Italy | Geography | People | Economy, and Tourism
Italy, officially Italian Republic, is a beautiful country with a long Mediterranean coastline. This country is famous for tourism, and being the origin country of Pizza and Pasta.
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Geography
First of all, Italy is a boot-shaped country located in Southern Europe with a total land area of 301,340 km². It is considered the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, bordered by France, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia in the north.
In fact, there are two microstates which are completely situated within Italy, the Vatican City and San Marino.
The whole country is divided into 20 different regions in which 5 of the regions have special autonomous status.
The country’s largest cities are the capital Rome, Milan, and Naples. There are over 350 islands off its coast whereas Sicily and Sardinia are the largest Islands in Italy.
There are too many castles, forts, churches, monasteries, museums, and ancient sites to list, but you got the point.
We all know Italy is a very beautiful country with so many areas to explore. First of all, Italy’s beauty comes at a cost.
Italy is split in half east and west, with a major lush bassin locked in the north that receives an abundance rivers created from snow melt like the longest one, The Po river
Italy is a volcanic country. There are about 30 volcanoes, in which 3 are active, Etna, Stromboli and the famous Vesuvius.
Demographics
Italy has about 60 million people in their country and is the 3rd most populous country in the European Union.
About 92% of the total population in Italy identifies as ethnically Italian. Whereas about 2% are Romanian, 1% North African and the rest of the country is made up of people from different parts of the world, everything from Albania, Eritrea, China and Ukraine.
We all know, they speak Italian in Italy but people from South Italy would almost need a translator to understand people in North Italy because of their different dialects.
The standard Italian language spoken and taught today is based on the Tuscan Italian language.
About 88.6% of the country identifies as the Roman Catholic. Islam and Buddhism are also practiced by a small group of people in Italy.
Tourism
In terms of tourism, Italy is the 5th most visited country in the world with more than 64 million tourists visited in the year 2019. It is a very famous country from ancient and historical values.
You can have an opportunity to explore breathtaking nature, hospitable people, mouth-watering cuisine, and most importantly gigantic-shaped architecture in Italy.
Italy is famous for its rich culture, history, cuisine, fashion, coastlines, art, mountains, and historic ancient monuments.
The Major Attractions in Italy:
- Colosseum in Rome
- The Grand Canal in Venice
- Piazza San Marco- Venice
- Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius
- Leaning Tower of Pisa
- Greek ruins on Sicily
- Amalfi Coast- Campania
- Siena- Tuscany
- Lake Como
- The Roman Forum
- Gran Paradiso National Park
Do you know? Italy has more than 50 world heritage sites, which is the highest in the world than any other country.
Nature and Wildlife
About a quarter of the land in Italy is arable allowing them to grow plenty of food. They are one of the largest producers of agricultural products in Europe.
Italy enjoys a mild Mediterranean climate, only snowing in the north and high altitude areas near the foothills of the Alps.
Despite deforestation and pollution being an emerging issue, Italy is the most biodiverse country in Europe with more than 57,000 species. That’s about one-third of all European fauna.
Animals like the Sardinian Red Deer, the Italian cave salamander, the alpine marmot, the marsican brown bear, the crested porcupine, and the national animal, the Italian wolf are mostly found in Italy.
Economy
Italy has the 8th largest nominal GDP in the world and is the 8th largest exporter. Italy’s economy is heavily dependent upon industry service and tourism sectors.
Italy’s largest production sectors are agricultural products, fisheries, luxury items, automobiles, textiles, wines, and manufacturing goods and services.
World-renowned luxury companies like Fiat, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Maserati, Ducati, Pirelli, Armani and Versace, Gucci and Prada are the major key players in Italy’s economy and identity.
The largest trading partners of Italy are Germany, France, the United States, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland.
Fact: Italy is the 4t largest economy in Europe after Germany, The UK, and France.
Innovations
Some great people of Italian descent are Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, Dante Alighieri, Galileo Galilei, Christopher Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci, and Marco Polo.
Italy doesn’t only have great people but also this country is home to some world-changing inventions.
Some Notable Inventions of Italy:
- Barometer
- Newspaper
- Piano
- Jeans
- Bank
- Calculator
- Casino
- Electroplating
- Pasta
- Pistol
Fact: Batteries were Invented by Italian Scientist Alessandro Volta.
International Relations
Italy is a really good guy and maintains good friendships with each and every country in the world. Everyone loves Italy.
First of all, France is like their best friend because they are culturally close to Italy. Nonetheless, with historical bumps in relation because of World War II, they still cooperate well today.
Argentina is like the adopted daughters that both nations have friendly relations with each other, Argentines of full or partial Italian ancestry are approximately 62% of the country’s total population.
Malta and San Marino are like little sons of Italy, they love working together and enjoy Italian culture.
In terms of their best friends, every Italian says the exact same two countries: Greece and Spain. In fact, all these are Latin countries.
The US is the great ally of Italy and is the largest trade partner outside Europe. They both love each other.
Do you know? You don’t need to get a visa before entering the USA. It’s waived off for 90 days at a time.
Italy does well with the rest of Europe and it is an important member of the European Union and a part of the Schengen Visa-Free Zone. Literally, all countries in Europe love Italy.
Problems
None of the countries are perfect in everything. Similarly, Italy has some of the issues to deal with.
Firstly, Italy is facing a problem of a declining population which may lead to a decreasing workforce in the country and pressure to pay for the aging population.
Secondly, the unemployment rate in Italy is high as compared to other European Nations. However, the rate seems to decline in general.
Fact: Venice City of Italy is Shrinking day by day because of the rising sea level.
In Conclusion, for centuries Italy has been a crucial hub of art, fashion, architecture, literature, history, religion, cuisine, and landmarks to the rest of the world.
