Italy, officially the Italian Republic (Italia or Repubblica Italiana)
is a country in southern Europe. It comprises
the boot-shaped Italian peninsula, the Po River
valley, and two large islands in the Mediterranean
Sea, Sicily and Sardinia, and shares its northern
alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria
and Slovenia. The independent countries of
San Marino and the Vatican City are enclaves
within Italian territory. The
island of Capri is the Mediterranean
isle with a difference - a sunny slice of Italy
but exotically different.
Italy was also home to many well-known and
influential civilisations, including the Etruscans,
Greeks and the Romans. Italy is called Belpaese (Italian for beautiful
country) by their inhabitants, due to the beauty and variety of
its landscapes and for its world's largest artistic patrimony; the
country is home to the greatest number of UNESCO World Heritage
Sites.
More so, Italy is world famous for its fashion
industry and the bright red supercars (Ferrari),
which also dominates on the Formula 1 circuits
of Monza and San Morino. Keeping with the sporting
heritage, you can't fail to mention the passion
of Italian football.
