Our country: ITALY Itis Pininfarina “APE”

Italy is a country located in south-central Europe. It is a boot-shaped Peninsula. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia along the Alps. To the south, Sicily, Sardinia are the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea

The country's total area is 301,230 km², of which 294,020 km² is land and 7,210 km² is water. Including the islands, Italy has a coastline and border of 7,600 km on the Adriatic, Ionian, Tyrrhenian seas and northern borders The Apennine Mountains form the peninsula's backbone and the Alps form its northern boundary, where Italy's highest point is located on Mont Blanc (4,810 m). The Po, Italy's longest river (652 km), flows from the Alps on the western border with France and crosses the Padan plain on its way to the Adriatic Sea. The five largest lakes are Garda, Maggiore, Como, Trasimeno and Bolsena.

The country is situated at the meeting point of the Eurasian Plate and the African Plate, leading to considerable seismic and volcanic activity. There are 14 volcanoes in Italy, three of which are active: Etna, Stromboli and Vesuvius. Vesuvius is the only active volcano in mainland Europe and is most famous for the destruction of Pompeii and Herculanum. Italy's capital, Rome, was for centuries the political centre of Western civilisation as the capital of the Roman Empire. After its decline, Italy endured numerous invasions by foreign peoples, from Germanic tribes to the Normans. Centuries later, Italy would become the birthplace of the Renaissance, an immensely fruitful intellectual movement that shaped the subsequent course of European thought.

Italy is a parliamentary, democratic republic, and has a multi-party system. Italy has a capitalist economy with developed infrastructure. According to the International Monetary Fund, in 2008 Italy was the seventh-largest economy in the world and the fourth-largest in Europe. Italy is member of the Group of Eight (G8) industrialized nations and the European Union .

Climate The climate of Italy is highly diverse and can be far from the stereotypical Mediterranean climate, depending on location. Most of the inland northern regions of Italy, for example Piedmont and Lombardy, have a climate variously described as humid continental or temperate: Po valley region is continental with harsh winters and hot summers. The coastal areas of Liguria and most of the peninsula south of Florence generally fit the Mediterranean stereotype. The coastal regions have mild winters and warm and generally dry summers, although lowland valleys can be quite hot in summer.

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