Italy
/ˈɪtəli/ (help·info) (Italian: Italia , ), officially the Italian Republic (Italian: Repubblica italiana ), is a country located partly on the European Continent and partly 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. The territory of Italy covers 301,338 km² and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. With 60.2 million inhabitants, it is the sixth most populous country in Europe, and the twenty-third most populous in the world.
The land known as Italy today has been the cradle of European cultures and peoples, such as the Etruscans and the Romans. Italy's capital, Rome, was for centuries the political centre of Western civilisation, as the capital of the Roman Empire. After its decline, Italy would endure numerous invasions by foreign peoples, from Germanic tribes such as the Lombards and Ostrogoths, to the Normans and later, the Byzantines, among others. Centuries later, Italy would become the birthplace of the Renaissance, an immensely fruitful intellectual movement that would prove to be integral in shaping the subsequent course of European thought.
Through much of its post-Roman history, Italy was fragmented into numerous kingdoms and city-states (such as the Kingdom of Sardinia, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and the Duchy of Milan), but was unified in 1861, a tumultuous period in history known as the " Risorgimento ". In the late 19th century, through World War I, and to World War II, Italy possessed a colonial empire, which extended its rule to Libya, Eritrea, Italian Somaliland, Ethiopia, Albania, Rhodes, the Dodecanese and a concession in Tianjin, China.
Modern Italy is a democratic republic and the world's eighteenth most developed country, with the eighth or tenth highest quality of life index rating in the world. Italy enjoys a very high standard of living, and has a high nominal GDP per capita. It is a founding member of what is now the European Union and North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Italy is also a member of the G8 and G20. It has the world's seventh-largest nominal GDP, tenth highest GDP (PPP) and the fifth 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 Western European Union. Italy, on addition to this, has the world's eight-largest defence budget and shares NATO's nuclear weapons.
Italy, especially Rome, has an important place in political, military and cultural affairs, with worldwide organizations such as Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Food Programme (WFP), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Glocal Forum, and the NATO Defence College being headquartered in the country and the city. The country's European political, social and economic influence make it a major regional power, alongside the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Russia, and Italy has been classified in a study, measuring hard power, as being the eleventh greatest worldwide national power. The country has a high public education level, high labour force, is a globalised nation, and also has 2009's sixth best international reputation. Italy also has the world's nineteenth highest life expectancy, and the world's second best healthcare system. It is the world's fifth most visited country, with over 43.7 million international arrivals, and boasts a long tradition in the arts, science and technology, including the world's highest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites to date (44).
Etymology
The origin of the term Italia , from Latin: Italia , is uncertain. According to one of the more common explanations, the term was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú , meaning "land of young cattle" ( cf. Lat vitulus "calf", Umb vitlo "calf"). The bull was a symbol of the southern Italian tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Samnite Wars.
The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy—according to Antiochus of Syracuse, the southern portion of the Bruttium peninsula (modern Calabria). But by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name "Italia" to a larger region, but it was not until the time of the Roman conquests that the term was expanded to cover the entire peninsula.
History
Main article: History of ItalySee also: Historical states of ItalyPrehistory to Magna Graecia
Main articles: Prehistoric Italy, Ancient Italic peoples, and Magna GraeciaExcavations throughout Italy reveal a modern human presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago. In the 8th and 7th centuries BC Greek colonies were established all along the coast of Sicily and the southern part of the Italian Peninsula. Subsequently, Romans referred to this area as Magna Graecia , as it was so densely inhabited by Greeks. The colonists who started arriving in the eighth century BC brought with them their Hellenic civilization, which was to leave a lasting imprint in Italy and particularly on the culture of ancient Rome.
Ancient Rome
Main articles: Ancient Rome, History of Italy during Roman times, and Italia (Roman Empire)Ancient Rome was at first a small agricultural community founded circa the 8th century BC that grew over the course of the centuries into a colossal empire encompassing the whole Mediterranean Sea, in which Ancient Greek and Roman cultures merged into one civilization. This civilization was so influential that parts of it survive in modern law, administration, philosophy and arts, forming the ground that Western civilization is based upon.
In its twelve-century existence it transformed itself from monarchy to republic and finally to autocracy. In steady decline since the 2nd century AD, the empire finally broke into two parts in 285 AD: the Western Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire in the East. The western part under the pressure of Goths finally dissolved, leaving the Italian peninsula divided into small independent kingdoms and feuding city states for the next 14 centuries, and leaving the eastern part sole heir to the Roman legacy.
Middle Ages
Main articles: Regnum Italicum, Kingdom of the Lombards, Italy in the Middle Ages, Medieval commune, Republic of Florence, Republic of Venice, Republic of Genoa, and Years of the 12th - 14th century in ItalyIn the sixth century AD the Byzantine Emperor Justinian reconquered Italy from the Ostrogoths. The invasion of a new wave of Germanic tribes, the Lombards, doomed his attempt to resurrect the Western Roman Empire but the repercussions of Justinian's failure resounded further still. For the next thirteen centuries, whilst new nation-states arose in the lands north of the Alps, the Italian political landscape was a patchwork of feuding city states, petty tyrannies, and foreign invaders.
For several centuries the armies and Exarchs, Justinian's successors, were a tenacious force in Italian affairs - strong enough to prevent other powers such as the Arabs, the Holy Roman Empire, or the Papacy from establishing a unified Italian Kingdom, but too weak to drive out these "interlopers" and recreate Roman Italy.
Italy's regions were eventually subsumed by their neighbouring empires with their conflicting interests and would remain divided up to the 19th century. It was during this vacuum of authority that the region saw the rise of the Signoria and the Comune. In the anarchic conditions that often prevailed in medieval Italian city-states, people looked to strong men to restore order and disarm the feuding elites. In times of anarchy or crisis, cities sometimes offered the Signoria to individuals perceived as strong enough to save the state, most notably the Della Scala family in Verona, the Visconti in Milan and the Medici in Florence.
Italy during this period became notable for its merchant Republics. These city-states, oligarchical in reality, had a dominant merchant class which under relative freedom nurtured academic and artistic advancement. The four classic Maritime Republics in Italy were Venice, Genoa, Pisa and Amalfi. Venice and Genoa were Europe's gateways to trade with the East, with the former producer of the renowned venetian glass. Florence was the capital of silk, wool, banks and jewelry. The Maritime Republics were heavily involved in the Crusades, taking advantage of the new political and trading opport
1 Contemporary Furniture, Modern Italian Furniture
The best contemporary furniture designs today come from the old world. It particular Italy. Reminiscent of the glass blowers of Venice the latest Italian contemporary designs and the ...
stashbox.org
... one-way-furniture-inc-mitchell-furniture-stores-one-way-furniture-inc">one way furniture inc ...
FURNITURE COLLECTIONS
FURNITURE COLLECTIONS ... Old World Cherry: Old World Provincial: Italian Renaissance
FURNITURE EXHIBITORS - ITALIAN FURNITURE IN THE WORLD ...
FURNITURE EXHIBITORS: a virtual fair from more real fairs - italian furniture ... bedrooms, other furniture, dining-rooms: Keywords: style, accessories, old ... all over the world. A ...
Pulaski Furniture 6pc Queen Terracina Bedroom Set ...
Pulaski Furniture: Model #: PUL 611150 Queen Set Product #: 1270. Magnficent Italian Terracina bedroom set from Pulaski Furniture features old world design elements.
Old World Furniture - Furniture - Compare Prices ...
Old World Furniture - 941 results like the ImportAdvantage Agewood TV Console with Mount, Butler Specialties Heritage BOMBE TRUNK TABLE - 0553070, Butler Specialty 0576070 Trunk ...
Old World Tuscan Style Furniture Photos Images
Old World style encompasses many design themes, including French Country, Tuscan, Mediterranean, Spanish, French Chateau and Italian Villa. Traditional Collection furniture is ...
Old-World Italian Dinner
Old-World Italian Dinner ... Brand Licensing Partners; BHG Collection at Walmart; Chief Architect; BHG Furniture
Kitchens .com - Old World Style Kitchens
Furniture-look cabinetry; Stone walls and/or floors; Pewter or copper accents ... Other Old World styles: Italian Villa, French Chateau, Normandy cottage, Dutch cottage, medieval ...
R-Furniture - Romani Furniture: a site where you can ...
Antique reproductions,Romani Furniture, old world, and hand painted furniture in Spanish, French, and Italian designs by artist Olinda Romani