acultural superpower.[313] Its culture has been shaped by a multitude of regional customs and local centres of power and patronage.[314] The country has made substantial contributions to thecultural andhistorical heritage of Europe.[315]
Italy is known for its architectural achievements,[318] such as the construction of arches, domes, and similar structures by ancient Rome, the founding of theRenaissance architectural movement in the late 14th to 16th centuries, and as the home ofPalladianism, a style that inspired movements such asNeoclassical architecture and influenced designs of country houses all over the world, notably in the UK and US during the late 17th to early 20th centuries.
The first to begin a recognised sequence of designs were the Greeks and the Etruscans, progressing to classical Roman,[319] then the revival of the classical Roman era during the Renaissance, and evolving into the Baroque era. The Christian concept of the basilica, a style that came to dominate in the Middle Ages, was invented in Rome.[320]Romanesque architecture, which flourished from approximately 800 to 1100 AD, was one of the most fruitful and creative periods in Italian architecture, when masterpieces, such as theLeaning Tower of Pisa and theBasilica of Sant'Ambrogio in Milan, were built. It was known for its usage of Roman arches, stained glass windows, and curved columns. The main innovation of Italian Romanesque architecture was thevault, which had never been seen in Western architecture.[321]
Italian architecture significantly evolved during theRenaissance.Filippo Brunelleschi contributed to architectural design with his dome for theCathedral of Florence, a feat of engineering not seen since antiquity.[322] A popular achievement of Italian Renaissance architecture wasSt. Peter's Basilica, designed byDonato Bramante in the early 16th century.Andrea Palladio influenced architects throughout Western Europe with the villas and palaces he designed.[323]
During theFascist period, the supposedly "Novecento movement" flourished, based on the rediscovery of imperial Rome.Marcello Piacentini, responsible for the urban transformations of cities, devised a form of simplified Neoclassicism.[327]
The history of Italian visual arts is significant toWestern painting.Roman art was influenced by Greece and can be taken as a descendant of ancient Greek painting. The only surviving Roman paintings are wall paintings.[328] These may contain the first examples oftrompe-l'œil, pseudo-perspective, and pure landscape.[329]
In the 15th and 16th centuries, theHigh Renaissance gave rise to a stylised art known asMannerism. In place of the balanced compositions and rational approach to perspective that characterised art at the dawn of the 16th century, the Mannerists sought instability, artifice, and doubt. The unperturbed faces and gestures ofPiero della Francesca and the calm Virgins of Raphael were replaced by the troubled expressions ofPontormo and emotional intensity ofEl Greco.
Formal Latin literature began in 240 BC, when the first stage play was performed in Rome.[331] Latin literature was, and is, highly influential, with numerous writers, poets, philosophers, and historians, such asPliny the Elder,Pliny the Younger,Virgil,Horace,Propertius,Ovid, andLivy. The Romans were famous for their oral tradition, poetry, drama, and epigrams.[332] In the early 13th century,Francis of Assisi was the first Italian poet, with his religious songCanticle of the Sun.[333]
At the court ofEmperor Frederick II in Sicily, in the 13th century, lyrics modelled on Provençal forms and themes were written in a refined version of the local vernacular. One of these poets wasGiacomo da Lentini, inventor of thesonnet form; the most famous early sonneteer wasPetrarch.[334]
Guido Guinizelli is the founder of theDolce Stil Novo, a school that added a philosophical dimension to love poetry. This new understanding of love, expressed in a smooth style, influenced the Florentine poetDante Alighieri, who established the basis of modern Italian. Dante's work,Divine Comedy, is among the finest in literature.[335] Petrarch andGiovanni Boccaccio sought and imitated the works of antiquity and cultivated their own artistic personalities. Petrarch achieved fame through his collection of poems,Il Canzoniere. Equally influential was Boccaccio'sThe Decameron, a very popular collection of short stories.[336]
Italian writers embraced Romanticism in the 19th century; it coincided with ideas of theRisorgimento, the movement that brought Italian unification. Unification was heralded by the poetsVittorio Alfieri,Ugo Foscolo, andGiacomo Leopardi. Works byAlessandro Manzoni, the leading Italian Romantic, are a symbol of Italian unification for their patriotic message and because of his efforts in the development of modern, unified Italian.[339]
In the late 19th century, a literary movement calledverismo, which extolled realism, played a major role in Italian literature.Emilio Salgari, a writer of action-adventureswashbucklers and a pioneer of science fiction, published hisSandokan series.[340] In 1883,Carlo Collodi publishedThe Adventures of Pinocchio, which became the most celebrated children's classic by an Italian author and one of the world'smost translated non-religious books.[341] A movement calledfuturism influenced literature in the early 20th century.Filippo Tommaso Marinetti wroteManifesto of Futurism and called for the use of language and metaphors that glorified the speed, dynamism, and violence of the machine age.[342]
Italy had a renowned philosophical movement in the 1800s, withidealism,sensism, andempiricism.[353] During the late 19th and 20th centuries, there were other movements that gained popularity, such asOntologism,[354]anarchism, communism, socialism, futurism, fascism, and Christian democracy.[355]Antonio Gramsci remains a relevant philosopher within communist theory, credited with creating the theory ofcultural hegemony. Italian philosophers were influential in development of the non-Marxistliberal socialism philosophy. In the 1960s, left-wing activists adopted theanti-authoritarian pro-working class theories that became known asautonomism andworkerism.[356]
Italian theatre came about in the Middle Ages, with its antecedents dating back to ancient Greek colonies in southern Italy (Magna Graecia),[357] as well as the theatre of theItalic peoples[358] and thetheatre of ancient Rome. There were two main lines along which theatre developed. The first, dramatization of Catholic liturgies, and the second, formed by pagan forms of spectacle, such as staging for city festivals, court preparations of jesters, and songs of thetroubadours.[359] Renaissance theatre marked the beginning of modern theatre. Ancient theatrical texts were translated and staged at courts, and moved to public theatres. In the late 15th century, the cities ofFerrara and Rome were important for the rediscovery and renewal of theatre.[360]
During the 16th into the 18th century,commedia dell'arte was a form ofimprovisational theatre, and is still performed. Travelling troupes of players set up an outdoor stage and provided amusement in the form ofjuggling,acrobatics, and humorous plays. Plays did not originate from written drama, but scenarios calledlazzi, loose frameworks around which actors would improvise. The characters of thecommedia usually represent fixed social types and stock characters, each of which has a distinctcostume.[361] The first recorded commedia dell'arte performances came from Rome as early as 1551.[362] Female roles were played by women, documented as early as the 1560s, making them the first known professional actresses in Europe since antiquity.Lucrezia Di Siena, named on a 1564 contract, has been referred to as the first Italian actress known by name, withVincenza Armani andBarbara Flaminia as the firstprima donnas.[363]
Ballet originated in Italy during the Renaissance, as an outgrowth of court pageantry.[364][365]
Fromfolk toclassical, music is an intrinsic part of Italian culture. Instruments associated with classical music, including the piano and violin, were invented in Italy,[366] and many prevailing forms, such as thesymphony, concerto, andsonata, trace their roots back to innovations in 16th- and 17th-century Italian music.
Italian fashion has a long tradition.Top Global Fashion Capital Rankings (2013), byGlobal Language Monitor, ranked Rome sixth and Milan twelfth.[375] Major Italian fashion labels – such asGucci,Armani,Prada,Versace,Valentino,Dolce & Gabbana – are among the finest fashion houses in the world. Jewellers such asBulgari,Damiani, andBuccellati were founded in Italy. The fashion magazineVogue Italia is one of the most prestigious fashion magazines in the world.[376]
Italy is prominent in the field of design, notably interior, architectural, industrial, and urban designs.[377][378] Milan and Turin are the nation's leaders in architectural and industrial design. The city of Milan hostsFiera Milano, Europe's largest design fair.[379] Milan hosts major design- and architecture-related events and venues, such as theFuori Salone and theMilan Furniture Fair, and has been home to the designersBruno Munari,Lucio Fontana,Enrico Castellani, andPiero Manzoni.[380]
Federico Fellini, considered one of the most influential and widely revered filmmakers of the 20th century[386]
After decline in the 1920s, the industry was revitalised in the 1930s with the arrival ofsound. A popular Italian genre, theTelefoni Bianchi, consisted of comedies with glamorous backgrounds.[387]Calligrafismo was a sharp contrast to theTelefoni Bianchi-American style comedies and is rather artistic, highly formalistic, expressive in complexity, and deals mainly with contemporary literary material.[388] Cinema was used by Mussolini, who founded Rome's renownedCinecittà studio, for the production ofFascist propaganda.[389]
Cinecittà studio is the largest film and television production facility in Europe,[396] where many international box office hits were filmed. In the 1950s, the number of international productions made there led to Rome's being dubbed "Hollywood on the Tiber". More than 3,000 productions have been made on its lot, of which 90 received anAcademy Award nomination, with 47 wins.[397] Italy is the most awarded country at the Academy Awards forBest Foreign Language Film, with 14 wins, 3Special Awards, and 31nominations.[398] As of 2016[update], Italian films have won 12 Palmes d'Or,[399] 11Golden Lions,[400] and 7Golden Bears.[401]
Italian cuisine is heavily influenced byEtruscan,ancient Greek,ancient Roman,Byzantine,Arabic, andJewish cuisines.[402] Significant changes occurred with the discovery of theNew World, with items such as potatoes, tomatoes, and maize becoming main ingredients from the 18th century.[403] TheMediterranean diet forms the basis of Italian cuisine, which is rich inpasta, fish, fruits, and vegetables and characterised by its simplicity and variety, with many dishes having only four to eight ingredients.[404] Italian cuisine is noted for its regional diversity,[405] abundance of difference in taste, and as one of the most popular in the world,[406] wielding strong influence abroad.[407][408][409]
Italian cuisine relies heavily on traditional products; the country has a large number of traditional specialties protected underEU law.[410] Italy is home to 395Michelin star-rated restaurants.[411]Cheese,cold cuts, andwine are central to Italian cuisine, with regional declinations andprotected designation of origin orprotected geographical indication labels, along withpizza and coffee forming part of gastronomic culture.[412] Desserts have a long tradition of merging local flavours, such as citrus fruits, pistachio, and almonds, with sweet cheeses such asmascarpone andricotta or exotic tastes such as cocoa, vanilla, and cinnamon.Gelato,[413]tiramisu,[414] andcassata are among the most famous examples of Italian desserts.
TheItalian meal structure is typical of the Mediterranean region and differs from North, Central, and East European meal structures, although it still often consists of breakfast (colazione), lunch (pranzo), and dinner (cena).[415] However, much less emphasis is placed on breakfast, which is often skipped or involves lighter portions than are seen in non-Mediterranean Western countries.[416] Late-morning and mid-afternoon snacks, calledmerenda (pl.:merende), are often included.[417]
The most popular sport isfootball.[418] Italy'steam is one of the most successful, with fourWorld Cup victories (1934,1938,1982, and2006) and twoUEFA Euro victories (1968 and2020).[419] Italian clubs have won 48 major European trophies, making Italy the second most successful country in Europe, after Spain. Italy's top league isSerie A and is followed by millions of fans around the world.[420]
Among individual sports, bicycle racing is popular;[423] Italians have won theUCI World Championshipsmore than any other country, exceptBelgium. TheGiro d'Italia is a cycling race held every May and one of the threeGrand Tours. Alpine skiing is a widespread sport, and the country is a popular skiing destination.[424] Italian skiers achieve good results inWinter Olympic Games and theAlpine Ski World Cup. Tennis has a significant following: it is the fourth most practised sport.[425] TheRome Masters, founded in 1930, is one of the most prestigious tennis tournaments.[426] Italian players won theDavis Cup in 1976, 2023, and 2024 and theFed Cup in 2006, 2009, 2010, 2013, and 2024.
Italy has been successful in the Olympics, taking part from thefirst Olympiad and in 47 Games out of 48 (not1904).[431]Italians have won 618 medals at theSummer Olympic Games, and 141 at the Winter Olympics, with 259 golds, the sixth most successful for total medals. The country hosted Winter Olympics in1956 and2006, and will host another in2026; and a Summer games in1960.
Public holidays include religious, national, and regional observances. Italy's National Day, theFesta della Repubblica ('Republic Day'),[432] is celebrated on 2 June, with the main celebration taking place in Rome, and commemorates the birth of the Italian Republic in 1946.[433] The ceremony includes deposition of a wreath as a tribute to theItalian Unknown Soldier and a military parade alongVia dei Fori Imperiali in Rome.
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^United Nations Statistics Division, Millennium Development Goals indicators:Carbon dioxide emissions (CO2), thousand metric tons of CO2Archived 25 December 2009 at theWayback Machine (collected by CDIAC); Human-produced, direct emissions of carbon dioxide only. Excludes other greenhouse gases; land-use, land-use-change and forestry (LULUCF); and natural background flows of CO2 (See also:Carbon cycle)
^Smyth, Howard McGaw Italy: From Fascism to the Republic (1943–1946)The Western Political Quarterly vol. 1 no. 3 (pp. 205–222), September 1948.JSTOR442274
^Gabriele Abbondanza,Italy as a Regional Power: the African Context from National Unification to the Present Day (Rome: Aracne, 2016); "Operation Alba may be considered one of the most important instances in which Italy has acted as a regional power, taking the lead in executing a technically and politically coherent and determined strategy." See Federiga Bindi,Italy and the European Union (Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, 2011), p. 171.
^Canada Among Nations, 2004: Setting Priorities Straight. McGill-Queen's Press – MQUP. 17 January 2005. p. 85.ISBN978-0-7735-2836-9.Archived from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved13 June 2016.The United States is the sole world's superpower. France, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom are great powers;Sterio, Milena (2013).The right to self-determination under international law: "selfistans", secession and the rule of the great powers. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. p. xii (preface).ISBN978-0-4156-6818-7.Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved13 June 2016.The great powers are super-sovereign states: an exclusive club of the most powerful states economically, militarily, politically and strategically. These states include veto-wielding members of the United Nations Security Council (United States, United Kingdom, France, China, and Russia), as well as economic powerhouses such as Germany, Italy and Japan.
^abcReece Walters (2013). Kerry Carrington; Matthew Ball; Erin O'Brien; Juan Tauri (eds.). "Eco Mafia and Environmental Crime".Crime, Justice and Social Democracy: International Perspectives. Palgrave Macmillan: 286.doi:10.1057/9781137008695_19.ISBN978-1-3494-3575-3.
^abPaulo Buonanno; Giovanni Mastrobuoni (2013). "Centralized versus Decentralized Police Hiring in Italy and the United States". In Philip J. Cook; Stephen Machin; Olivier Marie; Giovanni Mastrobuoni (eds.).Lessons from the Economics of Crime: What Reduces Offending?. MIT Press. p. 193.doi:10.7551/mitpress/9780262019613.001.0001.ISBN978-0-2620-1961-3.
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^Text taken directly from"Country Profile: Vatican City State". Archived fromthe original on 31 December 2010. Retrieved5 February 2016. (viewed on 14 December 2011), on the website of the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office.
^"The Global Catholic Population".Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. 13 February 2013.Archived from the original on 25 November 2020. Retrieved21 November 2020.
^The Holy See publishes a 'Statistical Yearbook of the Church' every year.
^Nuria Sanz, Sjur Bergan: "The heritage of European universities", 2nd edition, Higher Education Series No. 7, Council of Europe, 2006. ISBN 978-92-871-6121-5. p. 136.
^Duarte, A.; Fernandes, J.; Bernardes, J.; Miguel, G. (2016)."Citrus as a Component of the Mediterranean Diet".Journal of Spatial and Organizational Dynamics.4:289–304.Archived from the original on 1 October 2018. Retrieved26 January 2021.
^Dinu, M; Pagliai, G;Casini, A; Sofi, F (10 May 2017). "Mediterranean diet and multiple health outcomes: an umbrella review of meta-analyses of observational studies and randomised trials".European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.72 (1):30–43.doi:10.1038/ejcn.2017.58.hdl:2158/1081996.PMID28488692.S2CID7702206.
^Steven Swann Jones,The Fairy Tale: The Magic Mirror of Imagination, Twayne Publishers, New York, 1995,ISBN0-8057-0950-9, p. 38; Bottigheimer 2012a, 7; Waters 1894, xii; Zipes 2015, 599.;Opie, Iona;Opie, Peter (1974),The Classic Fairy Tales, Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press,ISBN978-0-1921-1559-1 See p. 20. The claim for earliest fairy-tale is still debated, see for example Jan M. Ziolkowski,Fairy tales from before fairy tales: the medieval Latin past of wonderful lies, University of Michigan Press, 2007. Ziolkowski examinesEgbert of Liège's Latin beast poemFecunda natis (The Richly Laden Ship, c. 1022/24), the earliest known version of "Little Red Riding Hood". Further info:Little Red Pentecostal, Peter J. Leithart, 9 July 2007.
^Scarangello, Anthony (1964). "Major Catholic-Liberal Educational Philosophers of the Italian Risorgimento".History of Education Quarterly.4 (4):232–250.doi:10.2307/367499.JSTOR367499.S2CID147563567.
^Pernicone, Nunzio (2009).Italian Anarchism 1864–1892. AK Press. pp. 111–113.
^Balestrini, Nanni; Moroni, Primo (1997).L'orda d'oro 1968–1977. La grande ondata rivoluzionaria e creativa, politica ed esistenziale. SugarCo.ISBN8-8078-1462-5.
^Of this second line, Dario Fo speaks of a true alternative culture to the official one: although widespread as an idea, some scholars such asGiovanni Antonucci [it] do not agree in considering it as such. In this regard, seeAntonucci, Giovanni (1995).Storia del teatro italiano (in Italian). Newton Compton Editori. pp. 10–14.ISBN978-8-8798-3974-7.
^Antonucci, Giovanni (1995).Storia del teatro italiano (in Italian). Newton Compton Editori. p. 18.ISBN978-8-8798-3974-7.
^Chaffee, Judith; Crick, Olly (2015).The Routledge Companion to Commedia Dell'Arte. London and New York: Rutledge Taylor and Francis Group. p. 1.ISBN978-0-4157-4506-2.
^abErlich, Cyril (1990).The Piano: A History. Oxford University Press, US; Revised edition.ISBN978-0-1981-6171-4.;Allen, Edward Heron (1914).Violin-making, as it was and is: Being a Historical, Theoretical, and Practical Treatise on the Science and Art of Violin-making, for the Use of Violin Makers and Players, Amateur and Professional. Preceded by An Essay on the Violin and Its Position as a Musical Instrument. E. Howe. Accessed 5 September 2015.
^"This record was a collaboration between Philip Oakey, the big-voiced lead singer of the techno-pop band the Human League, and Giorgio Moroder, the Italian-born father of disco who spent the '80s writing synth-based pop and film music."Evan Cater."Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder: Overview".AllMusic. Retrieved21 December 2009.
^"Cinematografia",Dizionario enciclopedico italiano (in Italian), vol. III,Treccani, 1970, p. 226
^Andrea Fioravanti (2006).La "storia" senza storia. Racconti del passato tra letteratura, cinema e televisione (in Italian). Morlacchi Editore. p. 121.ISBN978-8-8607-4066-3.
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