Italy /ˈɪtəli/ (help·info) (Italian: Italia, [iˈtalja]), officially the Italian Republic (Italian: Repubblica Italiana), is a country 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 Penin...
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Italy /ˈɪtəli/ (help·info) (Italian: Italia, [iˈtalja]), officially the Italian Republic (Italian: Repubblica Italiana), is a country 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, and Campione d'Italia is an Italian exclave in Switzerland.
The land known as Italy today has been the cradle of many European cultures and peoples, such as the Etruscans and the Romans. Italy's capital, Rome, was for centuries the center of Western civilization. In the late 19th century to World War II, Italy possessed a major colonial empire, which extended its rule to Libya, Eritrea, Italian Somalialand, Ethiopia, Albania, Rhodes, Dodecaneses and the Tientsin part of China. Today, the cultural significance of Italy is reflected in...
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