Political/Cultural Geography of Italy

The largest religion in Italy is Roman Catholicism, more than 87% of Italians consider themselves Catholic. Although more than 87% of Italians are considered Catholic only about 20% actually participate in services and worship regularly. Religion is a very powerful force in Italy. Italy is filled with hundreds of churches, shrines, and monisteries. It's almost impossible to avoid religion in Italy. Rome is also the religous capital and home of the Roman Catholic leader, Pope Benedict XVI. While most of the Italian population is Roman Catholic but there are also many significant religions which include, Protestants, Jews, Jehova's Witnesses, and Muslims.

Another major unifying force of the Italian nation is its language. Italy's official language is Italian. More than 93% of the population of Italy speaks some form of Italian. More than 50% of the population also speaks some form of regional dialect such as Friulian. Regional dialects are not however considered seperate languages. Some language minorities of Italy include Ladin, Solvene, and German.

Italy is considered a Democratic Republic. The Italian nation is centralized. All provinces and regions are governed by the central government. Italy has a seperate Judiciary and Executive branch were the President elects the Prime Minister as head of the branch. Italian political parties include People of Liberty, Democratic Party, Northern League, Italy of Values, Union of the Center, and Movement for Autonomy.

Physical Geography of Italy

Italy is a European Peninsula located in Mediterranean Europe. Several bodies of water surround this uniquely boot shaped European country. The Tyrrhenian Sea surrounds the the country on its Western side. The Eastern side of the country is lined by the Adriatic Sea while the Southern part of the country is bordered by the Ionian and Ligurian Sea.
The two major Mountain ranges in Italy are the Alps and the Apennines. The Alpennine Mountains surround the North-western part of the country until they meet the Alps located at Northern top of the country. The highest Italian mountain summit, Mont Blanc, is 5,781 feet above sea levels. The land also has two volcanoes,the Mount Vesuvius (1,281 m) and Mount Etna (3,326 m) the former being presently in a dormant state and the latter very often posses a threat to the people of Italy.
Italy's wide ranges cause the weather to vary considerably, and Italy's climate varies from the cold in the northerly mountainous region to hot and dry in the hills and plains of the south. The climate of Italy is mainly temperate, though it varies slightly according to region. The north of Italy is warm in summer, the central area of the country is very humid, and the south is hot and dry. The Northern part of the country experience cold, damp foggy winter weather, the temperature in the central part of the country drops close to freezing. Winter weather in the south of Italy is more pleasant.

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