For an alphabetical index of this subject, see the List of Italy-related topics.

Italy, officially known as the Italian Republic, is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia. The independent states of San Marino and the Vatican City are enclaves within the Italian Peninsula, while Campione d'Italia is an Italian exclave in Switzerland.

Italy has been the home of many European cultures, such as the Etruscans and the Romans, and later was the birthplace of the movement of the Renaissance, that began in Tuscany and spread all over Europe. Italy's capital Rome has been for centuries the center of Western civilization, and is the seat of the Catholic Church.

Today, Italy is a democratic republic, and a developed country with the 7th-highest GDP, the 8th-highest Quality-of-life index, and the 20th-highest Human Development Index rating in the world.

The following topic outline is provided as an overview of and introduction to Italy:

• Pronunciation:
• International rankings of Italy

Geography of Italy

Main article: Geography of Italy

• Italy is: a peninsula and a country
• Location:
• Northern Hemisphere and Eastern Hemisphere
• Eurasia
• Europe
• Western Europe
• Southern Europe
• Italian Peninsula
• Extreme points of Italy
• Population of Italy: 59,619,290 people (2007/12/31 estimate ) - 23rd most populous country
• Area of Italy: - 71st largest country
• Atlas of Italy

Environment of Italy

• Climate of Italy
• Ecology of Italy
• Ecoregions in Italy
• Renewable energy in Italy
• Geology of Italy
• National parks of Italy
• Protected areas of Italy
• Wildlife of Italy
• Flora of Italy
• Fauna of Italy
• Birds of Italy
• Mammals of Italy

Geographic features of Italy

• Fjords of Italy
• Glaciers of Italy
• Islands of Italy
• Lakes of Italy
• Mountains of Italy
• Volcanoes in Italy
• Rivers of Italy
• Waterfalls of Italy
• Valleys of Italy
• World Heritage Sites (See also Transboundary sites)

Regions of Italy

Administrative divisions types

• Regions
• Provinces
• Comuni (Municipalities)

Statistical divisions of Italy

Groups of regions, regions, and provinces of Italy

• Northwestern Italy
• Piedmont (Region)
• Province of Turin
• Province of Vercelli
• Province of Biella
• Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola
• Province of Novara
• Province of Cuneo
• Province of Asti
• Province of Alessandria
• Valle d'Aosta (Region)
• Aosta (Province)
• Liguria (Region)
• Province of Imperia
• Province of Savona
• Province of Genoa
• Province of La Spezia
• Lombardi (Region)
• Province of Varese
• Province of Como
• Province of Lecco
• Province of Sondrio
• Province of Milan
• Province of Bergamo
• Province of Brescia
• Province of Pavia
• Province of Lodi
• Province of Cremona
• Province of Mantua
• Northeastern Italy
• Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol (Region)
• Province of Bolzano-Bozen
• Province of Trento
• Veneto (Region)
• Province of Verona
• Province of Vicenza
• Province of Belluno
• Province of Treviso
• Province of Venice
• Province of Padua
• Province of Rovigo

• Friuli-Venezia Giulia (Region)
• Province of Pordenone
• Province of Udine
• Province of Gorizia
• Province of Trieste
• Emilia-Romagna (Region)
• Province of Piacenza
• Province of Parma
• Province of Reggio Emilia
• Province of Modena
• Province of Bologna
• Province of Ferrara
• Province of Ravenna
• Province of Forlì-Cesena
• Province of Rimini

• Tuscany (Region)
• Province of Massa-Carrara
• Province of Lucca
• Province of Pistoia
• Province of Florence
• Province of Prato
• Province of Livorno
• Province of Pisa
• Province of Arezzo
• Province of Siena
• Province of Grosseto
• Umbria (Region)
• Province of Perugia
• Province of Terni
• Marches (Region)
• Province of Pesaro e Urbino
• Province of Ancona
• Province of Macerata
• Province of Ascoli Piceno
• Latium (Region)
• Province of Viterbo
• Province of Rieti
• Province of Rome
• Province of Latina
• Province of Frosinone

• Southern Italy
• Abruzzo (Region)
• Province of L'Aquila
• Province of Teramo
• Province of Pescara
• Province of Chieti
• Molise (Region)
• Province of Isernia
• Province of Campobasso
• Campania (Region)
• Province of Caserta
• Province of Benevento
• Province of Naples
• Province of Avellino
• Province of Salerno
• Apulia (Region)
• Province of Foggia
• Province of Bari
• Province of Taranto
• Province of Brindisi
• Province of Lecce
• Basilicata (Region)
• Province of Potenza
• Province of Matera
• Calabria (Region)
• Province of Cosenza
• Province of Crotone
• Province of Catanzaro
• Province of Vibo Valentia
• Province of Reggio Calabria
• Insular Italy
• Sicily (Region)
• Province of Trapani
• Province of Palermo
• Province of Messina
• Province of Agrigento
• Province of Caltanissetta
• Province of Enna
• Province of Catania
• Province of Ragusa
• Province of Siracusa
• Sardinia (Region)
• Province of Sassari
• Province of Nuoro
• Province of Oristano
• Province of Cagliari

Comuni (municipalities) of Italy

• Cities of Italy
• Cities in Italy over 20,000 population
• Hilltowns in Italy

Demography of Italy

Main article: Demographics of Italy

Neighbors of Italy

• Austria
• France
• Slovenia
• Switzerland shares Italy's northern border, and Campione d'Italia is an Italian exclave in Switzerland.

Independent states surrounded by Italy (otherwise within Italy's borders) include:

• San Marino
• Vatican City

Government and politics of Italy

Main article: Government of Italy and Politics of Italy

• Form of government: parliamentary multi-party representative democratic republic
• Capital of Italy: Rome
• Elections in Italy
• Human rights in Italy
• Political parties in Italy
• Political scandals of Italy
• Taxation in Italy

Branches of the government of Italy

Executive branch

• Head of state: President of Italy
• Head of government: President of the Council of Ministers of Italy (Prime Minister)
• Prime ministers of the past
• Council of Ministers of Italy

Legislative branch

• Parliament of Italy
• Italian Chamber of Deputies (lower house)
• Italian Senate (upper house)

Judicial branch

• Supreme Court of Cassation| (Corte Suprema di Cassazione)]]
• Constitutional Court of Italy

Foreign relations of Italy

International organization membership

Italy is a member of:

• European Union (a founding member)
• United Nations
• Non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council
• G8
• NATO
• OECD
• Council of Europe
• Western European Union
• Central European Initiative

Law and order in Italy

Main article: Law of Italy

• Capital punishment in Italy
• Constitution of Italy
• Crime in Italy
• Organized crime in Italy
• Human rights in Italy
• Freedom of the press in Italy
• Freedom of religion in Italy
• LGBT rights in Italy
• Law enforcement in Italy
• Polizia Municipale
• Religious freedom in Italy

Military of Italy

Main article: Military of Italy

• Armed forces of Italy:
• Army of Italy: Esercito Italiano
• Navy of Italy: Marina Militare
• Air force of Italy: Aeronautica Militare
• Gendarmerie of Italy: Carabinieri
• Military history of Italy

History of Italy

Main article: History of Italy and Timeline of Italian history

• Economic history of Italy
• Historical states of Italy
• Military history of Italy
• Military history of Italy during World War II

By period

• Prehistoric Italy
• Terramare culture
• Villanovan culture
• Etruscan civilization
• Magna Graecia (8th–7th c. BC)

• Italy during Roman times (8th c. BC – 6th c. AD)
• Roman Kingdom
• Roman Republic
• Roman Empire
• Italy in the Middle Ages (6th–14th c.)
• Italian Renaissance (14th–16th c.)

• Italian Wars (1494–1559)
• History of Italy during foreign domination and the unification (1559 –1814)
• Italian unification (1814 –1861)
• History of Italy as a monarchy and in the World Wars (1861 –1945)
• History of the Italian Republic (1945 – present)

Culture of Italy

Main article: Culture of Italy

• Architecture of Italy
• Cuisine of Italy
• Languages of Italy
• Italian dialects
• Media in Italy
• National symbols of Italy
• Coat of arms of Italy
• Flag of Italy
• National anthem of Italy
• Public holidays in Italy
• Religion in Italy
• Hinduism in Italy
• Buddhism in Italy
• Christianity in Italy
• Hinduism in Italy
• Islam in Italy
• Judaism in Italy
• Sikhism in Italy
• World Heritage Sites (See also Transboundary sites)

The Arts in Italy

• Art in Italy
• Cinema of Italy
• Cuisine of Italy
• Literature of Italy
• Music of Italy
• Music history of Italy
• Television in Italy
• Theatre in Italy

Sport in Italy

Main article: Sport in Italy

Sports popular in Italy:

• Football
• Auto racing
• Motorcycle racing
• Rugby
• Basketball
• Volleyball
• Cycling
• Tennis
• Golf
• Athletics
• Roller hockey
• Traditional sports
• Water sports
• Winter sports
• Combat sports
• Equestrian sports
• Baseball
• American football
• Cricket

Economy of Italy

Main article: Economy of Italy

• Economic rank (by nominal GDP): 7th (seventh)
• Automobile industry in Italy
• Banking in Italy
• Communications in Italy
• Companies of Italy
• Currency of Italy: the Euro (see also Euro topics)
• Economic history of Italy
• Tourism in Italy
• Transport in Italy

Education in Italy

Main article: Education in Italy

• GPA in Italy
• Universities in Italy

Infrastructure of Italy

• Communications in Italy
• Internet in Italy
• Energy in Italy
• Health care in Italy
• Transportation in Italy
• Airports in Italy
• Highway system of Italy
• Rail transport in Italy
• High-speed rail in Italy
• Water supply and sanitation in Italy

See also

• Italian Wikipedia
• List of basic geography topics
• List of Italy-related articles (alphabetical index)
• List of Italy-related topics
• List of international rankings

References

External links

• Country profiles
• by the BBC News
• by the CIA Factbook
• by the CIA World Leaders
• by the Economist
• by the U.S. Department of State
• by the World Bank Government
• President of the Republic of Italy
• Chamber of Deputies
• Court of Accounts
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Ministry of Education: International Exchanges
• Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare
• Ministry of Justice Public institutions
• National Statistics Office
• ENIT Italian State Tourism Board
• ENIT North America
• Italian Railways
• Italian National and Regional Parks Other
• History of Italy: Primary Documents
• List and maps of archaeological sites in Italy
• WWW-VL: History: Italy at IUE