Place

What is it like?

• Italy is well-known for its two major mountain ranges, the Alps and the Apennines.
• The country is 40 percent mountains.
• There are many Volcanoes, Subalpine Lakes, and the Italian Islands.
• The capital of Italy is Rome.
• Other major cities are Milan, Florence, Venice, and Naples.
• Mediterranean climate (Cool, rainy winters and hot, dry summers).
• Three evergreen plant species dominate most of the landscape of Italy: holly, pine and cork oak.
• There's a limited number of bears and wolves living in the wild, many of which have migrated from neighbouring Slovenia.
• Italy's altitude ranges from 13 meters (43 feet) above sea level.
• Soils range from friable acidic sand to almost unworkable clay loams to poor, dry calcareous crusts along Italy’s coastline.
• Italy's population is 59.83 million people.
• Housing includes flat buildings, terraced houses, villas, and chalets.
• Italy's official language is Italian.
• The economy of Italy is the 3rd-largest national economy in Europe, the 8th-largest by nominal GDP in the world, and the 12th-largest by GDP.
• Italian culture is the arts, family, architecture, music and food.
• For many Italians, family is the most important of receiver of respect, therefore an individual may sacrifice their rights or beliefs for family honor.

Human/Environment Interaction

How do we interact?

POSITIVE

• The way that people have used or modified the land in Italy is evident in the ancient Roman aqueducts and in Venice.
• In order to build Venice, the water had to be drained for the foundations to be built, modifying the environment.

NEGATIVE

• Air pollution is a significant problem in Italy. An estimated 12% increase in carbon monoxide emissions in the period between 1985 and 1989.
• In the 1990s Italy had the world's tenth highest level of industrial carbon dioxide emissions.
• Water pollution is another important environmental issue in Italy. The nation's rivers and coasts have been polluted by industrial and agricultural contaminants and its lakes contaminated by acid rain.
• Facilities for the treatment and disposal of industrial wastes are inadequate

Location

Where is it?

• The absolute location of Italy is 41.8719 degrees North, 12.5674 degrees East.
• RELATIVE LOCATION:
• Italy is a long peninsula that juts out from the southern edge of central Europe into the Mediterranean Sea.
• In the North, the land is mountainous and borders Austria, Slovenia, Switzerland, San Marino and France.
• In the Southern portion, the elevation drops to sea level.

Movement

How do goods, ideas, and people move?

• Major cities in Italy all have good transport systems, including bus and underground-train networks.
• In Venice, the main public transport option is vaporetti which are small passenger ferries.
• The main exports of Italy are machinery, metals and metal products, clothing and footwear, and motor vehicles, including luxury vehicles, motorcycles and scooters.
• Italy imports pharmaceuticals and other chemicals, and food.
• Italy has 28 harbours and ports.
• There are over 40 newspaper printed in Italy today. Other ways ideas are spread is through the internet, radio, magazines, and television.

Regions

How are places similar or different?

• Italy's region is Europe, which is also the continent it is in.
• Italy is a country.