Italy Italy is a long peninsula shaped like a boot, surrounded on the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea and on the east by the Adriatic. It is bounded by France, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia to the north.boundary. It is divided into 20 regions (103 provinces ) 5 of them are autonomous regions; Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Emilia- Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia*, Lazio, Liguria, Lombardia, Marche, Molise, Piemonte, Puglia, Sardegna *, Sicilia, Toscana, Trentino-Alto Adige *, Umbria, Valle d'Aosta *, Veneto The North On the north, Italy is, for the most part, protected by the Alps, a mountain chain which act as a barrier wall against cold and hot winds The Alps separates the Peninsula from the rest of Europe The West In the western part of Italy are large fertile plains which extend all the way to the Sea The East Along the eastern coast and running from north to south are the Apennine mountains, which make the eastern part of Italy almost difficult to reach The Coast Throughout Italy's 2000 miles of coastland, the most beautiful bays are generally on the south or western coasts. The Climate The climate, like other Mediterranean lands, Italy has a nice mild temperature, without extreme heat or cold weather for the most part. Religion Predominately Roman Catholic with mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community Language Italian (official), German (parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region are predominantly German speaking), French (small French- speaking minority in Valle d'Aosta region), Slovene (Slovene-speaking minority in Trieste and -Gorizia area) Ladino( small community in Val Badia and Val Gardena -Bolzano Resources Agriculture - products: fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans, grain, olives; beef, dairy products; fish Industries: tourism, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics Government Republic since 1946 Population about Population density 1889 per sq.km Surface land area squ.km

Much of Italy is covered by mountains. The Dolomite mountains which extend across northern Italy are part of the Alps mountain range. The Apennine mountains cut down the centre of Italy, stretching from north to south, dividing the east and west coasts. The Po Valley, just south of the Dolomite mountains, is the basin of the Po River.

The hills Everyone knows the beauty of the countryside around Tuscany region, due to the rolling hills,villas,vineyards, olive trees and old villages dating back to the Medieval times. A part from that area it is well worth to mentioning the Langhe and MonferratoHills which are in Piemonte region. Monferrato is situated within Alessandria province, stretching out towards Asti and Vercelli towns. It is a land covered by extended woods and vineyards with a very intense landscape. It is also a land rich in traditions,art,architecture and handcraft. Its wine is exported all over the world thanks to its smell, colours and flavours. On the Langhe hills every village has a castle or a tower and every historic centre is distinguished by Medieval,, Renaissance, Baroque and Liberty styles. The cuisine is a great tradition of this land.Tartufo (truffle) and fine red wines ( Barbaresco, Barolo ) are some of its own speciality

The lakes Italy as any other countries with mountain ranges and a volcanic history has many lakes,(about 1000)ranging from very small ponds of azure water, however suggestive, to very big lakes whose origin can be either volcanic or glacial. The biggest one is, Lake of Garda,follows lake Maggiore and Lake of Como In 1817 the famous French writer Stendahl wrote, “What can one say of Lake Maggiore and the Borromean Islands except to pity people who do not go mad over them.”That is the idea of several other writers and poets such as Ernest Hemingway, Charles Dickens William Wordsworth and Lord Byron.A part from the green scenery, the lake areas are characterized by the warm climate and the ever blooming tropical flora of palm trees,magnolias, roses and camellias

Lakes Maggiore and Borromean Islands BORROMEAN ISLANDS Lake Maggiore (region :Piemonte ). Isola Pescatori,is a residential fishing island. Isola Bella, whose name derives from count Carlo Borromeos’wife, Isabella. (16° century ) showcases a palatial villa filled with stuccoes, frescoes, tapestries and crystal chandeliers. Rare and unusual plants such as tea, coffee, lotus flowers and Egyptian papyrus thrive in the terraced garden rising up from the water.. Isola Madre,. The whole island forms one great garden filled with azaleas,rhododendrons and different species of birds (parrots too )

The rivers Italy has also several rivers the most important ones are the Po,the Adige,The Tevere and the Arno. The longest one is the Po.It springs from Monviso and flows into Adriatic see. It passes through many important cities such as Torino, Asti Milano,Piacenza,Verona The river Po created the “Val Padana”,a plain (the biggest of Italy) that stretches across northern Italy from the French border to The Adriatic sea on the east. The Po valley is densily populated,a third of Italian people live there.It is an important industrial and agricultural areas.Grain,sugarbeets and fruits are cultivated there The Tevere, the third river longest, flows through Rome in its course from Monte Fiumarolo to the Tyrrenian sea. On the whole Italian rivers can be divided into three kinds. Alpine rivers,springing from high mountains,are very rich of water provided by rains and moulded ice They are very far from the coast. Appenine rivers which,being not always far from the coast and springing from lower mountains, are sometimes,especially in summer time,lack of water Insular rivers are in Sicily and Sardinia and very often they are in shortage of water because it depends only on rain

Italy includes two large islands: Sicily and Sardinia. Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean, with active volcanoes. Sardinia is less fertile than Sicily and with less vegetation,but its coastline is surely one of the most beautiful in the world for the gorgeous colour of its sea one can hardly find in other parts of the world.It is also a land with a lot of savage places

National parks and protected areas Nowadays in Italy there are 22 National Parks.. They cover, about the 5% of the national territory. The marine parks are also gaining an important role in the national safeguard project:, they are aimed to protect in an integral manner stretches of sea and of coast (often entire islands or archipelagoes) presenting unique environmental elements and landscapes which are typical of the Mediterranian area.

The Volcanoes Italy has got several vulcanoes either active or inactive ones.The highest and active ones are : Etna in the north east of Sicily is the one of the largest continental volcanoes,the largest in Europe. The mean feature of Etnnean activity is lava emission,but strong explosive activities occurs only occasionaly,mostly from its presently four summit craters. Vesuvio which dominates the gulf of Naples is considered one of the most dangerous volcano on earth due to its potential explosive activities and unusual versatility. The violent eruption in 79AD,which destroyed Pompei and Ercolano,buring them with dust and ash,is a proof of its versatility. Volcano areas

Some cities world heritage by Unesco Rome is the capital of Italy,very famous all over the world for its monuments, archaeological sites and museums A part from being very interesting it is a very lively and exciting city Venice is the capital of Veneto, the richest region of Italy.It is known as the city built on water. There are no cars there The gondolas are used as transportation around the city. Venice is a very popular tourist area because of its extraordinary beauty. Naples lies at the foot of a range of low hills on the west coast of southern Italy In Napoli you can enjoy the wonderful Mediterranean weather and the marvellous landscape.It is the capital of Campania Region,Campania alo boasts the islands of Ischia Procida and Capri.This last is one of the most enchanting of the Partenopean islands and one of the world most sought after and constantly visited destination,attracting tourist of every nationality Florence, capital of the region of Tuscany, has a population of around half a million inhabitants, spreads on the banks of the Arno, between the Adriatic and the Tyrrhenian seas Siena is a very appealing city town The well-conserved medieval streets and piazzas are home to the annual festival of the Palio, a particular horserace which takes place in Siena's main square, the Campo,