Italy is a peninsula, mainly constituted by mountains and hills.The mountain system is divided into Alps and Appennines. The tallest mountain is “Monte Bianco”. The widest flat part is “Pianura Padana”. The longest river is the Po. There are many natural and artificial lakes. The peninsula is divided into many regions, but there are also two great islands: Sicily and Sardinia. Italy is washed by the Mediterrean sea, that take different names along the coast the Ligurian sea, the Ionion sea, the Tyrrhenian sea and the Adriatic sea. The capital of Italy is Rome. Italy is a country at high seismic risk, caused by the presence of some activ volcanoes: Etna, Vulcano, Vesuvio. Italy is an industrialized country where the most developed sectors are the motor, mechanical, chemical, textile sectors. Also agricolture, and therefore the alimentary sector represents an important aspect of the Italian economy. In the Dolomitic areas there is a highly developed pastoral sector too. Tourism is another important aspect of the Italian economy. Italy is a country of extraordinary natural and artistic beautis.

The distribution of population is unbalanced for the different economic development of the peninsula: the North is richer than the South. Italy has a high density of popolation. The most densely populated areas are those around the big cities: Milan, Turin, Rome, Naples. Nowadays Italian popolation is increasing not for the elevated numbers of births but for the increasing migratory waves coming from the East Europe, Asia and North Africa. The official spoken language is italian but in some frontier areas of the north, people speack French, German and Slavonic languages. There are many dialects too. The official religion is Catholic but other religions are professed too. Italy is a democratic Republic, headed by of president whose powers are rather formal. There is a bicameral Parliament, made of “Camera” and “Senato”.