Italy (Italian Republic)
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CultureGramsTM World Edition 2015 Italy (Italian Republic) thousand years; one of the first civilizations to flourish was BACKGROUND that of the Etruscans, between the eighth and second centuries BC. The Etruscans influenced mostly central Italy and, later, Land and Climate the Roman Empire. Before the Romans became prominent, Italy, including the islands of Sardinia and Sicily, is slightly Greek civilization dominated the south. Rome later adopted smaller than Norway and slightly larger than the U.S. state of much of the Greek culture and became a major power after Arizona. It boasts a variety of natural landscapes: from the 300 BC as it expanded throughout the Mediterranean region. alpine mountains in the north to the coastal lowlands in the By the fifth century AD, the western Roman Empire had south. Shaped like a boot, the country is generally fallen to a number of invasions. The peninsula was then mountainous. The Italian Alps run along the northern border, divided into several separate political regions. In addition to and the Apennines form a spine down the peninsula. Sicily local rulers, French, Spanish, and Austrian leaders governed and Sardinia are also rocky and mountainous. The “heel” and various parts of Italy. The Italian Peninsula was the center of some coastal areas are flat. The Po River Basin, to the north, many artistic, cultural, and architectural revolutions, holds some of Italy's richest farmland and most of its heavy including the great Renaissance of the 15th and 16th industry. centuries. Southern agricultural areas are subject to droughts. The Unification and Fascism climate is temperate but varies by region. Winters are cold The Italian unification movement, which was known as and rainy in the north, cool around Rome, and mild in the Risorgimento, began in the 1800s. The first Italian parliament south. Typical of the Mediterranean climate, summers in the in Turin declared national unification in 1861 and named south can be very hot (up to 104°F, or 40°C). The rest of the Victor Emmanuel II king. The inclusion of Rome in 1870 country usually experiences moderate summers. completed unification. Italy surrounds two independent nations: San Marino and Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini ruled the country from Vatican City (Holy See). San Marino has been independent 1922 to 1943 and initially aided Adolf Hitler in World War II. since the fourth century AD. Vatican City was governed by In 1943, the Italian government overthrew the fascists, and France for most of the 19th century until it was occupied by the country lent its support to the Allies. Italy established Italy in 1870, becoming a sovereign entity in 1929. itself as a republic in the 1946 elections, officially abolishing the monarchy by national referendum. Political violence and History terrorism marked the 1970s. Conflicts within the coalition The Italian Peninsula and the Roman Empire governments led to frequent government collapses during the Much of the West's civilization and culture stems from the 1980s. Italian Peninsula. The area's history dates back several Political Instability and Scandal 1 TM CultureGrams Italy Elections in April 1992 hurt the ruling coalition but failed to run-off election will be held between the two parties with the bring a strong government to power. The proportional system most votes, and the winner will receive 340 out of 630 seats of voting, originally designed to prevent totalitarianism, was in Parliament. Reformers hope the law will give more blamed for consistently bringing weak coalitions to power. longevity to governments and reduce the instability of ruling On its 16th vote, Parliament finally chose Oscar Luigi coalitions. Scalfaro as president. The country was soon rocked by dozens of political scandals, or tangentopoli (bribe city). Numerous top officials THE PEOPLE resigned, including the prime minister, and charges of past corruption became even more widespread. By 1994, six Population thousand individuals were under investigation for corruption There is increasing concern about Italy's birthrate, one of the in an enquiry called Mani Pulite (Clean Hands). lowest in Europe, because Italy's population is expected to Political instability in Italy has continued, with more than decline significantly in the coming decades, and the ageing 57 successive governments since World War II. Attempts to population is expected to put a large strain on Italy's stabilize the country's tricky coalition politics have been economy. Rome is the capital and the largest city, with over 3 largely unsuccessful. Silvio Berlusconi, who was elected in million people. Most of the country's inhabitants are ethnic 2001, served the longest term as prime minister since Italy Italians, but there are small groups of ethnic Austrians, became a republic in 1946. He was replaced by opposition French, and Slovenes, as well as Albanian Italians and Greek leader Romano Prodi in 2006 but was reelected in the 2008 Italians. Although Italy historically has lost many citizens to election. emigration, the nation has experienced a large influx of Economic Instability immigrants in the last two decades. Italy continues to face ongoing problems such as illegal immigration, organized crime, corruption, high Language unemployment, and the economic disparity between southern Italian is the official language, although dialects differ from Italy and the more prosperous north. It must also combat the city to city. The Florentine and Roman dialects had a major recession caused by the global financial crisis of 2008. influence on modern Italian. Most youths also speak English, Prime Minister Berlusconi's ruling coalition government the most common second language; older generations are was able to pass economic austerity measures in 2011 but more likely to speak French. Significant French-, German-, struggled to implement them. Berlusconi was forced to resign and Slovene-speaking minorities exist. An ethnic minority in in November 2011, and a series of political resignations and Tyrol speaks Ladin, a Romance language native to northern weak coalitions followed. In February 2014, Prime Minister Italy. Enrico Letta resigned after his Democratic Party elected a new leader, Florence mayor Matteo Renzi. Renzi is the Religion youngest person to ever serve as Italy’s prime minister. Eighty percent of Italians are Christian, and the majority are Shortly after being sworn into office, he promised to change Roman Catholic, although most do not participate on a election laws, cut taxes, and invest in jobs. However, these regular basis. Attendance at services is not high, and measures were not enough to prevent a return to economic secularism is more appealing to many segments of society. At recession in August 2014. the same time, many Catholics are finding alternate ways to Recent Events and Trends worship (through pilgrimages, informal gatherings, praying at • Berlusconi’s trials: Former prime minister and senator shrines, and so forth). Silvio Berlusconi has been accused of several crimes, Though Italians may not always live according to Catholic including tax fraud, bribery, breaching confidentiality, and principles of morality, the Catholic Church is widely having sex with an underage prostitute. He was convicted for respected, and it wields significant social and political many of these crimes, and in fall 2013, he was removed from influence in Italy. Vatican City, home of the Roman Catholic Parliament. However, Berlusconi leads a major opposition pope and headquarters for the Roman Catholic Church, is party and still plays a strong role in Italian politics. located within Rome. The Italian constitution guarantees •Migrant deaths: In April 2015, over 800 migrants died freedom of religion. A small percent of Italians are when a crowded boat carrying them from North Africa to Protestant, Jewish, or Muslim. Italy capsized during a rescue attempt. The number of African and Middle Eastern migrants illegally entering Europe has General Attitudes spiked in the past few years, partially due to prolonged Because of improved economic and social conditions in conflict in North Africa and the weak government in Libya. southern regions and the influence of the media, differences In response to this recent tragedy, European Union leaders between northern and southern Italians are diminishing. held an emergency summit on illegal migration across the However, some regional attitudes remain, and Italians still Mediterranean. refer to one another by their city of origin (Milanese, Roman, •Election reforms: In May 2015, Italy’s parliament passed Florentine, etc.). Adopting practices of their German and an election-reform law that will give a majority of Austrian neighbors, people in the industrialized north parliamentary seats to whichever party wins the most votes. If traditionally value punctuality, reliability, organization, and no single party wins at least 40 percent of the national vote, a economic success. They often are less relaxed and view time 2 TM CultureGrams Italy as a resource not to be wasted. They take pride in having a evening”). Friends of the same gender often walk arm in arm low tolerance for criminality and public corruption. in public. Southerners are appreciated for their warm character and friendliness. They enjoy a leisurely life and take their time Gestures doing business. Family values prevail in the south and are Italians, especially those in the south, are known for their use often more appreciated than economic success. of hand gestures during