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ITALY COUNTRY PROFILE

Published
23 January

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Take the art works of Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Tintoretto
and Caravaggio, the operas of Verdi and Puccini, the cinema of Federico Fellini,
add the architecture of Venice, Florence and Rome and you have just a fraction
of Italy's treasures from over the centuries.

While the country is renowned for these and other delights, it is also notorious
for its precarious political life, and has had several dozen governments since
the end of World War Two.

Italy's political landscape underwent a seismic shift in the early 1990s when
the "mani pulite" ("clean hands") operation exposed corruption at the highest
levels of politics and big business.

Several former prime ministers were implicated and thousands of businessmen and
politicians were investigated.

There were high hopes at the time that the scandal would give rise to a radical
reform of Italian political culture, but these hopes were dashed when the old
structures were replaced by a new political landscape dominated by the
multi-millionaire businessman Silvio Berlusconi, who himself became increasingly
mired in scandals and corruption affairs.

More recently, populist parties have made the political running, and in 2022
Italy elected its first far-right led government since 1945.


 * Read more country profiles - Profiles by BBC Monitoring




REPUBLIC OF ITALY: FACTS

 * Capital: Rome
 * Area: 301,230 sq km
 * Population: 58.8 million
 * Language: Italian
 * Life expectancy: 79 years (men) 84 years (women)




LEADERS

President: Sergio Mattarella

Image source, Getty Images

Sergio Mattarella, a constitutional court judge and veteran centre-left
politician, was elected president by parliament in 2015 to succeed Giorgio
Napolitano, who stepped down due to old age.

He was little known to the general public, but is a respected figure in
political circles after a 25-year parliamentary career and several stints as
minister in governments of left and right.

Prime minister: Georgia Meloni

Image source, Getty Images

Giorgia Meloni became Italy's female prime minister in October 2022 at the head
of a coalition including her right-wing populist Brothers of Italy party, the
far-right League and ex-prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia.

A year before her election, in a widely-quoted speech she said: "Yes to the
natural family, no to the LGBT lobby, yes to sexual identity, no to gender
ideology... no to Islamist violence, yes to secure borders, no to mass
migration... no to big international finance... no to the bureaucrats of
Brussels!"



Nevertheless, the new prime minister has promised to govern "for everyone".

She has sought to assure allies in Nato and the EU that there will be no foreign
policy changes. An important point as both Matteo Salvini who heads the League
and Silvio Berlusconi have been admirers of Russia's Vladimir Putin.

She used her maiden speech to MPs to stress her aim to halt migrant boats
crossing the Mediterranean. "We must stop illegal departures and human
trafficking," she said, repeating a campaign pledge to stop boats heading to
Italy from North Africa.

For years Italy has been a hub for irregular migrants heading for Europe.


MEDIA

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Political chat shows are a staple of the Italian media scene

Italy's heady blend of politics and media has often made headlines at home and
abroad, with concern regularly being expressed over the concentration of media
ownership in the hands of one man - former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Mr Berlusconi's Mediaset empire operates Italy's top private TV stations, and
the public broadcaster, Rai, has traditionally been subject to political
influence, so that when Mr Berlusconi was prime minister, he was able to exert
tight control over both public and private broadcasting.



Between them, Rai and Mediaset dominate Italy's TV market and are a potentially
powerful political tool, especially as 80% of the population is said to rely on
television for its daily news - the highest percentage in the EU.

 * Read full media profile


TIMELINE

1861 - Italy becomes a nation-state under King Victor Emmanuel II.

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
The annual regatta on Venice's Grand Canal

1915 - Italy enters World War One on the side of the Allies.

1922 - Fascist leader Benito Mussolini forms government, moves country towards
fascist dictatorship.

1935 - Italy invades Ethiopia.

1936 - Benito Mussolini forms an alliance with Nazi Germany.

1940-45: Italy fights in World War Two on the German side. Invaded by the Allies
in 1943, it signs an armistice. Benito Mussolini is captured and executed by
partisans as the war ends.

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Milan is Italy's leading financial centre

1948 - New constitution. Christian Democrats win elections.

1951 - Italy joins European Coal and Steel Community, the forerunner of the
European Community.

1970s - Italy experiences a decade of political violence from the left and
right.

1980s - Economy makes significant advances.

1994 - Media magnate Silvio Berlusconi forms first right-wing government after
the "clean hands" scandal sweeps away the previous political elite.

2001 - First constitutional referendum since 1946 sees vote in favour of major
change giving greater autonomy to the country's regions in tax, education and
environment policies.

2022 - Giorgia Meloni becomes country's first female prime minister and leader
of Italy's most right-wing led government since 1945.

 * Read full timeline


RELATED TOPICS

 * Mediterranean Sea
 * Italy


MORE ON THIS STORY

 * Venice flood barriers pass test
   
   12 October 2013
   
   

 * The many trials of Silvio Berlusconi
   
   9 May 2014

 * Italy protest party makes waves
   
   7 December 2012
   
   

 * Battle on for Cinecitta studios
   
   16 September 2012
   
   

 * Change in the air for Italy
   
   8 February 2012
   
   


AROUND THE BBC

 * BBC Languages: Italy

 * BBC Music: Verdi


RELATED INTERNET LINKS

 * Italian government

 * Italian parliament

 * Uffizi Gallery

 * Italian State Tourist Board

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.




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