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Italy - Some Interesting Facts
By Robert Paterson
Italy is a republic in southern Europe, its capital city is Rome. The country has a land area of just over 300000 square kilometres, and a population of around 58 million. Some 85% of the inhabitants belong to the Roman Catholic religion. The official language is Italian, but there are other languages spoken in some small areas, German, French and Slovenian. Italy consists of the mainland portion, a long peninsula extending into the Mediterranean Sea, the islands of Sicily and Sardinia, and some smaller islands. There is a central mountain range along the peninsula, called the Apennines, rising to over 2900 metres in height in places. The Alps form a natural border in the north, and the sea borders most of the remaining land. The climate is Mediterranean. The north and south of the country are different from each other. The north is a region of industry and factories, mainly in engineering, machinery, iron and steel, while the south is almost entirely devoted to agriculture. There is also a disparity of wealth, the richer areas being in the north. The whole country benefits from a thriving tourist industry. Italy has a long and rich history. It was first settled by the Etruscans, whose name survives in the modern region of Tuscany, by the Latins, and by the Greeks. Then increasingly, the Romans began to rise to dominance, and of course, they eventually built an empire which stretched over a large part of the continent of Europe. When the Roman Empire began to decay, Italy became the scene of much dispute and conflict, and portions of it changed hands many times, and came under the sway of many different rulers and invaders. The city of Rome was the dwelling place of the Pope, who was, and still is, the head of the largest group of Christians in the world, the Roman Catholic Church. Technically, the Pope's domain, the Vatican, is an independent country, whose borders lie entirely inside the city of Rome. Italy took sides with Nazi Germany during World War Two, and when that war ended, it became a democratic republic in 1946. It was one of the six founder-members of the European Community, which later became the European Union. The contribution of Italy to the world of art and of music is unparalleled. |
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