Italy

Introduction & Quick Facts
Land
- Relief
  - Mountain ranges
  - The plains
  - Coastal areas
- Drainage
  - Rivers
  - Lakes
- Soils
- Climate
- Plant life
- Animal life
The people
- Ethnic groups
- Languages
- Religion
- Traditional regions
- Settlement patterns
  - Rural areas
  - Urban centers
- Demographic trends
  - Internal migration patterns
  - Emigration and immigration
Economy
- An overview
  - Public and private sectors
  - Postwar economic development
  - Later economic trends
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
  - Field crops
  - Tree crops
  - Pasture
  - Forestry
  - Fishing
- Resources and power
  - Iron and coal
  - Mineral production
  - Energy
- Manufacturing
  - Mining and quarrying
  - Development of heavy industry
  - Light manufacturing
  - Construction
- Finance
- Trade
- Services and tourism
  - Business services
  - Tourism
- Labour and taxation
- Transportation and telecommunications
  - Water transport
  - Rail transport
  - Road transport
  - Air transport
  - Telecommunications
Government and society
- Constitutional framework
  - Constitution of 1948
  - The legislature
  - The presidential office
  - The government
- Regional and local government
- Justice
- Political process
  - Electoral system
  - Political parties
  - The participation of the citizen
- Security
- Health and welfare
- Housing
- Education
Cultural life
- Cultural milieu
- Daily life and social customs
- The arts
  - Visual arts
  - Architecture
  - Literature
  - Music
  - Theater
  - Film
- Cultural institutions
  - Museums and galleries
  - Libraries
  - Cultural institutes
- Sports and recreation
- Media and publishing
History
- Italy in the early Middle Ages
  - The late Roman Empire and the Ostrogoths
    - Fifth-century political trends
    - The Ostrogothic kingdom
    - The end of the Roman world
  - Lombards and Byzantines
    - The Lombard kingdom, 584–774
    - Popes and exarchs, 590–800
    - Ethnic identity and government
      Lombard Italy
      Byzantine Italy
      Similarities between Lombard and Byzantine states
  - Carolingian and post-Carolingian Italy, 774–962
    - The kingdom of Italy
      The role of Rome
      The reign of Berengar I
    - The south, 774–1000
  - Literature and art
  - Economy and society
    - Socioeconomic developments in the countryside
      Subsistence cultivation
      The growing power of the aristocracy
    - Socioeconomic developments in the city
- Italy, 962–1300
  - Italy under the Saxon emperors
    - The Ottonian system
    - Social and economic developments
  - The reform movement and the Salian emperors
    - The papacy and the Normans
    - The Investiture Controversy
    - The rise of communes
  - The age of the Hohenstaufen
    - Frederick I (Frederick Barbarossa)
      Papal-imperial relations
      Institutional reforms
      Northern Italy
    - Economic and cultural developments
    - Henry VI
    - Otto IV
    - Frederick II
      Relations to the papacy
      The kingdom of Jerusalem
      The Sicilian kingdom
      The war in northern Italy
    - The factors shaping political factions
    - The end of Hohenstaufen rule
    - Economic developments
    - Cultural developments
- Italy in the 14th and 15th centuries
  - Characteristics of the period
  - Italy to c. 1380
    - The southern kingdoms and the Papal States
    - The popolo and the formation of the signorie in central and northern Italy
    - Venice in the 14th century
    - Florence in the 14th century
    - Economic change
    - Famine, war, and plague (1340–80)
  - Italy from c. 1380 to c. 1500
    - Political development, 1380–1454
    - The states of Italy in the 15th century
      The southern monarchies and the Papal States
      Venice
      Florence
      Milan
    - The first French invasion
    - Savonarola
  - The early Italian Renaissance
    - Humanism
    - The arts and intellectual life
- Early modern Italy (16th to 18th century)
  - From the 1490s through the 17th-century crisis
    - French and Spanish rivalries after 1494
      French loss of Naples, gain of Milan
      Spanish acquisition of Naples
      Tuscany and the papacy
      French victories in Lombardy
    - The age of Charles V
      New warfare
      Spanish victory in Italy
    - Spanish Italy
      The Kingdom of Naples
      The kingdom of Sicily
      Sardinia
      The duchy of Milan
      Principates and oligarchic republics
      The duchy of Savoy
      The duchy of Tuscany
      The republic of Genoa
      The Republic of Venice
      The Papal States
    - Culture and society
    - Society and economy
    - The 17th-century crisis
  - Reform and Enlightenment in the 18th century
    - Society and economy
    - Political thought and early attempts at reform
    - The era of Enlightenment reform
      Milan
      Tuscany
      Naples and Sicily
      The other Italian states
    - The crisis of the old regime
- Revolution, restoration, and unification
  - The French Revolutionary period
    - The early years
      French invasion of Italy
      Roots of the Risorgimento
      The Italian republics of 1796–99
      Collapse of the republics
    - The French Consulate, 1799–1804
    - The Napoleonic empire, 1804–14
      Northern and central Italy
      The Kingdom of Naples
      Sardinia and Sicily
      The end of French rule
  - The restoration period
    - The Vienna settlement
    - Economic slump and revival
    - The rebellions of 1831 and their aftermath
    - The Revolutions of 1848
  - Unification
    - The role of Piedmont
    - The war of 1859
    - Garibaldi and the Thousand
    - Condition of the Italian kingdom
    - The acquisition of Venetia and Rome
- Italy from 1870 to 1945
  - Developments from 1870 to 1914
    - Politics and the political system, 1870–87
      Forces of opposition
      Land reform
      Protectionism
      Social changes
    - The Crispi era, 1887–1900
      Domestic policies
      Colonialism
      Years of crisis
    - The Giolitti era, 1900–14
      Domestic policies
      Economic developments
      Health and education
  - World War I and fascism
    - War and its aftermath
      Conduct of the war
      The cost of victory
      Economic and political crisis: the “two red years”
    - The Fascist era
      The rise of Mussolini
      The end of constitutional rule
      Anti-Fascist movements
      Economic policy
      Foreign policy
    - World War II
      Military disaster
      End of the regime
      The republic of Salò (the Italian Social Republic) and the German occupation
      The partisans and the Resistance
- Italy since 1945
  - The first decades after World War II
    - Birth of the Italian republic
    - The Cold War political order
      Parties and party factions
      Foreign policy
    - The economic miracle
      Industrial growth
      Land reform
      The south
  - Italy from the 1960s
    - Demographic and social change
    - Economic stagnation and labor militancy in the 1960s and ’70s
    - Student protest and social movements, 1960s to ’80s
    - Terrorism
    - Politics in the 1970s and ’80s
    - Regional government
    - The economy in the 1980s
    - The fight against organized crime
    - Italy at the turn of the 21st century
      Emergence of the “second republic”
      Economic strength
      A new political landscape
      The rise of Berlusconi
      Shifting power
      Scandal and the struggling economy
      The migrant crisis and the growth of populist movements
      The Renzi and Gentiloni governments
      The victory of populist parties
      Immigration and foreign policy

References & Edit History Facts & Stats

Images, Videos & Interactives

Rialto Bridge, Venice

Grand Canal, Venice

A day in Venice: Tourism and tranquility

Physical features of Italy

For Students

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Italy: Facts & Stats

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Dec 24, 2025

News •

Neres doubles gives Napoli the Italian Super Cup with victory over Bologna • Dec. 22, 2025, 4:11 PM ET (AP)

Italy antitrust agency fines Apple $116 million over privacy feature; Apple announces appeal • Dec. 22, 2025, 3:14 PM ET (AP)

U.S.-born Atle Lie McGrath takes World Cup slalom win from Olympic champion Clément Noël • Dec. 22, 2025, 10:01 AM ET (AP)

Italy’s 4 flag bearers for Milan Cortina Winter Olympics honored in handover ceremony • Dec. 22, 2025, 8:20 AM ET (AP)

Schwarz leads first run in World Cup giant slalom with Odermatt outside top 10 • Dec. 21, 2025, 5:52 AM ET (AP)

Facts

Also Known As	Italia • Italian Republic • Repubblica Italiana
Head Of Government	Prime Minister: Giorgia Meloni
Capital	Rome
Population	(2025 est.) 59,198,000
Currency Exchange Rate	1 USD equals 0.859 euro
Head Of State	President: Sergio Mattarella
Form Of Government	republic with two legislative houses (Senate [322¹]; Chamber of Deputies [630])
Official Language	Italian²
Official Religion	none
Official Name	Repubblica Italiana (Italian Republic)
Total Area (Sq Km)	302,069
Total Area (Sq Mi)	116,629
Monetary Unit	euro (€)
Population Rank	(2025) 25
Population Projection 2030	60,286,000
Density: Persons Per Sq Mi	(2025) 507.6
Density: Persons Per Sq Km	(2025) 196
Urban-Rural Population	Urban: (2018) 70.4% • Rural: (2018) 29.6%
Life Expectancy At Birth	Male: (2023) 81 years • Female: (2023) 85.1 years
Literacy: Percentage Of Population Age 15 And Over Literate	Male: (2019) 99% • Female: (2019) 99%
Gni (U.S.$ ’000,000)	(2023) 2,237,146
Gni Per Capita (U.S.$)	(2023) 37,920
¹Includes seven nonelective seats (five presidential appointees and two former presidents serving ex officio).²In addition, German is locally official in the region of Trentino–Alto Adige, and French is locally official in the region of Valle d’Aosta.

Photos and Videos

Rialto Bridge, Venice

Grand Canal, Venice

Physical features of Italy

A day in Venice: Tourism and tranquility

Watch Italy's Po River flow through the Piedmont region and drain into the Po River valley

Must-see spots on Italy's Lake Garda

See Mediterranean olive orchards and vineyards thrive in the Tuscan landscape

The Ricasoli family's wine tradition and Chianti's landscape

Italy: national anthem

See All Videos, Images, Audio and Interactives →

Topics

World War II World War II: The horror of war in pictures Anglo-American Chain of Command in Western Europe, June 1944 German Chain of Command in Western Europe, June 1944 casualties of World War II Carbonari Leonardo da Vinci’s parachute list of cities and towns in Italy list of prime ministers of Italy Second Battle of Custoza United States India United Kingdom China Canada Russia Germany Australia Japan France

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