Source: MAPS IN MINUTES™ © RH Publications (1997)

A country bounded on the north by France, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia, the mainland forming a peninsula in the Mediterranean Sea, and including the islands of Sardinia, Sicily, Ischia, and Capri.

Physical

Among the southern foothills of the Alps in the north of the mainland are the Italian Lakes. Below them the River Po runs west–east across the fertile Lombardy Plain to the Adriatic Sea. The Apennines are the backbone of the peninsula itself. To their west are the hills and plains of Tuscany; further south the Tiber flows across the Pontine Marshes to the Tyrrhenian Sea. Further south still the coastal plain is enriched by the debris of Vesuvius and the climate becomes warmer. To the south is Calabria, where the mountains fall steeply to the sea and in summer the land bakes brown. Eastward, stretches a wide and arid limestone plain.

Economy

With a developed industrial economy, Italy’s main exports include engineering products, textiles, clothing, machinery, and vehicles. The public sector is significant, and industry is concentrated in north and central Italy with the south remaining predominantly agricultural and relatively poor. There are few large mineral deposits, excepting sulphur, mercury, and some oil in Sicily. The tourist industry is significant. The chief agricultural products are fruit, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, and sugar beet. Italy is a leading wine producer.

History

Italy had come under Etruscan, Greek, and Celtic influence before it was united in c.262 bc under Roman rule. In the 5th century it was overrun by the barbarian Goths and Lombard tribes. In 775 Charlemagne conquered the north and it became part of the Carolingian empire, while the south was disputed between the Byzantine empire and the Arab conquerors of Sicily. By the 12th century city-states had emerged in northern and central Italy and the south united under first Norman and then, in 1176, Spanish control. The 14th century was a time of great commercial activity, followed by the Renaissance period. The country, now divided between five major rival states, came under first Spanish (1559–1700) and then, after the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, Austrian domination. In 1796–97 Italy, having been used to maintain the balance of power in Europe, was invaded by Napoleon and hopes of independence and unification re-emerged. However, in 1815, the country reverted to a grouping consisting of Lombardy and Venetia, ruled by the Habsburgs from Vienna; the kingdom of Piedmont Sardinia, which then consisted of most of Savoy, Piedmont, and the island of Sardinia; the Papal States, ruled by the popes in Rome; the duchies of Tuscany, Parma, and Modena, also ruled by the Habsburgs; and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, now ruled by restored Bourbons from Naples. France ruled part of Savoy and Corsica, but had lost Genoa to Piedmont. Revolutionary societies, such as the Carbonari and Young Italy, were formed. The new forces of the Risorgimento created hopes of independence from Austrian and French rule. Under such leaders as Cavour, Mazzini, and Garibaldi, unification of Italy was finally achieved, and in 1861 Victor Emmanuel II was crowned king of Italy. In an effort to join the `scramble for Africa’ the Italian Premier and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Francesco Crispi, claimed (1889) the colony of Eritrea, but the abortive bid for Ethiopia led to a decisive defeat (1896) at the battle of Adowa. During the Turko-Italian War (1911–12), Italy conquered north Tripoli and by 1914 had occupied much of Libya, declaring it an integral part of the country in 1939. In World War I Italy supported the Allies, regaining Trieste and part of the Tyrol. The fascist dictator Mussolini, determined to establish an Italian empire, successfully invaded (1935) Ethiopia, combining it with Eritrea and Italian Somaliland to form Italian East Africa. In World War II Mussolini at first allied himself with Hitler, but by 1943 the country had lost its North African empire and in the same year declared war on Germany. In 1946 the king abdicated in favour of a republic. The immediate post-war period brought remarkable and sustained economic growth but also political instability, characterized by frequent changes of government. The Italian Communist Party successfully adjusted to democracy, but during the 1970s there were Red Brigade terrorist kidnappings and outrages. Governments of the republic have mostly been formed by elaborate coalitions, dominated by the Christian Democrats, but Italian politics became increasingly incompetent, with accusations of corruption. As a result, there were calls in 1991 by President Francesco Cossiga (1985–92) for constitutional reform. The early 1990s saw Mafia violence escalate, which provoked public outrage at the authorities’ inability to curb it. The government responded by increasing police and judiciary powers and key arrests were made. By 1994 official reports indicated a significant reduction in Mafia-related crimes. In 1992 President Cossiga resigned and was succeeded by Oscar Luigi Scalfaro (1992–99), while the government’s economic reform policies led to large-scale anti-government protests. Allegations of corruption against ministers in 1993 further seriously undermined the authority of the government. That year the country’s electoral process was changed from a proportional representation system to a first-past-the-post system. Under this system, the general election of 1994 brought to power a right-wing coalition government led by Forza Italia, a party formed by media magnate Silvio Berlusconi, who became Prime Minister. However, conflicts of interest between Berlusconi’s political and commercial interests led to his resignation in 1995. Following the 1996 general election a series of left-wing coalitions held power under Romano Prodi (1996–98), Massimo D’Alema (1998–2000), and Giuliano Amato (2000–01). Berlusconi was returned to power at the head of a right-wing coalition by the 2001 elections. However, he was narrowly defeated in 2006 by a left-wing coalition led by Prodi. Prodi’s government fell in 2008 and Berlusconi returned to power after further elections. Following the Credit Crunch, in 2011 the interest rates at which Italy could borrow money on global financial markets rose to prohibitive levels. Berlusconi’s government enacted austerity measures and then resigned. It was replaced by a non-party administration headed by Mario Monti, which in 2012 implemented more austerity measures and other reforms. These reassured the financial markets, but Monti lost the support of parliament in 2013. Indecisive elections were followed by a lengthy hiatus until a coalition was formed under the Democratic Party’s Enrico Letta. Dissension within the party saw him replaced by Matteo Renzi in 2014. Renzi’s plans for constitutional change that would centralize more power in the national government were defeated in a referendum in late 2016. He resigned as Prime Minister and was succeeded by his former foreign secretary, Paolo Gentiloni. Elections followed in March 2018; after months of negotiations a power-sharing agreement was agreed between the anti-establishment Five-Star Movement and La Lega (formerly Lega Nord), with Giuseppe Conte as Prime Minister.

From 2013 onwards, Italy faced an influx of migrants crossing from North Africa by boat to Lampedusa and to Sicily. In 2015, over 150,000 such migrants arrived, while 181,000 arrived in 2016; Italy has been arguing strongly for a coordinated EU response to the migrant crisis.