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| Sunday, 9 October 2005 |
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Junior Observer |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Italy's splendour
Italy has shaped the cultural and social development of the whole Mediterranean area, deeply influencing European culture as well. Important cultures and civilizations have existed there since prehistoric times. After Magna Graecia, the Etruscan civilization and especially the Roman Republic and Empire that dominated this part of the world for many centuries, Italy was central to European philosophy, science and art during the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance. Europe's Renaissance period began in Italy during the 14th and 15th centuries. The architects of Italian unification were Count Camillo Benso di Cavour, the Chief Minister of Victor Emmanuel, and Giuseppe Garibaldi, a general and national hero. Rome itself remained for a decade under the Papacy, and became part of the Kingdom of Italy only on September 20, 1870, the final date of Italian unification. The Vatican is now an independent enclave, surrounded by Italy, as is San Marino.
Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the city-states of the peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King Victor Emmanuel II. An era of parliamentary government came to a close in the early 1920s when Benito Mussolini established a Fascist dictatorship. His disastrous alliance with Nazi Germany led to Italy's defeat in World War II. A democratic republic replaced the monarchy in 1946 and an economic revival followed. Italy is subdivided into 20 regions (regioni, singular regione), of which five enjoy a special autonomous status that enables them to enact legislation on some of their specific local matters. The Apennine mountains form the backbone of this peninsula, leading north-west to where they join the Alps, the mountain range that then forms an arc enclosing Italy from the north. Here is also found a large alluvial plain, the Po-Venetian plain, drained by the Po River and its many tributaries flowing down from the Alps, Apennines and Dolomites. Other well-known rivers include the Tiber, Adige and Arno.Its highest point is Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco) at 4,810 m, but Italy is more typically associated with two famous volcanoes: the currently dormant Vesuvius near Naples and the very active Etna in Sicily. Italy is largely homogeneous in language and religion, but is diverse culturally, economically, and politically. Italy has the fifth-highest population density in Europe, at 196 persons per square kilometre. Indigenous minority groups are small. Although Roman Catholicism is the majority religion (85 per cent of native-born citizens are nominally Catholic) there are mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community. Italy is well-known for its art, culture and several monuments, among them the leaning tower of Pisa and the Roman Colosseum, as well as for its food (pizza, pasta, etc.), wine, lifestyle, elegance, design, cinema, theatre, literature, poetry, visual arts, music (notably Opera), holidays, and generally speaking, taste. Football is the main national sport and the Italians are well-known for their passion for this sport. Italy has won the Football World Cup three times: in 1934, 1938 and 1982.Italy was a charter member of NATO and the European Economic Community (EEC). It has been at the forefront of European economic and political unification, joining the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999. Persistent problems include illegal immigration, organized crime, corruption, high unemployment, sluggish economic growth, and the low incomes and technical standards of southern Italy, compared with the prosperous north.Italy is known for its many world famous festivals. The best party in the world - Carnevale - takes place in Venice. In spring the rites of Holy Week are practised in small villages and in big cities all over the country. There's no time like spring to experience the natural wonder of the Italian countryside in Tuscany and Umbria. One day of each year, some town is honouring Italian folklore with a festival or procession based on hundreds of years of history. In 2006, Torino is scheduled to host the Winter Olympics. **** Official Name: Italian Republic. Capital: Rome. Population: 56,153,700. Independance Day: 17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; Italy was not finally unified until 1870) Government Type: Republic Predominant Religion: Christian (Roman Catholic). Languages: Italian (official), German, French Currency: euro (EUR) Industries: tourism, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics. |
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| Politics | Produced by Lake House |
Italy... it is the country that gave birth to Caesar, Michelangelo,
Galileo and Garibaldi. Italy is a country that is enriched with a mix of
history, art, architecture, gastronomy, fashion and natural beauty. 
Italy consists predominantly of a large peninsula with a distinctive
boot shape that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, where together with
its two main islands, Sicily and Sardinia, it creates distinct bodies of
water, such as the Adriatic Sea to the north-east, the Ionian Sea to the
south-east, the Tyrrhenian Sea to the south-west and finally the Ligurian
Sea to the north-west. 
