Italy became a nation-state belatedly - in 1861 when the city-states of the peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King Victor EMMANUEL.

An era of parliamentary government came to a close in the early 1920s when Benito MUSSOLINI established a Fascist dictatorship. His disastrous alliance with Nazi Germany led to Italy’s defeat in World War II. A democratic republic replaced the monarchy in 1946 and economic revival followed.

Italy was a charter member of NATO and the European Economic Community (EEC). It has been at the forefront of European economic and political unification, joining the European Monetary Union in 1999.

Persistent problems include illegal immigration, the ravages of organized crime, corruption, high unemployment, and the low incomes and technical standards of southern Italy compared with the more prosperous north.
The famous boot-shape peninsula of Italy is about (150 miles wide, and 760 miles in length). It’s a rugged, mountainous country with two major islands (Sardinia)and (Sicily) off the southwestern coast.

Some say the Italians invented tourism in the 16th century, and it is safe to say that no country has given the world more fine automobiles, fashions, paintings, sculptures, architectural styles, operas, and we can’t forget food.

Italy has so much to see and do - highlighted by spectacular skiing in the Alps, the popular Lake District of the north, Tuscany, the stylish cities of Florence, Milan, Siena, Turin, Naples and Venice, and of course Rome, and the Vatican.