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Italy is a European country with a 4,722.4-mile coastline and land borders with Austria, France, Slovenia, Switzerland, Vatican City, and San Marino. It has a population of 58,126,212, with 90% being Roman Catholic. The capital is Rome, and the economy is focused on industry and agriculture, with tourism, machinery, and food processing being the main industries. Italy is known for its diverse regional cuisines, cheeses, sausages, hams, wines, and seafood.
Italy is a European country that extends into the Mediterranean Sea. Italy has a coastline of 4,722.4 miles (7,600 km), but shares a land border with a number of countries to the north: Austria, France, Slovenia and Switzerland, as well as Vatican City and San Marino within its borders . The total area of Italy is 187,175.6 square miles (301,230 sq km).
The creation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 with King Vittorio Emanuele II, already sovereign of Piedmont, Savoy and Sardinia, lasted until 1946, the year in which the republic was established by referendum. True unity was not actually realized until 1970. In the early part of the twentieth century, Benito Mussolini established a fascist dictatorship in Italy and formed an alliance with Nazi Germany, leading to Italy’s defeat in World War II. Italy was a founding member of both the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Economic Community (EEC).
The population of Italy was estimated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) at 58,126,212 in July 2009, making it the 24th most populous country in the world. One fifth of the population is 65 years of age or older. The population is predominantly Italian, but there are also populations of German, French and Slovenian origin in the north and of Albanian and Greek origin in the south. Ninety percent of the population is considered Roman Catholic, yet only a third practice their faith. The other ten percent are Protestants, Jews and Muslims.
The official name of Italy is the Italian Republic, which is given in English as the Italian Republic, and the capital is Rome, once the capital of the Roman Empire. The head of state is a president, elected by both houses of parliament and by representatives of the 15 regions and five autonomous regions. Italian is the official language of Italy, but in parts of the Trentino-Alto Adige region, German is predominantly spoken. There are also areas where there is a French or Slovenian minority. The literacy rate is 98.4%.
The Italian economy is more focused on industry in the north and agriculture in the south, where there is more unemployment. Overall, 65% of the workforce is in services, with 30.7% in industry and 4.2% in agriculture. The main industries are tourism, machinery, metals and chemicals, food processing and textiles. The main agricultural products are fruits and vegetables, grapes and potatoes.
Italy is known for its cheeses, sausages, hams, and wines, as well as many dishes prepared from its widely diverse regional cuisines. Cheeses include Parmesan, Romano, Mozzarella and Gorgonzola. Sausages include pepperoni and sopressata. Some of the dishes it is known for include pizza, pasta in a wide variety of formats and prepared with a wide variety of sauces, polenta, risotto, gnocchi and antipasti. Seafood is also widely served.
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