义大利(Italy)
义大利语作Italia
正式名称义大利共和国（Italian Republic）
中南欧的多山国家，国土东南延伸至地中海，包括西西里和萨丁尼亚两大岛。面积301,277平方公里。人口约57,892,000（2001）。首都︰罗马。义大利各个地区的人民多少都有些不同，尤其是南方与北方。语言：义大利语（官方语）。宗教：天主教。货币：欧元（euro）。义大利境内多山和高地。阿尔卑斯山脉从东到西环绕义大利北界，亚平宁山脉向南贯穿义大利全境，境内平原（或低地）约占国土总面积近1/4；约有2/3的平原位於波河河谷。三大构造板块造成整个义大利南部和西西里岛一带地质不稳定状况。义大利南部四座活火山，包括维苏威火山和埃特纳火山。经济以服务业和制造业为主。主要出口商品为机械及运输设备、化学品、纺织品、服装、靴鞋和食品（橄榄油、葡萄酒和番茄）。政府形式为共和国，两院制。国家元首是总统，政府首脑为总理。
义大利在旧石器时代即有人居住。约从西元前9世纪，伊楚利亚文化开始兴起。西元前4世纪～西元前3世纪之间，罗马人打败伊楚利亚人（参阅Roman Republic and Empire）。西元4～5世纪蛮族入侵，西罗马帝国终於灭亡。若干世纪以来，义大利虽然在政治上一直处於分崩离析的局面，却於13～16世纪成为西方世界的文化中心。在西方历史上，义大利文艺复兴时期是艺术成就最伟大的时代之一。自15～18世纪义大利先後被法兰西、神圣罗马帝国、西班牙和奥地利统治。1796年的拿破仑入侵於1815年结束时，义大利成为一个大大小小独立国家构成的国度。1861年复兴运动将义大利的大部地区统一，包括里和萨丁尼亚。1870年，整个义大利半岛完全统一为一个国家。第一次世界大战结束後，义大利在墨索里尼领导下，法西斯主义开始抬头。第二次世界大战并与纳粹德国结成同盟。1943年被盟军击败。1946年共和国宣布成立。义大利为欧洲共同体和北大西洋公约组织（1949）中的主要成员国。1970年完成设立有限权力的地方议会的程序。自第二次世界大战，义大利政府变化迅速，但保持社会稳定。与其他欧洲国家合作并成立了欧洲联盟。
English version：
Italy
ItalianItaliaCountry, southern Europe. It comprises the boot-shaped peninsula extending into the Mediterranean Sea as well as Sicily, Sardinia, and a number of smaller islands. Area: 116,324 sq mi (301,277 sq km). Population (2000 est.): 57,723,000. Capital: Rome. Despite internal migration, there are regional variations, particularly between the north and the south. Language: Italian (official). Religion: Roman Catholicism. Monetary unit: euro. More than three-quarters of Italy is mountainous or highland country. The Alps stretch from east to west along Italy's northern boundary, and the Apennines stretch southward the length of the peninsula. Most of the country's lowlands lie in the valley of its major river, the Po. Three tectonic plates converge in southern Italy and Sicily, creating intense geologic activity; southern Italy's four active volcanoes include Mount Vesuvius and Mount Etna. The economy is based largely on services and manufacturing; exports include machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, textiles, clothing and shoes, and food products (olive oil, wine, fruit, and tomatoes). It is a republic with two legislative houses. The chief of state is the president, and the head of government is the prime minister. Italy has been inhabited since Paleolithic times. The Etruscan civilization arose in the 9th century BC and was overthrown by the Romans in the 4th-3rd century BC (see Roman republic and empire). Barbarian invasions of the 4th-5th century AD destroyed the western Roman empire. Italy's political fragmentation lasted for centuries but did not diminish its impact on European culture, notably during the Renaissance. From the 15th to the 18th century, Italian lands were ruled by France, the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, and Austria. When Napoleonic rule ended in 1815, Italy was again a grouping of independent states. The Risorgimento successfully united most of Italy, including Sicily and Sardinia by 1861, and the unification of peninsular Italy was completed by 1870. Italy joined the Allies during World War I, but social unrest in the 1920s brought to power the Fascist movement of Benito Mussolini's, and Italy allied itself with Nazi Germany in World War II. Defeated by the Allies in 1943, Italy proclaimed itself a republic in 1946. It was a charter member of NATO (1949) and of the European Community. It completed the process of setting up regional legislatures with limited autonomy in 1970. Since World War II it has experienced rapid changes of government but has remained socially stable. It has worked with other European countries to establish the European Union.