Italy Travel and Tourism Guide

Italy is a popular tourist stop due to the rich history, art, great food, culture, and the pleasant locals.

Officially the Italian Republic, is a country located in Southern Europe, occupying the Italian Peninsula, and 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.
Italy has been the home of many influential European cultures, such as the Etruscans and the Romans and much later the Italian Renaissance, as well as a host to 3,000 years of migrations and invasions from Germanic, Celtic, Greek, Lombard, Saracen, African and Norman peoples.

Italy's capital Rome (Roma) has historically been an important centre of Western Civilization, and the Roman Catholic Church. Other important important cities are: Milan for fashion, Florence and Turin for art, Naples for the beauty and the famous Pizza and
Venice for its canals.
Today, Italy is a democratic republic. It is a member of the G8 and a founding member of what is now the European Union, of the Council of Europe and of the Western European Union and of the Central European Initiative. Starting from January 1, 2007, Italy is a member of the United Nations Security Council.

Italians love soccer and they call it football (italian: calcio). Italy is one of the biggest wine producing countries on earth.