Italy is a country in Southern and Western Europe, comprised of a peninsula extending into the Mediterranean Sea, the Alps to its north, and nearly 800 islands including Sicily and Sardinia. It borders France, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia, as well as the enclaves of Vatican City and San Marino. It is the tenth-largest European country by area and the third-most populous EU member. Rome is the capital and largest city, with other major urban centers including Milan, Naples, Turin, Palermo, Bologna, Florence, Genoa, and Venice.
In 1944, per capita income in Italy was at its lowest point since 1900.
Italy did not participate in the 1904 Olympic Games.
Nationalist poet Giosuè Carducci became a Nobel laureate in 1906.
In 1913, male universal suffrage was adopted in Italy.
Between 1898 and 1914, the peak years of Italian diaspora, approximately 750,000 Italians emigrated annually.
Cabiria, from 1914, is the most famous Italian silent film.
In 1915, Italy entered into the First World War with the aim of completing national unity, joining the Allies.
In October 1918, the Italians launched a massive offensive, culminating in victory at the Battle of Vittorio Veneto, marking the end of war on the Italian Front.
From 1915 to 1918, Italy took part in World War I with the Entente against the Central Powers.
The Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye in 1919 allowed for annexation of Trentino Alto-Adige, the Julian March, and Istria.
The Treaty of Rapallo in 1920 allowed for annexation of the Kvarner Gulf, and the Dalmatian city of Zara.
Giovanni Giolitti, who was prime minister five times between 1892 and 1921, served his last term in 1921.
The Italian Grand Prix of Formula One has been held since 1921, always at Autodromo Nazionale Monza (except 1980).
In October 1922, the Blackshirts of the National Fascist Party organised the "March on Rome" coup, and King Victor Emmanuel III appointed Mussolini as prime minister.
In 1922, the Italian fascist dictatorship was established.
The Italian Air Force was founded in 1923 by King Victor Emmanuel III as the Regia Aeronautica ('Royal Air Force').
The Treaty of Rome in 1924 led to annexation of Fiume by Italy.
Realist writer Grazia Deledda became a Nobel laureate in 1926.
The Rome Masters, a prestigious tennis tournament, was founded in 1930.
Since 1932, the Venice Film Festival, awarding the Golden Lion, has been held, making it the oldest in the world and one of the "Big Three" European film festivals.
Italy won the FIFA World Cup in 1934.
In 1935, Mussolini invaded Ethiopia and founded Italian East Africa, resulting in international isolation.
Modern theatre author Luigi Pirandello became a Nobel laureate in 1936.
Italy won the FIFA World Cup in 1938.
From 1940, Italy was part of the Axis powers during World War II until 1943.
In July 1943, an Allied invasion of Sicily began, leading to the collapse of the Fascist regime on July 25.
In 1943, Italy surrendered to the Allied powers during World War II, then became a co-belligerent of the Allies during the Italian resistance from 1943 to 1945.
In 1944, per capita income in Italy was at its lowest point since 1900.
Hostilities ended on April 29, 1945, when the German forces in Italy surrendered.
In April 1945, with defeat looming, Mussolini attempted to escape north, but was captured and summarily executed by partisans.
From 1943 to 1945, Italy was a co-belligerent of the Allies during the Italian resistance and the liberation of Italy.
In 1946, "Il Canto degli Italiani" became the national anthem of Italy.
In 1946, the Italian Republic was established, commemorated annually on June 2nd with the Festa della Repubblica.
Italy became a republic after the 1946 Italian institutional referendum held on June 2.
Italy became a unitary parliamentary republic in 1946, which is when the monarchy was abolished.
The Italian Army was formed in 1946, when Italy became a republic, from what remained of the "Royal Italian Army".
In 1948, the Christian Democrats, under Alcide De Gasperi, won a landslide victory.
Italian Scuderia Ferrari, the oldest surviving team in Grand Prix racing, has been competing since 1948.
The Constitution of Italy was established in 1948 and serves as the highest source of law.
The 1950s saw the start of the Italian economic miracle, which caused internal migration from the rural south to the industrial north.
Italy was admitted to the United Nations in 1955.
Italy hosted the Winter Olympics in 1956.
Poet Salvatore Quasimodo became a Nobel laureate in 1959.
Italy hosted the Summer Olympics in 1960.
In 1963, the Vajont Dam flood occurred as one of the ecological disasters caused by deforestation, illegal building, and poor land management.
Italy operated nuclear reactors starting in 1963 until 1990.
Gigliola Cinquetti won Eurovision in 1964.
From the late 1960s until the early 1980s, the country experienced the Years of Lead, characterised by economic difficulties, especially after the 1973 oil crisis.
Poet Eugenio Montale became a Nobel laureate in 1975.
Since 1978, the state has run a universal public healthcare system in Italy.
In 1980 the Italian Grand Prix of Formula One was not held at Autodromo Nazionale Monza.
The country experienced a progressive slowdown in the 1980's
Italy won the FIFA World Cup in 1982.
Italy men's basketball team won gold at EuroBasket 1983.
Since 1985, Catholicism is no longer the official religion of Italy.
Nuclear power in Italy was abandoned after referendums in 1987.
Italy men's national volleyball team won the World Championship in 1990.
Italy's nuclear reactors program was terminated in 1990 after the Chernobyl disaster and referendums.
Toto Cutugno won Eurovision in 1990.
In 1991, a natural mummy, Ötzi, dated 3400–3100 BC, was discovered in the Similaun glacier.
Between 1992 and 1993, Italy faced terror attacks perpetrated by the Sicilian Mafia.
Between 1992 and 1993, Italy faced terror attacks perpetrated by the Sicilian Mafia.
Italy men's national volleyball team won the World Championship in 1994.
In 1995, the total fertility rate (TFR) in Italy reached an all-time low of 1.2 children per woman.
Satirist and theatre author Dario Fo became a Nobel laureate in 1997.
In 1998, Sarno experienced mudslides, an ecological disaster resulting from deforestation, illegal building, and poor land management.
Italy men's national volleyball team won the World Championship in 1998.
Italy men's basketball team won gold at EuroBasket 1999.
According to a 2000 World Health Organization (WHO) research, Italy had the second-best healthcare system in the world in terms of spending efficiency and access to public care for citizens, after France.
From 2000 to 2010, there was a 32% decrease in the number of farms in Italy.
In 2000, the proportion of daily smokers in Italy was 24%.
In 2002, there were 668,721 km of serviceable roads in Italy, including 6,487 km of motorways.
Italy joined the common European currency, the euro, in 2002.
From 2003, Italy deployed over 2,000 troops to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF).
In 2004, there were 43 major seaports in Italy, including Genoa.
Italy men's basketball team won silver at the 2004 Olympics.
As of 2005, 6,759 vascular plant species are recorded in the Data bank of Italian vascular flora.
In 2005, Italy maintained a civilian air fleet of about 389,000 units and a merchant fleet of 581 ships.
In 2005, about 34,667,000 cars and 4,015,000 goods vehicles circulated on the Italian road network.
Since 2005, military service has been voluntary in Italy.
Since 2005, smoking in public places in Italy has been restricted to "specially ventilated rooms".
In August 2006, Italy deployed about 2,450 troops for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.
Italian tennis players won the Fed Cup in 2006.
Italy hosted the Winter Olympics in 2006.
In 2008, it was estimated that there were 670,000 illegal immigrants in Italy.
In 2008, the Italian government overturned the decision to terminate the nuclear program and planned to build up to four nuclear power plants.
In 2008, the Italian railway network totalled 16,529 km, of which 11,727 km was electrified.
Italy was hit by the 2008 financial crisis, which exacerbated structural problems.
A 2009 report identified 610 comuni with a strong Mafia presence, where 13 million Italians live and 15% of GDP is produced.
In 2009, Messina was hit by mudslides, an ecological disaster caused by deforestation, illegal building, and poor land management policies.
Italian tennis players won the Fed Cup in 2009.
According to the last agricultural census, in 2010, there were 1.6 million farms in Italy.
In 2010 Italy ranking as the fourth largest provider of installed solar energy capacity and sixth largest of wind power capacity.
In 2010, the Italian military had 293,202 personnel on active duty, of which 114,778 are Carabinieri.
In 2010, the foreign-born population in Italy originated from Europe (54%), Africa (22%), Asia (16%), the Americas (8%), and Oceania (0.06%).
Italian tennis players won the Fed Cup in 2010.
The Montalto di Castro Photovoltaic Power Station, the largest photovoltaic (PV) power station in Italy, was completed in 2010.
In 2011, Italy was fifth in Europe by number of passengers using air transport, with about 148 million passengers.
In 2011, amidst the Great Recession, Berlusconi resigned and was replaced by the technocratic cabinet of Mario Monti.
In 2011, minority Christian faiths in Italy included an estimated 1.5 million Orthodox Christians, and Protestantism was growing.
In 2012, the national inland waterways network in Italy had a length of 2,400 km for commercial traffic.
In 2012, the proportion of daily smokers in Italy was 22%, down from 24% in 2000 but above the OECD average.
Between 2013 and 2018, Italy was the entry point and leading destination for most asylum seekers entering the EU.
In 2013, Italy contributed €60 million to the Palestinian Authority.
In 2013, Italy had 5,296 troops deployed abroad, engaged in 33 UN and NATO missions in 25 countries.
In 2013, Rome was ranked sixth and Milan twelfth in the Top Global Fashion Capital Rankings by Global Language Monitor.
In 2013, UNESCO recognized Italian festivals and pasos like the Varia di Palmi, Macchina di Santa Rosa in Viterbo, and faradda di li candareri in Sassari as intangible cultural heritage.
In 2013, UNESCO, prompted by Italy, added the Mediterranean diet to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Italian tennis players won the Fed Cup in 2013.
In 2014, Matteo Renzi became prime minister and the government started constitutional reform.
In 2014, solar energy production alone accounted for 9% of electricity in Italy.
In 2014, the Italian Navy operated 154 vessels in service, including minor auxiliary vessels.
In 2014, the income from travel and tourism in Italy was EUR163 billion, accounting for 10% of the GDP and supporting 1,082,000 jobs (5% of employment).
Italy held the EU Council presidency in 2014.
In 2015, Italy's life expectancy was 80.5 years for men and 84.8 years for women, ranking 5th in the world.
In 2015, Sergio Mattarella became the president of Italy.
In 2015, the Italian automotive industry, with over 144,000 firms and almost 485,000 employees, contributed 9% to GDP.
As of 2016, Italian films have won 12 Palmes d'Or, 11 Golden Lions, and 7 Golden Bears.
In 2016, about 201,000 people became Italian citizens.
In 2016, constitutional reform was rejected in a referendum and Paolo Gentiloni became prime minister.
In 2017, Italy's public debt stood at over 132% of GDP, the second highest in the EU, after Greece.
In 2017, Rome was the third most visited city in Europe and 12th in the world, with 9.4 million arrivals.
After the 2018 general election, Giuseppe Conte became prime minister of a populist coalition.
In 2018, secondary education in Italy was evaluated as being below the average among OECD countries, with a wide performance gap between northern and southern schools.
In 2018, the youth unemployment rate in Italy was 32%.
Italy held the rotating presidency of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in 2018.
In 2019, 33 Italian universities were ranked among the world's top 500.
Italy was the world's 10th-largest exporter in 2019.
In 2020, 61% of foreign citizens lived in the north of Italy, 24% in the centre, 11% in the south, and 4% on the islands.
In 2020, Italy's population was 60,317,116, with a population density of 202 inhabitants per square kilometre.
In 2020, healthcare spending in Italy accounted for 10% of GDP.
Renewable energy provided approximately 37% Italy's energy consumption in 2020.
In February 2021, after a government crisis, Conte resigned.
In 2021, Italy had about 5.2 million foreign residents, making up 9% of the population.
In 2021, the Italian Air Force operated 219 combat jets.
Måneskin won Eurovision in 2021.
Since 2021, Italy's flag carrier has been ITA Airways, which took over from Alitalia.
During the 2022 general election, the Brothers of Italy, Democratic Party, and Five Star Movement and their coalitions won 357 of the 400 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, and 187 of 200 in the Senate.
In 2022, Giorgia Meloni was sworn in as Italy's first female prime minister.
In 2022, there were 45 civil airports in Italy.
In 2023, Italy had a total of 57 million tourist arrivals, making it the fourth most visited country.
In 2023, Italy recorded a record low of 379,000 births, the fewest since 1861.
In 2024, Italy was ranked 26th in the Global Innovation Index.
In 2024, Italy's population is estimated to have fallen just below 59 million, representing a cumulative loss of more than 1.36 million people over the span of a decade.
In 2024, the total fertility rate (TFR) in Italy stood at 1.2.
Italy will host the Winter Olympics in 2026.
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