61 Facts About Italy

1. Italy has a strong cooperative sector, with the largest share of the population employed by a cooperative in the EU.

2. Italy is home to Europe's only three active volcanoes: Etna, Stromboli and Vesuvius.

3. The President of Italy, currently Sergio Mattarella since 2015, is Italy's head of state.

4. In 1940, as Germany drew closer to Italy's borders, Mussolini feared that his failure to engage would leave him subordinate to Germany at the end of the war.

5. Italy is heavily dependent on Algerian gas and Arab oil supplies, so it was hit hard by the oil crises of the 1970s.

6. Italy is part of the European single market which represents more than 500 million consumers.

7. Italy is a signatory to the Berne Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats and the Habitats Directive both affording protection to the Italian fauna and flora.

8. Italy has a diversified industrial economy with roughly the same total and per capita output as France and the UK.

9. Italy is a member of the G8, as it has the eighth largest Gross Domestic Product in the world.

10. Italy is a country in south Europe and a member of the European Union.

11. Italy is home to a number of world-renowned fashion houses, including Armani, Gucci, Benetton, Versace and Prada.

12. Italy is home to some of the most famous structures in the world, including the Colosseum and the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

13. Italy has a strategic location, dominating the central Mediterranean region and representing the southern part of Europe facing the ethnic and cultural areas of North Africa and the Arabic-Islamic civilization.

14. In 1914, then, Italy was one of the poorer and less-developed countries of Europe.

15. In 2005, the average life expectancy in Italy was estimated to be 79.68 years.

16. In 2005, Italy had oil reserves estimated at 622 million barrels.

17. Italy is the second-largest producer of crude steel in the European Union after Germany.

18. In 2004, Italy maintained railway lines of 19,319 kilometers.

19. Italy is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

20. In 1996, Italy exported almost 2 billion gallons of wine.

21. Italy has considerable climatic variation, from subtropical conditions in Sicily to year-round snowcaps in parts of the Alpine region.

22. At the outbreak of World War II, Italy assumed a neutral stance friendly to Germany, but in June, 1940, it declared war on collapsing France and on Great Britain.

23. At the Paris Peace Conference, Italy obtained S Tyrol, Trieste, Istria, part of Carniola, and several of the Dalmatian islands.

24. Italy is part of EDUVINET, Education via networks, a partner team of European Community member countries for Internet-supported teaching and learning and distance education in and among schools in Europe.

25. In 1998, Italy recorded a trade surplus, with imports totaling US$215.887 billion against exports worth US$242.332 billion.

26. The Bank of Italy is the central bank, but with EMU now in place, the country's monetary policy is overseen by the European Central Bank.

27. Italy is a highly developed economy, and the financial and banking sector is similar to that of all other Western European countries.

28. In 1998, Italy consumed 266.705 billion kilowatt hours of electricity, provided mainly by the formerly state-owned company ENEL, which was privatized in 1999.

29. Italy is a major power in container shipping in the Mediterranean.

30. Italy has an efficient and modern infrastructure, even though it performs poorly compared to other Western European countries of comparable size.

31. Italy has a bicameral legislature consisting of a 315-member Senate and a 630-member Chamber of Deputies.

32. Italy has an area of 301,230 square kilometers and a coastline of 7,600 kilometers (4,722 miles), including the islands of Sicily and Sardinia.

33. Italy is a member of the Europena Community; its road code, in compliance with EC policies, requires catalytic converters.

34. Italy is a founding member of the European Union and, in 1998, of Europe's Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).

35. Italy is very dependent on imported petroleum and natural gas from Libya, Iran, Algeria and Russia.

36. Italy is one of the most attractive assignments in the Foreign Service.

37. In 2004, Italy jumped from 12th to 9th most attractive FDI destination in the world, driven primarily by increased confidence among US and Asian investors, according to the FDI Confidence Index.

38. In 2003, Italy produced 89,000 tons of canned tuna and 20,000 tons of canned anchovies.

39. In 2003, Italy had 1,680,000 tractors and 37,500 harvester-threshers.

40. In 2005, Italy had a paramilitary force of 254,300 active personnel, of which 111,367 were Carabinieri.

41. Under the terms of the 1948 constitution, Italy is divided into 20 regions.

42. Italy is one of the most overlegislated countries on Earth.

43. Italy is a country in Southern Europe that occupies the Italian Peninsula, the major islands of Sicily and Sardinia, and the small islands of Elba, Capri, and Ischia.

44. Italy is known for its fast and furious car makers such as Ferrari and Lamborghini.

45. Italy has 50 Unesco World Heritage Sites, the most of any country in the world.

46. Italy is home to Europe's only three active volcanoes: Etna, Stromboli, and Vesuvius.

47. In 1914, Italy took the side of the United Kingdom and the US in World War I, but was left in poverty at war's end.

48. Italy is at the heart of the Catholic Church, which is governed from Vatican City, a city-state surrounded by Rome.

49. Italy is subdivided in 20 regions, like Tuscany, Veneto and Lazio (around Rome).

50. Italy has two bigger islands Sicily and Sardegna and many smaller ones such as Capri, Elba and Ischia.

51. Italy is "on the right path" toward crafting a solid budget, Moscovici said Friday.

52. Italy is the most awarded country at the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film, with 14 awards won, 3 Special Awards and 31 nominations.

53. Italy has more UNESCO World Heritage Sites than any other country in the world, and has rich collections of art, culture and literature from many periods.

54. Italy has for centuries welcomed Jews expelled from other countries, notably Spain.

55. Italy is well known for its cultural and environmental tourist routes and is home to 54 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the most in the world.

56. Italy is one of the largest financiers of the Palestinian National Authority, contributing €60 million in 2013 alone.

57. Italy is a recurrent non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, the most recently in 2017.

58. Law enforcement in Italy is provided by multiple police forces, five of which are national, Italian agencies.

59. In 1957, Italy was a founding member of the European Economic Community, which became the European Union (EU) in 1993.

60. In 1939, Italy annexed Albania, a de facto protectorate for decades.

61. In particular, Southern Italy was impoverished and cut off from the mainstream of events in Europe.