Italy
From CreationWiki, the encyclopedia of creation science
Italy (Italian: Italia), officially the Italian Republic; (Italian: Repubblica Italiana), is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. To the north, where it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia, the country is bounded by the Alps. The independent countries of San Marino and the Vatican City are enclaves within Italian territory. It is a member of the European Union and it is a peninsula that goes deep into the Mediterranean Sea.
History
Italy's history is perhaps the most important for the cultural and social development of the Mediterranean area as a whole. The country has been host to important human activities in Biblical times, and therefore archaeological sites of note can be found in many regions: Latium and Tuscany, Umbria and Basilicata. After Magna Graecia, the Etruscan civilization and especially the Roman Empire that came to dominate this part of the world for many centuries, came the medieval Humanism and the Renaissance that further helped to shape European philosophy and art. The city of Rome contains some of the most important examples of the Baroque.
The Italy of modern times became a nation-state belatedly — on March 17, 1861 when the states of the peninsula and the Two Sicilies were united under king Victor Emmanuel II of Italy of the Savoy dynasty, hitherto ruler of Piedmont and kings of Sardinia. The architect of Italian unification, however, was Count Camillo Benso di Cavour, the Chief Minister of Victor Emmanuel. Rome itself remained for a decade under the Papacy, and became part of the Kingdom of Italy only on September 20, 1870, the final date of Italian unification. The Vatican is now an independent enclave surrounded by Italy, as is San Marino.
The Fascist dictatorship of Benito Mussolini that took over in 1922 led to the alliance with Germany and Japan, and ultimately Italy's defeat in World War II. On June 2, 1946 a referendum on the monarchy resulted in the establishment of the Italian republic, which led to the adoption of a new constitution on January 1, 1948. Members of the royal family were sent into exile because of their association with the fascist regime, and were only allowed to return to their country in 2002.
Italy was a charter member of NATO and the European Union, and hence joined the growing political and economic unification of Western Europe, including the introduction of the Euro in 1999.
Related References
- Italy Wikipedia
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