Italy

Italy's capital and largest city, Rome, has for centuries been one of the leading political and religious centres of Western civilisation, first as the capital of the Roman Empire and l1:36 AM 8/14/2013ater as the site of the Holy See. After the decline of the Roman Empire, Italy endured numerous invasions by foreign peoples, from Germanic tribes such as the Lombards and Ostrogoths, to the Byzantines and the Normans, among others. Centuries later, Italy became the birthplace of the Maritime republics and the Renaissance. Through much of its post-Roman history, Italy was fragmented into numerous municipal and regional states (such as the Kingdom of Sardinia, the Republic of Venice and the Papal States), but was unified in 1861. From the late 19th century, up until the end of World War II, Italy possessed a colonial empire.

Modern Italy is a parliamentary republic. It has been ranked as the world's 25th most-developed country and its Quality-of-life Index was ranked in the world's top ten in 2005. Italy enjoys a very high standard of living partially because of a high GDP per capita and has a high public education level. Italy is also one of the world's most globalised nations. It is a founding member of what is now the European Union and part of the Eurozone. Italy is also a member of the G7, G8, G20 and NATO, adheres to the UN. It has the world's third-largest gold reserves, ninth-largest nominal GDP, tenth highest GDP (PPP) and the sixth highest government budget in the world. It is also a member state of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, the Council of Europe and the United Nations.

Italy currently maintains the world's tenth-largest nominal defence budget and is a participant in the NATO nuclear sharing policy. With Italy's political, military, social and economic influence in Europe, it is considered a main middle power and referred to as a regional power.

Known Places

Bologna

Milan

Florence

Palermo

Rome