Italy has been a home of many European cultures, such as the Etruscans and Romans, and modern cultural movements, most notably the Renaissance. Rome is the seat of the Roman Catholic Church, and was for a long time the center of Western civilization. Today Italy is a democratic republic and a developed country, occupying the seventh position as GDP eighth as quality of life and index twentieth according to the human development index. It is a founding member of the European Union and one of the members of the G8, OTAN's, Council of Europe, the Western European Union.
Italy consists mainly of a peninsula (nickname stack boot) that extends in the Mediterranean, where together with two large islands, Sicily and Sardinia (Sardegna), creates various compartments of the seas: the Adriatic Sea to the northeast, Ionian south-east Tyrrhenian Sea to the south-west and finally the Ligurian Sea to the northwest. Apennines (Monti Appennini) of the peninsula, to the east, uniting the Alps, which then forms an arc enclosing Italy from the north. There is also a large alluvial plain, Laguna Pad Venice Pad crossed the river and its many tributaries flowing down from the Alps, Apennines and Dolomites. Other known rivers Tiber (Tevere), Adige and Arno. The highest peak is Mont Blanc Italy (Monte Bianco) at 4,807 m, but Italy is mainly associated with two famous volcanoes: the currently dormant Vesuvius (Vesuvio) in the near Naples and the very active Etna on Sicily. Territorial Italy is divided into: -Italy mainland (the Alps and the Po Plain) -Italy peninsular (Apennine mountains and coastal plains) -Italy island - Sardinia, Sicily, Elba, and other smaller islands.
Italy is well known for its art and culture, and because they nenumeratelor monuments, including the Tower of Pisa and the Roman Colosseum, but also for its food (pizza, pasta, etc.), wine, lifestyle, elegance, design , cinema, theater, literature, poetry, visual arts, music (especially opera), holidays, and generally taste. Renaissance and Baroque art movement emerged in Italy between the 14th century and 15th respectively at the end of the 16th century, resulting in an artistic revolution in Italy, first in Europe and then later around the world .
Literary genres that flourished in Italy, as the poetry of Petrarch, Tasso and Ariosto's or Dante's prose, Boccaccio, Machiavelli and Castiglione exerted a lasting influence on the development of Western culture, like painting, sculpture and architecture, which contributed amazing artists like Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Botticelli, Fra Angelico and Michelangelo.
The musical influence of Italian composers of the Baroque era, such as Monteverdi, Palestrina and Vivaldi proved to be outstanding. Later, in the 19th century, Italian romantic opera (the music genre "invented" also Italian) composers Gioacchino Rossini excelled thanks Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini.
Artists, writers, filmmakers, architects, composers and contemporary Italian designers contribute significantly to Western culture. Football is the main national sport. Italy won the Football World Cup four times: 1934, 1938, 1982 and 2006 Italian Serie A football championship has given some of the best football players in the world. The best known teams are A. C. Milan and Inter Milan FC Milan, A. S. Rome and S. S. Lazio in Rome Juventus Torino and Fiorentina in Florence.
- Trajan's Column
- The Colosseum in Rome
- House of Marco Polo
- House of Juliet
- Roman Arena - Verona
- Circus Maximus
- Doge's Palace
- Dome of Milan
- Cathedral of Siena
- Vatican
- Spanish Square (Piazza di Spagna).
- Pantheon
- Basilica San Marco
- Old Castle of Verona
- St. Peter's Basilica
- Palatine Hill (Palatino)
- Via Apia
- New Castle - Napoli
- Royal Palace of Napoli
- Arch of Trajan - Ancona
- Piazza San Marco
- Sforzesco Castle
- Basilica Santa Maria Gloriosa Dei Frari
- Basilica Santa Maria Della Salute
- Church of San Giorgio Maggiore
- Palazzo Vecchio
- Cathedral of Saint Mary - Alghero
- Palazzo Publicco - Tore Del Mangia
