Language: Italian
Currency: Euro (EUR)
Calling Code: 39
Italy, the official name is the Italian Republic (Italian.
Repubblica Italiana) - a state in southern Europe, in the center of
the Mediterranean. Member of the European Union and NATO since its
inception, is the third largest economy in the eurozone.
It
borders with France in the northwest (border length is 488 km),
Switzerland (740 km) and Austria (430 km) in the north, Slovenia in
the northeast (232 km). It also has internal borders with the
Vatican (3.2 km) and San Marino (39 km).
It occupies the
Apennine Peninsula, the extreme northwest of the Balkan Peninsula,
the Padan Plain, the southern slopes of the Alps, the islands of
Sicily, Sardinia and a number of small islands.
In Italy
there are 55 UNESCO World Heritage Sites - Italy shares the first
place with China in terms of their number.
Northwest Italy
Liguria (Italy) |
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Genoa Apricale Albenga Finale Ligure Framura Imperia |
La Spezia Moneglia Portofino Rapallo San Remo Santa Margherita Ligure |
Savona Seborga Sestri Levante Ventimiglia Vernazza |
Balestrino |
Lombardy (Italy) |
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Milan Bergamo Brescia |
Como Cremona Lecco |
Mantua Sondrio Varese |
Certosa di
Pavia Sirmione Castle |
Aosta Valley (Italy) |
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Aosta (Aoste) Courmayeur |
La Thuile Pont-Saint-Martin Saint-Vincent |
Fenis Castle Mont Blanc Verrès Castle |
Northeast Italy
Friuli–Venezia Giulia (Italy) |
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Aquileia Cividale del Friuli Gorizia Grado |
Lignano Osoppo Palmanova Pordenone |
Spilimbergo Tarvisio Trieste Udine |
Miramare Castle |
Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol (Italy) |
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Bolzano Brixen Meran Rovereto Trent |
Prösels Castle Reifenstein Castle Runkelstein Castle Schloss Brunnenburg Stelvio National Park |
Veneto (Italy) |
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Venice Verona Castelfranco Veneto |
Padova Rovigo Vicenza Treviso |
Cortina d'Ampezzo Dolomiti Bellunesi National Park Lake Garda Poveglia Island |
Central Italy
Lazio (Italy) |
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Rome Vatican Cerveteri |
Civita Castellana Civitavecchia Rieti Subiaco |
Tarquinia Tivoli Viterbo |
Hadrian's Villa |
Abruzzo (Italy) |
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L'Aquila Avezzano Chieti |
Pescara Sulmona |
Teramo Vasto |
Forte Spagnolo Rocca Calascio |
Marche (Italy) |
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Ancona Ascoli Piceno Cingoli Cupramontana |
Fano Fermo Macerata Pesaro |
Recanati Senigallia Urbino |
Fortress of San Leo |
Tuscany (Italy) |
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Florence Arezzo Chiusi Lucca |
Montepulciano Pienza Pisa Siena |
Arcipelago Toscano National Park Emperor's Castle San Gimignano |
Southern Italy
Apulia (Italy) |
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Bari Altamura Brindisi Foggia |
Lecce Martina Franca Monopoli Ostuni Taranto |
Castel del Monte Conversano Castle Copertino Castle Lucera Castle Swabian Castle |
Basilicata (Italy) |
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Maratea Matera Melfi |
Policoro Venosa |
Calabria (Italy) |
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Reggio di Calabria Catanzaro Lamezia Terme |
Cosenza Crotone Corigliano Calabro |
Rossano Rende Vibo Valentia |
Aragonese Castle Sybaris |
Campania (Italy) |
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Naples Pompeii Herculaneum |
Avellino Benevento Caserta Salerno |
Capri Castel dell'Ovo Oplontis Paestum |
Molise (Italy) |
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Campobasso | Agnone Bojano |
Isernia Larino |
Termoli Venafro |
Sicily
Sicily (Italy) |
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Palermo Catania |
Gela Marsala Messina |
Ragusa Syracuse (Siracusa) Trapani |
Agrigento Segesta Ursino Castle |
Sardinia
Sardinia (Italy) |
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Cagliari | Alghero Carbonia |
Nuoro Olbia |
Oristano Sassari |
Ancient Rome
By the beginning of the I millennium BC. e. the
south and center of Italy were inhabited by Italian peoples, one of
which was the Latins. The Latins formed the Latin Union, which
included 30 civitas, the governing bodies of each of which were a
national assembly (comitia or consilia), a council of elders (curiae
or senate) and leaders (Rexes). According to Latin legends,
initially the strongest civitas was Lavrent, then Lavinia
strengthened, then Alba Longa, in the VI century Rome became the
most powerful civitas of the union. After the Samnite wars, by 290,
Rome had made all the other Italian nations dependent on itself.
Part of the lands of the non-Roman provincial population was
transferred to the Romans, Roman settlements were founded - colonies
- thus the Romanization of Italy took place. Under the Roman emperor
Diocletian, a division into provinces was introduced in Italy,
headed by presidents and consuls. After the fall of the Roman Empire
in 476, the king of Italy was proclaimed commander Odoacer, a rug by
birth, but in 493 his possessions were seized by the Ostrogoths, and
he himself was killed.
Middle Ages
In 555, Italy was
conquered by Byzantium. The whole territory of Italy was divided
into dukes, led by dukes, who were formally subordinate to the
exarch of Ravenna. In 572, part of the duchies of Italy were
conquered by the Lombards. Byzantium remained the Roman Duchy, the
Duchies of Naples, the Duchy of Amalfi, the Duchy of Calabria, the
Duchy of Pentapol, the Exarchate of Ravenna and the Republic of
Venice, as well as the Sicily Theme (conquered by the Arabs in 956)
and Sardinian judicates. However, the Lombard and Byzantine dukes
increasingly turned into virtually independent rulers.
In
752, the secular authority of the popes was established in the Duchy
of Rome, the Exarchate of Raven and Pentapolis, which laid the
foundation for the Papal region. In 774, Italy was annexed to the
Frankish state. Only in the south were several Lombard duchies
preserved (Spoletal duchy, Duchy of Benevento, and later the
Principality of Salerno and the Principality of Capua stood out from
them). In 800, the Frankish king Charlemagne proclaimed himself the
new Roman emperor. After the death of his great-grandson Charles III
Tolstoy, civil strife began in the Italian kingdom.
In 951,
the King of Italy proclaimed the German king Otto I the Great.
However, the power of the king of Italy became nominal, the entire
territory of northern Italy was divided into brands: Tuscan
(Tuscany), Friulian (later Verona) (Venice), Hebrew (was soon
annexed to the Turin brand), Saluzzo, Monferrat, Turin (all four in
Piedmont ), Milan (Lombardy). The stamps were ruled by margraves,
each of whom was actually a sovereign ruler.
However, already
in the XI-XII centuries, most brands fell into communes, which were
aristocratic city-states. The Tuscan brand completely disintegrated,
the Verona brand was absorbed by Venice, the Turin brand was annexed
to Savoy in 1091, only Saluzzo and Monferrat have survived from the
previous brands. In some Tuscan communes, democratic elements were
periodically strengthened.
In 1071, the Norman nobleman
Robert Guiscard conquered Apulia and Calabria, in 1072 Sicily, in
1073 Amalfi, in 1078 Salerno, forming the Duchy of Apulia and
Calabria and the County of Sicily, which united in 1130 into the
Kingdom of Sicily. In 1135, the Principality of Capua passed under
his authority, in 1140 - the Duchy of Gaet, in 1144 - the Duchy of
Naples. At the same time, the Papal Region is also strengthening -
in 1081 the Duchy of Benevento joins it, and in 1201 - the Duchy of
Spoleto.
Renaissance
The beginning of the Renaissance in
Italy is considered to be the year 1401, when a competition was held
for the relief of the doors of the Florentine Baptistery. Among the
participants of the competition were the architect Filippo
Brunelleschi, who became the author of the design of the dome of the
Florentine cathedral, and the sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti. The winner
of the competition was the master of the new era of Ghiberti.
By the 15th century, the communes of Tuscany were united around
Florence into the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, Lombardy was united around
Milan into the Duchy of Milan, Romagna was united around Ferara into
the Duchy of Duchy, all these states were monarchies. Aristocratic
republics remained in Venice and Genoa. In the 16th century, the
domination of Spain was consolidated in a large part of Italy, and
after the war for the Spanish Succession of 1701-1714, the
domination of the Austrian Habsburgs.
In 1797, the French Army entered Italy, the Cispadan Republic,
the Transpadan Republic, the Venetian Republic, the Ligurian
Republic, the Piedmont Republic, the Roman Republic, the Neapolitan
Republic were formed, all were oligarchic republics. In the same
1797 they merged into the Cisalpine Republic, renamed in 1802 the
Italian Republic, which in turn was transformed into the Kingdom of
Italy in 1805, the king of which was Emperor of France Napoleon I.
In 1814, the French army left Italy, were the Duchy of Modena was
restored, the Duchy of Parma, the Kingdom of Naples and the Papal
States were restored in 1799, the Kingdom of Sardinia was returned
to Piedmont, Emilia - to the Papal States, Lombardy and Veneto -
Austria.
New time
The struggle for a united Italy was led
by the carbonaries, Young Italy and other organizations, in which
Giuseppe Garibaldi and Giuseppe Mazzini were key figures. By the end
of 1860, Italy was largely united around the Sardinian kingdom
(since 1861 the Italian kingdom). In 1865-1870, the capital was
Florence, in 1870 Rome was annexed to the Italian kingdom, which
became the new capital.
XX and XXI centuries
In 1914, the
Declaration of Italy on neutrality in the outbreak of World War II
was signed. In April 1915, Italy signed an agreement with the
Entente countries on their participation in the war. In May of that
year, Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary, and then Germany. In
August 1917, an anti-war uprising of workers in Turin took place in
Italy. In January 1919, the formation of the Catholic People's Party
(subsequently - the Christian Democratic Party). In March 1919, the
fascist movement emerged (the formation of the first “military
alliance”). In August 1919, an election reform was carried out in
the country (introduction of voting on party lists and a
proportional system of representation in the Chamber of Deputies).
January 1921 was marked by the formation of the Communist Party of
Italy (KPI, since 1944 - IKP). In November of the same year, the
fascist “military alliances” were transformed into a party.
In 1922, after the campaign of the black shirts to Rome and the
presentation of their demands to the king, the Nazis came to power
and established a dictatorship led by Benito Mussolini (1922-1943).
February 7, 1924 is the establishment of diplomatic relations
between Italy and the USSR. In 1929, according to the Lateran
Treaty, Italy guaranteed the sovereignty of the Vatican. In
1935-1936 Italy captured Ethiopia, in 1939 - Albania. Having entered
into a military alliance with Nazi Germany and Japan, Italy entered
World War II in 1940. In 1940, hostilities began with the
participation of Italy in the Balkans (against Greece and
Yugoslavia). In 1941-1943, Italy accepted complicity in Nazi
aggression against the USSR; Italy soon suffers a military defeat in
East Africa.
Despite the fact that historically Italy was not
inherent in anti-Semitism, 1937, when the Hitler coalition began to
form, is considered to be the starting point of the Holocaust in
Italy.
1941 was marked by the declaration by Italy and
Germany of the US war.
In July 1943, the United States,
Britain and their allies landed in Italy with the aim of defeating
the fascist troops and leaving Italy from the war. On September 3,
the Italian government signed a ceasefire, on September 8, 1943,
Italy surrendered to the United Nations, and a National Liberation
Committee was created in Rome with the participation of 6
anti-fascist parties.
In September 1943, there was a Nazi
occupation of Northern and Central Italy (the "Republic of Salo").
In June 1944 Rome was liberated; a single partisan party was
created. In the same year, full diplomatic relations with the Soviet
Union were restored. In December 1944, the Roman Protocols were
signed (an agreement between the Anglo-American command and the
Resistance forces on cooperation at the final stage of the war and
the further fate of partisan formations).
In 1945, the Nazi
regime of Mussolini was overthrown by the actions of the Resistance
movement (the highest point was the April Uprising of 1945) and the
Anglo-American forces in Italy. By the 21st century, Italy is not as
strongly condemned as Germany in Germany by the gloomy pages of its
history related to fascism, admirers of Mussolini's ideology have
survived, some continue to honor the memory of the Duce, and a
fascism museum was opened in his homeland in Preappio in 2016,
funded, in addition to city authorities and sponsors, also the
Italian government. This memorial caused a mixed reaction from
society, despite the guarantees that the museum would not be engaged
in the propaganda of fascist ideology.
In 1946, following a
national referendum, Italy became a parliamentary republic.
In November 1947, the Constitution of the Italian Republic was
adopted, it officially entered into force on January 1, 1948.
According to the current Constitution of Italy, it is the legal
successor of the Kingdom of Italy, a parliamentary board is
established, and at the same time, the previously adopted laws and
property rights to real estate that are not recognized as invalid.
Between 1948 and 2015, constitutional amendments were introduced
more than 15 times.
After the Second World War, the Christian
Democratic Party of Italy (CDP) was established in the political
arena, which formed the governments in 1945-1981 and in 1987-1992.
In 1948, parliamentary elections were held, which consolidated
until 1953 the establishment of the political dominance of the CDA.
In June 1948, Prime Minister De Gasperi signed an agreement with the
United States to extend the "Marshall Plan" to Italy.
March
1949 - Italy joins NATO. In 1960, neo-fascism intensified and the
mass anti-fascist movement rose. 1969 - “Hot Autumn” (the struggle
for new conditions of collective labor agreements and the expansion
of the rights of workers' organizations).
The late 1960s and
early 1970s in Italy marked the onset of an era of organized crime
and political extremism. The country was shocked by numerous
terrorist attacks, in many cities there were regular bombings,
abductions and killings of politicians, businessmen, judges, police
and journalists. During 1977, 2128 acts of political violence were
committed in Italy. In 1978, a world-wide crime took place in Rome -
the abduction and murder by terrorists from the "Red Brigades" of
the former prime minister, chairman of the Christian Democratic
Party, Aldo Moro. In 1979, 2150 terrorist attacks were carried out
in the country. In August 1980, the bloodiest terrorist attack in
the entire post-war history of Italy took place - terrorists blew up
a station in Bologna, killing 85 people. Italy was threatened by a
right-wing dictatorship (similar to the pro-fascist regime of the
"black colonels" in Greece), but the country overcame the crisis by
constitutional means.
1976-1979 - the policy of "national
solidarity."
In 1980, the five-party coalition came to power.
In 1988, in terms of purchasing power parity, Italy was slightly
ahead of the USSR, entering in the top ten most developed countries
in the world in economic indicators.
January 1991 was marked
by the 20th Congress of the IKP and the cessation of its existence
(the formation of the Democratic Party of the Left Forces and the
Party of the Communist Reconstruction). 1991-1993 - transition from
a proportional electoral system to a majority; Operation Clean Hands
and the crisis of traditional government parties.
In 1993,
Italy acceded to the Maastricht Treaty.
The sharp increase in
corruption at all levels of government has led to a change in the
electoral system. On August 4, 1993, a new law on parliamentary
elections was approved.
The post-war history of Italy is
characterized by a frequent change of government. Since 1994, Silvio
Berlusconi four times became Prime Minister of Italy, held this post
intermittently until November 2011.
In 2007, a large-scale
reform of special services was carried out in Italy.
The 63rd
Government of the Italian Republic began work on February 22, 2014,
chaired by Matteo Renzi. Since December 12, 2016, after Renzi’s
resignation caused by a failure in the constitutional referendum,
the same government was headed by Paolo Gentiloni.
After the
parliamentary elections in March 2018, a new government was formed
for more than two months. The 65th Government of the Italian
Republic has been operating since June 1, 2018 under the
chairmanship of Giuseppe Conte.