Italy

Europe 

Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia.

42 50 N, 12 50 E

President Giorgio Napolitano	Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi

Capital
Rome

Government
Parliamentary republic

Religion
Roman Catholic 90% (approximately; about one-third practicing), other 10% (includes mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community)

Population
58,126,212

Ethnic groups
Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south)

National Language
Italian

National Day
17 March 1861

Currency
Euro (€)2 (EUR)

Anthem
"II Canto degli Italiani " The Song of the Italians"

Attractions
Agrigento Ruins, Bargello Palace Museum, Colosseum of Rome, Doges' Palace, Florence Old Town Cityscape, Herculaneum, Italian Lake District, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Mt Etna, Orvieto, Pantheon, Pompeii, Roman Forum & Palatin, San Gimignano, Taormina, Uffizi Gallery, Venetian Alley Maze

Website
http://www.italiantourism.com

Art & Cultural

Spaghetti

The ICON

The Leaning Tower of Pisa                                                 The Leaning Tower of Pisa (Italian: Torre pendente di Pisa) or simply the Tower of Pisa (Torre di Pisa) is the campanile, or freestanding bell tower, of the cathedral of the Italian city of Pisa. It is situated behind the Cathedral and is the third oldest structure in Pisa's Cathedral Square (Piazza del Duomo) after the Cathedral and the Baptistry. The height of the tower is 55.86 m (183.27 ft) from the ground on the low side and 56.70 m (186.02 ft) on the high side. The width of the walls at the base is 4.09 m (13.42 ft) and at the top 2.48 m (8.14 ft). Its weight is estimated at 14,500 metric tons (16,000 short tons). The tower has 296 or 294 steps; the seventh floor has two fewer steps on the north-facing staircase. Prior to restoration work performed between 1990 and 2001, the tower leaned at an angle of 5.5 degrees, but the tower now leans at about 3.99 degrees.This means that the top of the tower is displaced horizontally 3.9 metres (12 ft 10 in) from where it would be if the structure were perfectly vertical.

Leaning Tower of Pisa

Colosseum