Italy, officially the Italian Republic (Italian: Italia, IPA: or Repubblica Italiana, IPA: ), is a Southern European country. It comprises the Italian Peninsula, the Po River valley, and two large islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia, and shares its northern alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia. The country also shares a sea border with Croatia, and France. The independent countries of San Marino and the Vatican City are enclaves within Italian territory. It is shaped like a boot, and for this reason it is commonly called lo stivale (Italian for the boot).

Italy was home to many well-known and influential European civilizations, including the Etruscans, Greeks and the Romans. For more than 3,000 years Italy experienced migrations and invasions from Germanic, Celtic, Frankish, Byzantine Greek, Saracen, Norman, and the French Angevin, and Lombard peoples, and was divided into many independent states until 1861 when Italy became a nation-state.

Italy is called "il Belpaese" (Italian for beautiful country) by its inhabitants, due to the beauty and variety of its landscapes and for having the world's largest artistic patrimony; the country is home to the greatest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites (41 as of July 13 2006).

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NYT > Italy

Reassessing Artworks of Ancient Rome
By RODERICK CONWAY MORRIS Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500
The exhibition "Rome: The Painting of an Empire," at the Scuderie del Quirinale through Jan. 17, offers a panoramic view of unusual broadness and depth of Roman painting.
Italy Convicts 23 Americans for C.I.A. Renditions
By RACHEL DONADIO Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500
The Americans were tried in absentia for the seizure of a Muslim cleric from the streets of Milan over six years ago.
Conviction Is Upheld for an Ally of Berlusconi
By RACHEL DONADIO Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0400
A Milan appeals court upheld the conviction of a British lawyer found to have accepted a bribe for protecting the prime minister.
Fine Would Be a ‘Blow’ to Berlusconi’s Holding Company
By REUTERS Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0400
Silvio Berlusconi’s daughter Marina, head of his Fininvest holding company, said a court order to pay 750 million euros in damages put the company at risk.
Mexico and Italy Among Seven Teams That Claim 2010 Places
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Sun, 11 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0400
A tie against Ireland was enough to seal qualification for the Italians, who joined Germany, Denmark, Serbia and the Ivory Coast in the field.
Czarist Russia's Fascination With Italian Textiles
By RODERICK CONWAY MORRIS Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0400
The Russia of the czars was profoundly suspicious of Western influences, but there was one temptation that this xenophobic and autocratic society could not resist - Italian fabrics and fashions.

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