Italy

Italy The boot shaped country, with sicily as the ball, lies in the middle of Europe sourrounded by Mediterranean and Adriatic sea that makes the journey through this amazing historical country, can simply be combined with a visit to one of the beautiful beaches that exist allover. Going through the country you will see the nature changing from Mountains to dry flat areas, but everywhere you see the wine production. In the heart of Rome you will go through the amazing history that is still containted in ruins like colosseo, and piazza's, but in fact, nomatter which city you visit, it will be filled with interesting historical sights,churches and a kichen that will never fail.

Area: 301.401 Km²
Population: 57.844.000 (2001 est.)
Density: 192 pop/Km²

System of government: Parliamentary republic
Capital: Rome (2.656.000 pop.)
Major cities: Milan 1.302.000 pop. (4.250.000 urban aggl.), Naples 1.000.500 pop. (3.010.000 urban aggl.), Turin 900.000 pop. (1.295.000 urban aggl.), Palermo 679.000 pop., Genoa 632.000 pop., Bologna 380.000 pop., Florence 374.500 pop.
Ethnic majority: Italian 95%, others 5%
Border countries: France WEST, Switzerland and Austria NORTH, Slovenia EAST, Holy See (Vatican City) and San Marino inside of Country

Principal mountains: Mont Blanc 4810 m
Principal rivers: Po 652 Km, Adige 410 Km, Tevere 405 Km
Principal lakes: Lake Garda 370 Km², Lake Maggiore 170 Km² (italian part, total 212 Km²), Lake Como 146 Km², Lake Trasimeno 128 Km²
Principal islands: Sicily 25.426 Km², Sardinia 23.813 Km², Elba Isle 223 Km²
Climate: Mediterranean - continental - alpin

Language: Italian (official), Sardinian, German, Romansch, French, Slovene
Religion: Catholic 90%
Currency: Euro (€)

Fixed public holidays: 1/1, 6/1, 25/4, 1/5, 2/6, 15/8, 1/11, 8/12, 25/12, 26/12
Dialling code: 0039
GMT: +1

World Heritage List:

• Rock Drawings in Valcamonica (1979)
• Church and Dominican Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie with "The Last Supper" by Leonardo da Vinci (1980)
• Historic Centre of Rome, the Properties of the Holy See in that City Enjoying Extraterritorial Rights and San Paolo Fuori le Mura (1980, 1990) * 10
• Historic Centre of Florence (1982)
• Piazza del Duomo, Pisa (1987)
• Venice and its Lagoon (1987)
• Historic Centre of San Gimignano (1990)
• I Sassi di Matera (1993)
• City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto (1994, 1996)
• Crespi d'Adda (1995)
• Ferrara, City of the Renaissance, and its Po Delta (1995, 1999) 11
• Historic Centre of Naples (1995)
• Historic Centre of Siena (1995)
• Castel del Monte (1996)
• Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna (1996)
• Historic Centre of the City of Pienza (1996)
• The Trulli of Alberobello (1996)
• 18th-Century Royal Palace at Caserta, with the Park, the Aqueduct of Vanvitelli, and the San Leucio Complex (1997)
• Archaeological Area of Agrigento (1997)
• Archaeological Areas of Pompei, Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata (1997)
• Botanical Garden (Orto Botanico), Padua (1997)
• Cathedral, Torre Civica and Piazza Grande, Modena (1997)
• Costiera Amalfitana (1997)
• Portovenere, Cinque Terre, and the Islands (Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto) (1997)
• Residences of the Royal House of Savoy (1997)
• Su Nuraxi di Barumini (1997)
• Villa Romana del Casale (1997)
• Archaeological Area and the Patriarchal Basilica of Aquileia (1998)
• Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park with the Archeological sites of Paestum and Velia, and the Certosa di Padula (1998)
• Historic Centre of Urbino (1998)
• Villa Adriana (Tivoli) (1999)
• Assisi, the Basilica of San Francesco and Other Franciscan Sites (2000)
• City of Verona (2000)
• Isole Eolie (Aeolian Islands) (2000)
• Villa d'Este, Tivoli (2001)
• Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto (South-eastern Sicily) (2002)
• Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy (2003)
• Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tarquinia (2004)
• Val d'Orcia (2004)
• Syracuse and the Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica (2005)