Italy

🏞️ Italy: the peninsula with a thousand faces

📍 Location and geography

• Italy is located in Southern Europe, in the form of elongated boot advancing into the Mediterranean Sea.
• It is bordered by
• The Adriatic Sea to the east,
• The Tyrrhenian Sea to the west,
• The Ionian Sea to the south.
• It shares its borders with the France, the Switzerland, theAustria and the Slovenia.
• The country also includes the islands of Sicily and Sardinia, as well as many smaller islands.

🧬 History and heritage

• Italy is the cradle of major civilizations :

• The Etruscans, the Greeks, then the Romans, who founded theRoman Empire (27 BC – 476 AD).
• The country was then divided into city-states (Venice, Florence, Genoa, Rome…) which shone during the Renaissance.
• TheItalian unification takes place in 1861, during the reign of Victor Emmanuel II.
• After the fall of fascism, Italy became a Republic in 1946.

🏛️ Culture and heritage

• Italy has 58 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, a world record.
• Italy is the cradle of major figures : Dante, Michel-Ange, Léonard de Vinci, Galilée, Verdi, Fellini…
• Architecture is omnipresent there: ancient temples, baroque churches, Renaissance palace, Roman villas, theaters, fountains.
• Italian culture is deeply marked by theart, the music, the fashion, and the gastronomy.

🏙️ Iconic cities

• Rome : eternal capital, with the Coliseum, the Vatican, the Trevi Fountain, and the ancient ruins.
• Florence : cradle of the Renaissance, with its museums, churches and the Duomo.
• Venice : floating city, romantic and mysterious, between canals and palaces.
• Milan : capital of fashion and design, dynamic and cosmopolitan.
• Naples, Turin, Bologna, Palermo, Genoa : each with its strong identity and hidden treasures.

🍝 Gastronomy

• Italy is a world reference in terms of cooking:

• Pasta, pizzas, risottos, antipasti, gelato, tiramisu…
• Each region has its own local specialties : truffles in Umbria, seafood in Sicily, cheeses in the Alps, wines in Tuscany.
• The Italian coffee, theolive oil, and the wines (Chianti, Barolo, Prosecco) are pillars of the art of living.

🌿 Nature and landscapes

• Italy offers a exceptional natural diversity :

• Alps and Dolomites for skiing and hiking,
• Majestic lakes : Como, Guard, Major,
• Mediterranean coasts : Cinque Terre, Amalfi, Puglia,
• Active volcanoes : Vesuvius, Etna, Stromboli,
• Rolling countryside : Tuscany, Umbria, Piedmont.

✨ Why Italy is unforgettable

It is a country where beauty is everywhere, where the past dialogues with the present, and where passion is lived in every gesture. Italy is elegant, vibrant and deeply human — a sensory and cultural journey on every street corner.