Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the regional states of the peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King Victor EMMANUEL II. An era of parliamentary government came to a close in the early 1920s when Benito MUSSOLINI established a Fascist dictatorship. His disastrous alliance with Nazi Germany led to Italy's defeat in World War II. A democratic republic replaced the monarchy in 1946 and economic revival followed. Italy was a charter member of NATO and the European Economic Community (EEC). It has been at the forefront of European economic and political unification, joining the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999. Persistent problems include illegal immigration, organized crime, corruption, high unemployment, sluggish economic growth, and the low incomes and technical standards of southern Italy compared with the prosperous north.
Country profile: Italy
Take the art works of Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Tintoretto and Caravaggio, the operas of Verdi and Puccini, the cinema of Federico Fellini, add the architecture of Venice, Florence and Rome and you have just a fraction of Italy's treasures from over the centuries. While the country is renowned for these and other delights, it is also notorious for its precarious political life and has had several dozen governments since the end of World War II.
The Italian political landscape underwent a seismic shift in the 1990s when the "Clean Hands" operation exposed corruption at the highest levels of politics and big business. Several former prime ministers were implicated and thousands of businessmen and politicians were investigated.
Italy was one of the six countries which signed the 1951 Paris Treaty setting Europe off on the path to integration. It has been staunchly at the heart of Europe ever since, although watchful eyes fell on the influence of right-wing eurosceptics in the former government of Silvio Berlusconi.
Mr Berlusconi voiced support for Washington and London in the build-up to the US-led campaign in Iraq. There has been mounting public controversy over Italy's continuing deployment there. The current prime minister, Romano Prodi, strongly opposed the invasion and has pledged that Italian troops will be withdrawn.
The Italian economy has been facing increasing difficulties. It has proved difficult to keep the budget deficit down, growth is low, inflation is rising and plans for pension reform and public spending cuts have given rise to protest.
There is concern over the country's birth rate - the lowest in Europe. With the population forecast to fall by nearly a third over the next 50 years, the late Pope, John Paul II, instructed Italians to "rediscover the culture of life and love and... their mission as parents".
- Full name: Italian Republic
- Population: 57.2 million (UN, 2005)
- Capital: Rome
- Area: 301,338 sq km (116,346 sq miles)
- Major language: Italian
- Major religion: Christianity
- Life expectancy: 77 years (men), 83 years (women) (UN)
- Monetary unit: 1 euro = 100 cents
- Main exports: Machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, clothes, wine
- GNI per capita: US $30,010 (World Bank, 2006)
- Internet domain: .it
- International dialling code: +39
President: Giorgio Napolitano
Giorgio Napolitano, a former Communist Party member, was sworn in as Italy's 11th post-war president in May 2006.
The Italian president heads the armed forces and has powers to veto legislation, disband parliament and call elections.
Prime minister: Romano Prodi
Opposition leader and former prime minister Romano Prodi won closely-fought general elections in April 2006. His broad-based leftist Union bloc gained a wafer-thin majority in the lower house of parliament and won just enough seats to control the Senate, the upper house.
The defeated prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, disputed the result but Italy's appeals court confirmed that Mr Prodi had won a majority of seats in both houses - just.
The new government's top priority is to tackle Italy's economic woes. Mr Prodi promises that his government will reduce the budget deficit, cut bureaucracy and increase competition.
Coalition unity will be crucial to its work. Disagreements in the leftist coalition brought down the last government led by Mr Prodi in 1998 after two years in office.
His government was given a boost just weeks after coming to power when a national referendum rejected constitutional reforms proposed by the former government of Silvio Berlusconi. Mr Prodi had campaigned strongly against the proposals.
Once president of the European Commission, Mr Prodi, known as The Professor, is an economist and former academic. He is noted for the quietness of his style which is in sharp contrast to that of his predecessor.
He was born in 1939.
Italy's heady blend of politics and media has made headlines inside and outside the country, with watchdogs and some politicians pointing to former Prime Minister Berlusconi's influence over both public and private broadcasting.
The public broadcaster, Rai, has traditionally been subject to political influence, and Mr Berlusconi's Mediaset empire operates Italy's top private TV stations.
The Berlusconi family has a major stake in TV giant Mediaset 2006: Prodi vows to overhaul 'awful TV'
Between them, Rai and Mediaset effectively control Italy's TV market and are a potentially powerful political tool.
A media law, passed in 2004, heralded the creation of new digital TV channels and the partial privatisation of Rai. Critics said the bill reinforced Mr Berlusconi's hold on the media. Romano Prodi's government wants to replace the legislation.
The Italian press is highly-regionalised. Milan in particular is home to a large number of dailies and news magazines. Most newspapers are privately-owned, often linked to a political party or run by a large media group.
Rupert Murdoch's News Corp secured a virtual monopoly of the pay-TV sector when it launched Sky Italia in July 2003. The service was created through the merger of two existing pay-TV services - Stream and Telepiu.
Around 2,500 commercial radio stations broadcast in Italy. A few of them have national coverage; most are music-based. They share the airwaves with public broadcaster Rai's radio stations.
The press
Television
Radio
News agency
Italy has a diversified industrial economy with roughly the same total and per capita output as France and the UK. This capitalistic economy remains divided into a developed industrial north, dominated by private companies, and a less-developed, welfare-dependent, agricultural south, with 20% unemployment. Most raw materials needed by industry and more than 75% of energy requirements are imported. Over the past decade, Italy has pursued a tight fiscal policy in order to meet the requirements of the Economic and Monetary Unions and has benefited from lower interest and inflation rates. The current government has enacted numerous short-term reforms aimed at improving competitiveness and long-term growth. Italy has moved slowly, however, on implementing needed structural reforms, such as lightening the high tax burden and overhauling Italy's rigid labor market and over-generous pension system, because of the current economic slowdown and opposition from labor unions. But the leadership faces a severe economic constraint: the budget deficit has breached the 3% EU ceiling. The economy experienced almost no growth in 2005, and unemployment remained at a high level.
Italian natural resources include coal, mercury, zinc, potash, marble, barite, asbestos, pumice, fluorospar, feldspar, pyrite (sulfur), natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, arable land
strategic location dominating central Mediterranean as well as southern sea and air approaches to Western Europe
Italian religion is approximately 90% Roman Catholic (about one-third regularly attend services); mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community.
Natural hazards in Italy include regional risks include landslides, mudflows, avalanches, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding; land subsidence in Venice.
Travel Advice on Italy
SUMMARY
- Italy shares with the rest of Europe a threat from international terrorism. Attacks could be indiscriminate and against civilian targets. There continue to be isolated cases of domestic terrorism in Italy by extreme left wing and secessionist groups, which are aimed primarily at official Italian targets.
- There is currently a risk of unannounced wildcat strikes by municipal transport workers in cities across Italy. See Local Travel below for dates of major re-planned strikes.
- Around 3.5 million British tourists visit Italy every year. Most visits are trouble-free. The main types of incidents for which British nationals require consular assistance are street and car crime such as theft, bag snatching and breaking into cars. You should be alert to the dangers of car and street crime in cities.
- There continues to be non-violent volcanic activity on the island of Stromboli. Italy is in an earthquake zone.
- Visitors to ski resorts should take advice on weather and avalanche conditions before they travel and should make themselves aware of local skiing laws and regulations throughout their visit (see: http://www.goski.com/italy.htm and http://www.avalanches.org).
- We strongly recommend that you obtain comprehensive travel and medical insurance before travelling. You should check any exclusions, and that your policy covers you for the activities you want to undertake. Please see: Travel Insurance.
SAFETY AND SECURITY
- 20 February: Air Traffic Control 12.00 – 16.00
- 20 February: Air Traffic Control Milan 24 hours
- 13 March: Air Traffic Control Rome 10.00 – 14.00
- 14 March; Air Traffic Control 12.00 – 16.00
Road hauliers
LOCAL LAWS AND CUSTOMS
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
HEALTH
Form E111 is no longer valid. You should obtain a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) before leaving the UK. The EHIC is not a substitute for medical and travel insurance, but entitles you to emergency medical treatment on the same terms as Italian nationals. You will not be covered for medical repatriation, on-going medical treatment or treatment of a non-urgent nature. For more information about the EHIC please see Europe and the EHIC.
You should seek medical advice before travelling and ensure that all appropriate vaccinations are up-to-date. For further information on health, check the Department of Health’s website at: www.dh.gov.uk.
Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)
Many parts of Italy lie on a major seismic fault line. Minor tremors and earthquakes are almost a daily occurrence.
Major Earthquakes on 31 October and 1 November 2002, affected the Abruzzo, Molise and Puglia regions of southern Italy. The epicentre of the worst tremor was near Campobasso in Molise. Further tremors in this region cannot be ruled out.
There continues to be non-violent volcanic activity on the island of Stromboli. Further information on Stromboli and other volcanoes around the world can be found at: http://www.stromboli.net.
Visitors to Venice should note that parts of Venice are liable to flooding at certain times of year, especially in late autumn and early spring.
GENERAL
The revised EU-wide security measures that came into effect for all passengers departing from UK airports in November 2006 are also being implemented in Italy. For more details about this please see: DfT - Airline Security Update.
Skiing
If you are planning a skiing holiday it is advisable to contact the Italian State Tourist Board for advice on safety and weather conditions before travelling. They can be contacted at:
1 Princes Street
London W1R 9AY
Tel: 020 7 355 1557/1439
You should be aware that off-piste skiing is highly dangerous. All safety instructions should be followed meticulously given the dangers of avalanches in some areas. Italy has introduced a law forcing skiers and snowboarders to carry tracking equipment if going off-piste. The law also obliges under-14s to wear a helmet and there are plans for snowboarders to be banned from certain slopes.
Further information can be obtained at the following websites:
http://www.goski.com/italy.htm
http://www.avalanches.org
You are reminded that the currency in Italy is the Euro. Further information can be obtained from the FCO website at: Dealing with the Euro "Money Matters and the Euro".
European Union
Information on the EU can be found at: Britain in the EU
The British Honorary Consulate in Catania will be closed until April 2007. If you require assistance or advice there is an Honorary Consulate in Palermo and a Consulate in Naples. Contact details for both can be found at the British Embassy, Rome website http://www.britain.it
The British Consulate, Venice has relocated to:
British Consulate,
Piazzale Donatori di Sangue 2/5
Venice-Mestre
30171
Tel: (0039) 041 5055990 or (0039) 041 5069389
Fax: (0039) 041 950254