The republic of Italy is a country in the south of Europe. It stretches from the Alps in the north to the Mediterranean Sea in the south, occupies the Apennine Peninsula, Sicilia and Sardinia and a group of small near by islands.

It borders on France in the north-west, on Switzerland and Austria in the north and on Slovenia in the north-east. It is washed by the Adriatic Sea in the east, by the Liguria Sea and the Tyrrhenian Sea in the west and by the Ionic Sea and the Mediterranean Sea in the south. The total area of the country is sq km.

Italy is divided into 20 territories. The population of the country is 57 million 680 thousand people. The head of the country is the president elected for 7 years. The state language is Italian.

The climate of the country is different. In the Alps the average t° is low, and winters are long and severe. In the middle of the continent winter is mild and summer is not very hot. In the south summer is hot and dry and winter is cool and rainy. The average t° in January is +1°C +12°C, in July is +23°C +25°C.

Forests occupy 25% of the country. Oaks, chestnut-trees, ash- trees, cypresses, maples, palms, pines and fur- trees grow there. In the mountains there are Alpine meadows. The animal world is not very rich in Italy. Wolves, wild pigs, hares, bears and wild cats live there. You can also find a lot of flesh-eating birds as eagles, falcons and hawks. There are many other kinds of birds in the forests of Italy.

The capital of Italy is Rome. It is a beautiful historical place. The population of Rome is 3.9 million people.

Big cities of Italy are Milano, Napoli, Genoa, Turin, Palermo, Florence, Catania, Venice and others.