ITALY
(State of Italy)

Capital: Rome (Rimini).
Currency: Euro (EUR)
Population: 60,5 million people
GDP (PPS): 2400 bln. dollars of the USA (2018)
Area: 301,340 sq.km.
IRCHP: 26 (2015)

HISTORY

Since classical times ancient Phoenicians, Carthaginians and Greeks established settlements in the south of Italy, with the Etruscans and Celts inhabiting the center and the North of Italy respectively and also various ancient Italian tribes and the italic people disseminated through all Italian peninsula and island Italy. The Italic tribe known as to the latinena, created the Roman kingdom in the 8th century B.C. which finally became the republic which won and assimilated the neighbors. Eventually, the Roman Empire arose in the 1st century B.C. as the dominating power in the Mediterranean Basin and became the leading cultural, political and religious center of the western civilization. The heritage of the Roman Empire is widespread and it is possible to observe in global distribution of civil law, the republican governments, Christianity and the Latin alphabet.

GEOGRAPHY

Italy is located in Southern Europe, between latitudes 35 ° and 47 °C. highway and also longitudes 6 ° and 19 °C. In the north Italy borders on France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia and is approximately divided by the Alpine watershed, On the valley and the Venetian plain. In the south it consists of all Italian peninsula and two Mediterranean islands of Sicily and Sardinia and also many small islands. The sovereign states of San Marino and Vatican are enclaves in Italy, and Kampione-Italy - the Italian exclave in Switzerland.
The country is located on the meeting place of the Euroasian plate and African plate that results in considerable seismic and volcanic activity. In Italy 14 volcanoes, four of which are active: Etna (traditional site of a smithy Vulcan), Stromboli, Vulcan and Vesuvius. The last is the only active volcano in continental Europe and is most known for destruction Pompeii and Herculaneum in eruption in the 79th year of our era. Several islands and hills were created by volcanic activity, and still there is a big active kalderka, Campi Flegrei to the northwest from Naples.

CLIMATE

Coastal areas of Liguria, Tuscany and majority of the South in general approach the Mediterranean climatic stereotype (climatic classification of Koppen Csa). Conditions on coastal sites of the peninsula can strongly differ from higher soil and valleys in an interior, especially in winter months when higher heights tend to be cold, damp and often snow. Coastal regions have soft winter both warm and usually dry summer though low valleys can be quite hot in the summer. Average winter temperatures vary from 0 °C (32 °F) on the Alps up to 12 °C (54 °F) on Sicily as average summer temperature fluctuates from 20 °C (up to 68 °F) to more than 25 °C (77 °F).