Italian Republic

Italy

National anthem of Italy

Il Canto degli Italiani

Il Canto degli Italiani (The Song of the Italians) is the Italian national anthem. It is best known among Italians as Inno di Mameli (Mameli's Hymn) and sometimes referred to as Fratelli d'Italia (Brothers of Italy), from its incipit.
more information on Il Canto degli Italiani

Weather in Rome

Celcius: 25°
Fahrenheit: 78°

Map of Italy

Basic information on Italy

Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the regional states of the peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King Victor EMMANUEL II. An era of parliamentary government came to a close in the early 1920s when Benito MUSSOLINI established a Fascist dictatorship. His alliance with Nazi Germany led to Italy's defeat in World War II. A democratic republic replaced the monarchy in 1946 and economic revival followed. Italy was a charter member of NATO and the European Economic Community (EEC). It has been at the forefront of European economic and political unification, joining the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999. Persistent problems include illegal immigration, organized crime, corruption, high unemployment, sluggish economic growth, and the low incomes and technical standards of southern Italy compared with the prosperous north.

Location	Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia
Population	58,147,733 (July 2007 est.)
Nationality	noun: Italian(s) adjective: Italian
Flag description	three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; similar to the flag of Ireland, which is longer and is green (hoist side), white, and orange; also similar to the flag of the Cote d'Ivoire, which has the colors reversed - orange (hoist side), white, and green; inspired by the French flag brought to Italy by Napoleon in 1797