Everyone who travels to Italy will enjoy learning more about this fascinating country.  It enjoys a unique geographical and historical position - jutting into the Mediterranean, the history of Italy inevitably includes the history of Phoenecians, Greeks, Saracens, Cartheginians, Romans and Byzantines.  But, Italy also sits below the umbrella of its northern European neighbours playing an historically important social, economic, military and political role in the evolution and modern circumstances of Europe.
 

The resources on VisitsItaly.com will help anyone who wants to travel to Italy to create a memory-making journey (including tours, sightseeing and hotels in Rome, Florence, Venice and just about every other travel destination in Italy), but there is a ton of information about the country itself, and a few thousand pictures of Italy from Palermo in Sicily to Trieste in the most northerly and eastern corner of the country.  Enjoy!

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Population:

• 58,126,212

Area:

• Total: 301,230 sq km (includes Sardinia
  and Sicily)
• Water: 7,210 sq km
• Land: 294,020 sq km

Borders:

• Austria 430 km
• France 488 km
• Holy See (Vatican City) 3.2 km
• San Marino 39 km
• Slovenia 232 km
• Switzerland 740 km

Government:

• Republican Democracy

Capital City:

• Rome

Regions of Italy:

• Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Emilia Romagna, Friuli-Venezia-Giulia, Lazio and Roma, Liguria, Lombardia (Lombardy), The Marche, Molise, Piemonte (Piedmont), Puglia, Sardegna (Sardinia), Sicily, Trentino, Tuscany, Umbria, Valle d'Aosta, Veneto.

Flag of Italy:

• Almost 20% of Italy's population is over 65 yrs old.
• The average Italian family has 1.27 children.
• The average life expectancy at birth for an Italian is 79.54 years.
• The average Italian is 41 years old.
• 98% of Italians are Roman Catholic.
• The average Italian makes $26,700 a year, however those in the more prosperous north make almost $40,000.
• Italians used to be known for having large families, however Italy is now known for having Europe's lowest birthrate.
• Italian families save more money than the Japanese and Germans, and three times more than Americans do.
• The average Italian consumes 26 gallons of wine a year.
• The average Italian consumes 25 kilograms of pasta a year.
   
• Its longest border is with Switzerland.
• Over 75% of Italy is mountainous or hilly.
• With almost 50 million visitors, Italy is the fourth most visited country in the world.
• Italy has more hotel rooms than any other nation in Europe.
• Italy did not become a united country until 1861.
• Italy's current constitution took effect January 1, 1948.
• The colors of the Italian flag represent three virtues: hope (green), faith (white), and charity (red).
• Over 40% of Italy's labor force is unionized.
• Today's modern Italian language originated in the region of Tuscany.
• Everybody 18 and over can vote, however you have to be at least 25 to vote in Senate elections.
• St. Francis of Assissi and Saint Caterina of Siena are the patron saints of Italy.
• Italy has over 3,000 museums.
• Italy imports over 75% of its energy.
• The service sector accounts for almost 70% of the Italian economy.
• Agriculture used to make up over a third of Italy's economy. It now makes up less than three percent.
• Since the end of WWII, Italy has seen almost 60 governments come and go.
• The area around Venice is the wealthiest region in Europe.

• The thermometer is an Italian invention.
• The piano hails from Italy.
• The average Italian consumes half a pound of bread a day.
• Enrico Fermi, inventor of the nuclear reactor, was an Italian.
• Cologne came out of Italy.
• The ice cream cone is an Italian invention.
• Eyeglasses are an Italian invention.
• The telephone was (allegedly) created by an Italian (Meucci).
• the typewriter is an Italian invention.
• An engineering marvel of the ancient world, Cloacus Maxima, is the sewer of Rome.