Italy

Photos from Our World

ITALY

M.a.p

The Republic of Italy occupies a boot-shaped peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea from southern Europe. The country also includes two large islands, Sicily and Sardinia. Two independent countries lie within Italy's borders: the tiny Republic of San Marino, in north-central Italy, and Vatican City, which is located completely within the city of Rome. The country has an immensely rich cultural heritage with spectacular churches and museums containing some of the world's best-known art. The countryside has great natural beauty with warm, sandy beaches, clear lakes, high, glacier-topped mountain peaks and rolling hills covered with green fields and vineyards. Its landscape is dominated by two mountain ranges--the Alps and the Apennines. The Alps tower across the northernmost part of Italy. The Apennines form a backbone that runs nearly the entire length of the peninsula. The country boasts several world-famous cities. Rome, the capital and largest city of Italy, was the centre of the Roman Empire 2000 years ago. Florence was the home of many artists of the Renaissance, a period of great achievements in the arts. Venice with its intricate canal system, attracts tourists from all over the world.

For hundreds of years, the history of Italy dominated the history of Western civilisation. But the Italian peninsula has been occupied much longer than that. During the last ice age, more than 20 000 years ago, Neanderthals lived here and by 5000 BC Neolithic farmers were established all over the peninsula. Around 2000 BC there were several Italic tribes, with their own unique cultures. Around the end of the 8th century BC (although another school of thought puts the date as far back as the 12th century BC) the Etruscans arrived, probably from present day Turkey. They established a flourishing civilisation between the Arno and Tiber valleys with other settlements in Campania, Lazio and the Po Valley. One of the best examples of Etruscan culture is the famous painted tombs in Tarquinia, near Rome. Greek settlements were established in the 8th century BC, especially along the peninsula's southern coast and in Sicily.

The story of modern Italy begins with the founding of the first Roman Republic in 509 BC. Ancient Rome began its overseas conquests during the 200's BC, and by the A.D. 100's the Roman Empire controlled all the lands bordering the Mediterranean Sea. The empire influenced the government, the arts, and the architecture of many later groups of people. After the fall of Rome in 476 Germanic tribes ruled the land; Ostrogoths, Lombards and Normans, among others. All were eventually absorbed in the local culture. The Papal States were established after the pope had invited the Germanic Franks to unseat the Lombards in 754 and 756 and these survived until 1870. In the Middle Ages there were powerful city states and from the 1500s much of the country was under Spanish or Austrian rule. In 1804 The Kingdom of Italy was established under French rule but it was only in 1860 when Italy was united and independent under Victor Emmanuel II.

All this history and culture, combined with its natural beauty and climate, makes Italy a great place to visit. The Italian cuisine, of course, is unsurpassed and its wines second to none. Italian fashion and its high-performance cars are the envy of the world. The Italian people are passionately proud of their country and its culture although their loyalty is first and foremost with their family. And then, Italy is a very diverse country and there are great regional differences, especially between the more industrialised north and the more rural and traditionally poorer south. But wherever you go, Italy is a delight to visit.