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Italian RepublicRepubblica Italiana
FlagCoat of arms
Anthem: Il Canto degli Italiani
(also known as Inno di Mameli)
The Song of the Italians
Location of  Italy  (dark green)

– on the European continent  (light green & dark grey)
– in the European Union  (light green)  — 

Capital
(and largest city)		Rome
41°54′N 12°29′E / 41.9°N 12.483°E / 41.9; 12.483
Official languagesItalian1
DemonymItalian
GovernmentParliamentary republic
 - PresidentGiorgio Napolitano
 - Prime MinisterSilvio Berlusconi
LegislatureParliament
 - Upper HouseSenate
 - Lower HouseChamber of Deputies
Formation
 - Unification17 March 1861 
 - Republic2 June 1946 
EU accession25 March 1957 (founding member)
Area
 - Total301,338 km2 (71st)
116,346. Carttoonnet Work Games 5 sq mi 
 - Water (%)2.4
Population
 - 31 August 2008 estimate59,905,225 (23rd)
 - October 2001 census57,110,144 
 - Density198.8/km2 (54th)
511.7/sq mi
GDP (PPP)2007 estimate
 - Total$1,787 trillion (10th)
 - Per capita$30,365 (IMF) (27th)
GDP (nominal)2007 estimate
 - Total$2,104 trillion (7th)
 - Per capita$35,745 (IMF) (23rd)
Gini (2000)36 (medium) 
HDI (2005)▲ 0.941 (high) (19th)
CurrencyEuro (€)2 (EUR)
Time zoneCET (UTC+1)
 - Summer (DST)CEST (UTC+2)
Drives on theright
Internet TLD.it3
Calling code39
1French is co-official in the Aosta Valley; Friulian and Slovenian are co-official in Friuli-Venezia Giulia; German and Ladin are co-official in the province of Bolzano-Bozen; Sardinian is co-official in Sardinia.
2Before 2002, the Italian Lira. The euro is accepted in Campione d'Italia (but the official currency is the Swiss Franc).
3The .eu domain is also used, as it is shared with other European Union member states.

Italy /ˈɪtəli/ (help·info) (Italian: Italia), officially the Italian Republic (Italian: Repubblica Italiana), is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia. The independent states of San Marino and the Vatican City are enclaves within the Italian Peninsula, and Campione d'Italia is an Italian exclave in Switzerland.

Italy has been the home of many European cultures, such as the Etruscans and the Romans, and later was the birthplace of the university and of the Renaissance, that began in Tuscany and spread all over Europe. Italy's capital, Rome, was for centuries the center of Western civilization. Italy possessed a colonial empire from the second half of the nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century.

Today, Italy is a