Italy, formally the Italian Republic or the Republic of Italy, is a nation comprised of a peninsula bounded by the Alps and some neighboring islands, the area of which primarily corresponds to the eponymous geographical region. Italy is situated in Southern Europe, in the midst of the Mediterranean Sea; it is also considered a component of Western Europe. The nation is a unitary parliamentary republic with Rome as its capital and biggest city. It has a total geographical area of 301,230 km2 (116,310 sq mi) and borders France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, and the enclaved microstates of Vatican City and San Marino. Campione is an Italian territorial exclave in Switzerland. Italy is the third-most populated member state of the European Union, with about 60 million people.
Italy has traditionally been home to a diverse range of peoples and civilizations due to its pivotal geographic position in Southern Europe and the Mediterranean. Beginning with the classical era, Phoenicians and Carthaginians established colonies mostly in insular Italy, Greeks established settlements in the so-called Magna Graecia of Southern Italy, and Etruscans and Celts inhabited central and northern Italy, respectively, in addition to the various ancient peoples dispersed throughout what is now modern-day Italy, the most predominant being the Indo-European Italic peoples who gave the peninsula its name. In the eighth century BC, an Italic tribe known as the Latins established the Roman Kingdom, which later became a republic governed by the Senate and the People. The Roman Republic originally conquered and integrated its Italian peninsula neighbors before extending and conquering areas of Europe, North Africa, and Asia. By the first century BC, the Roman Empire had established itself as the dominant power in the Mediterranean Basin, as well as a major cultural, political, and religious center, ushering in the Pax Romana, a period of more than 200 years during which Italy's law, technology, economy, art, and literature flourished.
Despite the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the Barbarian Invasions during the Early Middle Ages, by the 11th century, numerous rival city-states and maritime republics, primarily in northern and central Italy, had become prosperous through trade, commerce, and banking, laying the groundwork for modern capitalism. These mostly independent statelets served as Europe's main trading hubs with Asia and the Near East, often enjoying greater democracy than the larger feudal monarchies that were consolidating throughout Europe; however, part of central Italy was under the control of the theocratic Papal States, while Southern Italy remained largely feudal until the 19th century, partly due to a succession of Byzantine, Arab, Norman, Angevin, Aragonese, and other foes. The Renaissance started in Italy and extended across Europe, rekindling interest in humanism, science, exploration, and art. Italian culture thrived, generating world-renowned thinkers, artists, and polymaths. Italian explorers explored new ways to the Far East and the New World throughout the Middle Ages, helping to usher in the European Age of Discovery. Nonetheless, the emergence of trade routes that avoided the Mediterranean substantially weakened Italy's economic and political influence. Centuries of foreign invasion and involvement, as well as competition and infighting among Italian city-states, such as the Italian Wars of the 15th and 16th ages, left Italy politically fractured, and it was overrun and split throughout the centuries by many foreign European powers.
Rising Italian nationalism and cries for independence from foreign influence ushered in an era of revolutionary political turmoil during the mid-nineteenth century. Following a war of independence, Italy was nearly totally united in 1861, forming the Kingdom of Italy after centuries of foreign dominance and political disunity. From the late 1800s through the early 1900s, Italy quickly industrialized, mostly in the north, and established a colonial empire, while the south remained largely destitute and excluded from industrialization, fostering a vast and powerful diaspora. Despite being one of the victorious allied nations in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic and social instability, which eventually led to the creation of the Italian fascist dictatorship in 1922. Fascist Italy's involvement in World War II on the Axis side and against the Allies resulted in military loss, economic catastrophe, and occupation of Italy by Nazi Germany and the collaborationist Italian Social Republic. Following the emergence of the Italian Resistance, the ensuing Italian Civil War, and Italy's liberation, the nation abolished its monarchy, formed a democratic Republic, had a protracted economic boom, and became a highly developed country.
Italy has a developed economy. The country ranks ninth in terms of nominal GDP (third in the European Union), eighth in terms of national wealth, and third in terms of central bank gold reserves. It has a high standard of living in terms of life expectancy, quality of life, healthcare, and education. The nation is a big power with substantial responsibilities in regional and global economic, military, cultural, and diplomatic issues. Italy is a founding and leading member of the European Union, as well as a member of numerous international organizations such as the United Nations, NATO, the OECD, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the World Trade Organization, the Group of Seven, the G20, the Union for the Mediterranean, the Latin Union, the Council of Europe, Uniting for Consensus, the Schengen Area, and others. The nation has long been a worldwide center of art, music, literature, philosophy, science and technology, and fashion, and has tremendously affected and contributed to a wide range of sectors such as film, gastronomy, sports, jurisprudence, banking, and commerce. Italy boasts the most World Heritage Sites (58), a reflection of its cultural riches, and is the sixth most visited nation.