Introduction & Quick FactsLandReliefMountain rangesThe plainsCoastal areasDrainageRiversLakesSoilsClimatePlant lifeAnimal lifeThe peopleEthnic groupsLanguagesReligionTraditional regionsSettlement patternsRural areasUrban centersDemographic trendsInternal migration patternsEmigration and immigrationEconomyAn overviewPublic and private sectorsPostwar economic developmentLater economic trendsAgriculture, forestry, and fishingField cropsTree cropsPastureForestryFishingResources and powerIron and coalMineral productionEnergyManufacturingMining and quarryingDevelopment of heavy industryLight manufacturingConstructionFinanceTradeServices and tourismBusiness servicesTourismLabour and taxationTransportation and telecommunicationsWater transportRail transportRoad transportAir transportTelecommunicationsGovernment and societyConstitutional frameworkConstitution of 1948The legislatureThe presidential officeThe governmentRegional and local governmentJusticePolitical processElectoral systemPolitical partiesThe participation of the citizenSecurityHealth and welfareHousingEducationCultural lifeCultural milieuDaily life and social customsThe artsVisual artsArchitectureLiteratureMusicTheaterFilmCultural institutionsMuseums and galleriesLibrariesCultural institutesSports and recreationMedia and publishingHistoryItaly in the early Middle AgesThe late Roman Empire and the OstrogothsFifth-century political trendsThe Ostrogothic kingdomThe end of the Roman worldLombards and ByzantinesThe Lombard kingdom, 584–774Popes and exarchs, 590–800Ethnic identity and governmentLombard ItalyByzantine ItalySimilarities between Lombard and Byzantine statesCarolingian and post-Carolingian Italy, 774–962The kingdom of ItalyThe role of RomeThe reign of Berengar IThe south, 774–1000Literature and artEconomy and societySocioeconomic developments in the countrysideSubsistence cultivationThe growing power of the aristocracySocioeconomic developments in the cityItaly, 962–1300Italy under the Saxon emperorsThe Ottonian systemSocial and economic developmentsThe reform movement and the Salian emperorsThe papacy and the NormansThe Investiture ControversyThe rise of communesThe age of the HohenstaufenFrederick I (Frederick Barbarossa)Papal-imperial relationsInstitutional reformsNorthern ItalyEconomic and cultural developmentsHenry VIOtto IVFrederick IIRelations to the papacyThe kingdom of JerusalemThe Sicilian kingdomThe war in northern ItalyThe factors shaping political factionsThe end of Hohenstaufen ruleEconomic developmentsCultural developmentsItaly in the 14th and 15th centuriesCharacteristics of the periodItaly to c. 1380The southern kingdoms and the Papal StatesThe popolo and the formation of the signorie in central and northern ItalyVenice in the 14th centuryFlorence in the 14th centuryEconomic changeFamine, war, and plague (1340–80)Italy from c. 1380 to c. 1500Political development, 1380–1454The states of Italy in the 15th centuryThe southern monarchies and the Papal StatesVeniceFlorenceMilanThe first French invasionSavonarolaThe early Italian RenaissanceHumanismThe arts and intellectual lifeEarly modern Italy (16th to 18th century)From the 1490s through the 17th-century crisisFrench and Spanish rivalries after 1494French loss of Naples, gain of MilanSpanish acquisition of NaplesTuscany and the papacyFrench victories in LombardyThe age of Charles VNew warfareSpanish victory in ItalySpanish ItalyThe Kingdom of NaplesThe kingdom of SicilySardiniaThe duchy of MilanPrincipates and oligarchic republicsThe duchy of SavoyThe duchy of TuscanyThe republic of GenoaThe Republic of VeniceThe Papal StatesCulture and societySociety and economyThe 17th-century crisisReform and Enlightenment in the 18th centurySociety and economyPolitical thought and early attempts at reformThe era of Enlightenment reformMilanTuscanyNaples and SicilyThe other Italian statesThe crisis of the old regimeRevolution, restoration, and unificationThe French Revolutionary periodThe early yearsFrench invasion of ItalyRoots of the RisorgimentoThe Italian republics of 1796–99Collapse of the republicsThe French Consulate, 1799–1804The Napoleonic empire, 1804–14Northern and central ItalyThe Kingdom of NaplesSardinia and SicilyThe end of French ruleThe restoration periodThe Vienna settlementEconomic slump and revivalThe rebellions of 1831 and their aftermathThe Revolutions of 1848UnificationThe role of PiedmontThe war of 1859Garibaldi and the ThousandCondition of the Italian kingdomThe acquisition of Venetia and RomeItaly from 1870 to 1945Developments from 1870 to 1914Politics and the political system, 1870–87Forces of oppositionLand reformProtectionismSocial changesThe Crispi era, 1887–1900Domestic policiesColonialismYears of crisisThe Giolitti era, 1900–14Domestic policiesEconomic developmentsHealth and educationWorld War I and fascismWar and its aftermathConduct of the warThe cost of victoryEconomic and political crisis: the “two red years”The Fascist eraThe rise of MussoliniThe end of constitutional ruleAnti-Fascist movementsEconomic policyForeign policyWorld War IIMilitary disasterEnd of the regimeThe republic of Salò (the Italian Social Republic) and the German occupationThe partisans and the ResistanceItaly since 1945The first decades after World War IIBirth of the Italian republicThe Cold War political orderParties and party factionsForeign policyThe economic miracleIndustrial growthLand reformThe southItaly from the 1960sDemographic and social changeEconomic stagnation and labor militancy in the 1960s and ’70sStudent protest and social movements, 1960s to ’80sTerrorismPolitics in the 1970s and ’80sRegional governmentThe economy in the 1980sThe fight against organized crimeItaly at the turn of the 21st centuryEmergence of the “second republic”Economic strengthA new political landscapeThe rise of BerlusconiShifting powerScandal and the struggling economyThe migrant crisis and the growth of populist movementsThe Renzi and Gentiloni governmentsThe victory of populist partiesImmigration and foreign policy, Italy, [a] officially the Italian Republic, [b] is a country in Southern and Western Europe. [c] It consists of a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land border, as well as nearly 800 islands, notably Sicily and Sardinia., Italy, country of south-central Europe, occupying a peninsula that juts deep into the Mediterranean Sea. Italy comprises some of the most varied and scenic landscapes on Earth and is often described as a country shaped like a boot..