Date of independence, or formation date: 1861
Date when current borders were established: 1947
National day: June 2
Vehicle country identifying code: I
Time zone (hours plus or minus from GMT): +1
International telephone dialling code: +39
Internet country identifying code: .it

The boot-shaped Italian peninsula stretches 800 km (496 miles) southward into the Mediterranean, while the Alps form a natural boundary to the north. Italy also includes Sicily, Sardinia, and several smaller islands. The south is an area of seismic activity, with two famous volcanoes, Vesuvius and Etna. Rival city-states flourished in Renaissance Italy, a unified country only in Roman times and since 1861. Fascist rule under Mussolini from 1922 ended with Italy's defeat in World War II. The Christian Democrats (DC) then dominated Italy's notoriously short-lived governments for decades, until in the 1990s the established parties and patronage systems were shaken up by corruption investigations. New groupings emerged, power alternating between a right-wing coalition and a broad center-left Olive Tree alliance.

From "The Financial Times World Desk Reference" © Dorling Kindersley 2004