News: The Italian Parliament has approved a law recognizing femicide, with support from both ruling and opposition parties, to better protect women.
Key Facts About Italy
- Location: Italy is located in Southern and Western Europe, consisting of a peninsula extending into the Mediterranean Sea and several islands.
- Capital: The capital and largest city of Italy is Rome.
- It is the tenth-largest country in Europe by area and the third-most populous EU member.
- Land boundaries
- It shares land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia and enclaves Vatican City and San Marino.
- Exclave: Campione d’Italia is an Italian exclave in Switzerland.
- Coastline Border: Italy has a coastline of 7,600 km on the Mediterranean Sea, the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian seas, the Ionian Sea, and the Adriatic Sea – including its islands.
- Climate: Coastal areas largely follow a Mediterranean climate, while inland northern and central regions experience humid subtropical conditions.
- Mountains
- The Apennine Mountains run through the centre of the peninsula, while the Alps mountain form most of its northern boundary.
- Highest point: Mont Blanc
- River
- The Po River is the longest river of Italy which flows across the Padan plain.
- Most of its rivers drain into the Adriatic or Tyrrhenian Sea.
- Lake: Lake Garda is the largest lake of Italy.
- Volcanic Features
- Active volcanoes – Mount Etna (largest in Europe), Stromboli, and Vesuvius.
- Terra Rossa: Much of southern and coastal Italy has a soil known as Terra Rossa — a reddish, clayey to silty-clay soil formed over limestone or dolomite in Mediterranean climate zones.
