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Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern and Western Europe. It is located on a peninsula that extends into the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land border, as well as islands, notably Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia and two enclaves: Vatican City and San Marino. It is the tenth-largest country in the Europe, covering an area of 301,340 km2 (116,350 sq mi), and third-most populous member state of the European Union, with a population of nearly 60 million. Its capital and largest city is Rome; other major urban areas include Milan, Naples, Turin, Florence, and Venice. In antiquity, the Italian peninsula was home to numerous peoples; the Latin city of Rome, founded as a Kingdom, became a Republic that conquered the Mediterranean world and ruled it for centuries as an Empire. With the spread of Christianity, Rome became the seat of the Catholic Church and the Papacy. During the Early Middle Ages, Italy experienced the fall of the Western Roman Empire and inward migration from Germanic tribes. By the 11th century, Italian city-states and maritime republics expanded, bringing renewed prosperity through commerce and laying the groundwork for modern capitalism. The Italian Renaissance flourished in Florence during the 15th and 16th centuries and spread to the rest of Europe. Italian explorers discovered new routes to the Far East and the New World, leading the European Age of Discovery. However, centuries of rivalry and infighting between city-states left the peninsula divided until the late modern period. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Italian economic and commercial importance waned significantly. After centuries of political and territorial divisions, Italy was almost entirely unified in 1861, following wars of independence and the Expedition of the Thousand, establishing the Kingdom of Italy. From the late 19th to the early 20th century, Italy rapidly industrialized, mainly in the north, and acquired a colonial empire, while the south remained largely impoverished, fueling a large immigrant diaspora to the Americas. From 1915 to 1918, Italy took part in World War I on the side of the Entente against the Central Powers. In 1922, the Italian fascist dictatorship was established. During World War II, Italy was first part of the Axis until its surrender to the Allied powers (1940–1943), then, as parts of its territory were occupied by Nazi Germany, a co-belligerent of the Allies during the Italian resistance and the liberation of Italy (1943–1945). Following the end of the war, the monarchy was replaced by a republic and the country enjoyed a strong recovery. Italy has the eighth-largest nominal GDP in the world, the second-largest manufacturing industry in Europe, and a significant role in regional and global economic, military, cultural, and diplomatic affairs. A developed country, ranking 30th in the Human Development Index, Italy is a founding and leading member of the European Union, and in numerous international institutions, including NATO, the G7, the Mediterranean Union, and the Latin Union. As a cultural superpower, Italy has long been a renowned centre of art, music, literature, cuisine, fashion, science and technology, and the source of multiple inventions and discoveries. It has the world's largest number of World Heritage Sites (59), and is the fifth-most visited country. Name Hypotheses for the etymology of the name Italia are numerous. One theory suggests it originated from an Ancient Greek term that refers to the land of the Italói, a tribe that resided in the region now known as Calabria. Originally thought to be named Vituli, some scholars suggest their totemic animal to be the calf (Lat vitulus, Umbrian vitlo, Oscan Víteliú). Several ancient authors instead said it was named after a local ruler Italus. The ancient Greek term for Italy initially referred only to the southern portion of the Bruttium peninsula and parts of the provinces of Catanzaro and Vibo Valentia in south Italy. The larger concept of Oenotria and "Italy" became synonymous, and the name applied to most of Lucania as well. Before the expansion of the Roman Republic, the name was used by ancient Greeks to indicate the land between the strait of Messina and the line connecting the gulf of Salerno and gulf of Taranto, corresponding to Calabria. The ancient Greeks gradually came to apply the name "Italia" to a larger region. In addition to the "Greek Italy" in the south, historians have suggested the existence of an "Etruscan Italy", which consisted of areas of central Italy. The borders of Roman Italy, Italia, are better established. Cato's Origines describes Italy as the entire peninsula south of the Alps. In 264 BC, Roman Italy extended from the Arno and Rubicon rivers of the centre-north to the entire south. The northern area, Cisalpine Gaul, which was considered geographically part of Italy, was occupied by Rome in the 220s BC, but remained politically separated. It was legally merged into the administrative unit of Italy in 42 BC. The islands of Sardinia, Corsica, Sicily, and Malta were added to Italy by Diocletian in 292 AD, which made late-ancient Italy coterminous with the modern Italian geographical region. All its inhabitants were considered Italic and Roman. The Latin term Italicus was used to describe "a man of Italy" as opposed to a provincial, or one from the Roman province. For example, Pliny the Elder notably wrote in a letter Italicus es an provincialis? ("are you an Italian or a provincial"?). The adjective italianus, from which the term Italian was derived, is from medieval Latin and was used alternatively with Italicus during the early modern period. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy was created. After the Lombard invasions, Italia was retained as the name for their kingdom, and its successor kingdom within the Holy Roman Empire. History Prehistory and antiquity Thousands of Lower Paleolithic artefacts, dating as far back as 850,000 years, have been recovered from Monte Poggiolo. Excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Middle Palaeolithic period some 200,000 years ago, while modern humans appeared about 40,000 years ago at Riparo Mochi. The ancient peoples of pre-Roman Italy were Indo-European peoples, most specifically of the Italic group. The main historic peoples of possible non-Indo-European or pre-Indo-European heritage include the Etruscans of central and northern Italy, the Elymians and the Sicani of Sicily, and the prehistoric Sardinians, who gave birth to the Nuragic civilisation. Other ancient populations of possibly non-Indo-European origins, include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni; known for their rock carvings in Valcamonica, which houses the largest collection of prehistoric petroglyphs in the world. A well-preserved natural mummy known as Ötzi.... Discover the Silvia Park Jonathan Strahan popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Silvia Park Jonathan Strahan books.