Italy country profile

27 August 2006
by eub2 -- last modified 03 January 2008

Italy is a founding Member State of the European Community, now the EU.

Repubblica Italiana

Italy is mainly mountainous, except for the Po plain in the Emilia-Romagna region, and runs from the Alps to the central Mediterranean Sea. It includes the islands of Sicily and Sardinia, Elba and about 70 other smaller ones. There are two small independent states within peninsular Italy: the Vatican City in Rome, and the Republic of San Marino.

Italy has a two-chamber parliament, consisting of the Senate (Senato della Repubblica) of upper house and the Chamber of Deputies (Camera dei Deputati). Elections take place every five years.

The country’s main economic sectors are tourism, fashion, engineering, chemicals, motor vehicles and food. Italy is a member of the G8 group of industrialised countries and it is the world's seventh largest economy. Italy's northern regions are per capita amongst the richest in Europe.

Already the centre of a vast Roman empire which left a huge archaeological, cultural and literary heritage, the Italian peninsula saw the birth of medieval humanism and the Renaissance. This further helped to shape European political thought, philosophy and art via figures like Machiavelli, Dante, Leonardo and Galileo.

The list of famous Italian artists is long, including Giotto, Botticelli, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Tintoretto and Caravaggio. The country has also produced opera composers such as Verdi and Puccini and film-maker Federico Fellini.

Italian cuisine is one of the most refined and varied in Europe, from the piquant flavours of Naples and Calabria, the pesto dishes of Liguria to the cheese and risotto dishes of the Italian Alps.

Area: 301 277 km²
Population: 58.462 million
Capital city: Rome
Currency: 1 euro = 100 cent
National day: 2 June
EU-membership: 23 July 1952

Head of State: President Giorgio Napolitano
Head of Government: Prime Minister Romano Prodi
Foreign Minister: Massimo D'Alema
Government:  
Parliament: Chamber of Deputies: 630 seats, elected by proportional representation
Senate: 315 elected senators and currently 7 senators for life

GDP: € 1 417.24 billion (2005)
GDP per capita in PPS: € 24 214 (2005)
Economic growth in real terms: + 0.1% (2005)

Links:
Head of State: http://www.quirinale.it
Head of Government: http://palazzochigi.it
Foreign Minister: http://www.esteri.it
Parliament: http://www.parlamento.it

Map of Italy

Source: European Commission, Slovenia EU Presidency