Official Name: Repubblica Italiana (Italian Republic)

Area: Europe

Size: 301,318 km²

Coastline: 7,600 km

Independence: Unification 17 March 1861 

Form of Govt.: Republic

Head of Govt.: Prime Minister

Capital: Rome

Largest City: Rome

Demographics (2005): 58,883,958.    195 /km²

Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovenian-Italians)

GDP per Capita (2005): $30,732

Languages: Italian

Geography: The country is predominantly mountainous with plains accounting for less than 33% of the land area. The two principal mountain ranges are (1.) the Alps which are divided into the three ranges of the Western Alps, the Central Alps and the Eastern Alps. (2.) The Apennines which is divided into the Northern or Ligurian Apennines and the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines. Except for the Po Plain, the plains of Italy are small in land area and numbers. The principal rivers are the Po, Tevere or Tiber, Arno, Volturno, Liri and Adige as well as many shorter rivers that flow to the Adriatic Sea.

Climate: Italy has a temperate climate with a variety of regional characteristics. The Alps region has harsh winters and moderately warm summers with abundant rainfall. The Po Plain has harsh winters with long periods of subfreezing temperatures and warm sultry summers, with rainfall more common in winter. The Alpennine region has extremely mild winters and hot summers. Italy is also subject to fierce seasonal winds. Average temperature ranges in Rome are from 4 to 11 degrees in January to 20 to 30 degrees in July.