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Republic
in southern Europe, bounded on the north by Switzerland and Austria;
on the east by Slovenia and the Adriatic Sea; on the south by
the Ionian Sea and the Mediterranean Sea; on the west by the
Tyrrhenian Sea, the Ligurian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea;
and on the northwest by France.
Rome
is the capital and largest city of Italy. |
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The area
of Italy is 301,323 sq km (116,341 sq mi). Its population is
about 57.226.000 inhabitants. The language is Italian and Italian
dialects in some regions.
Italy
is the greatest producer of wine in the world, being the production
of cheese also important.
The national
currency was the Lira (ITL), until the beginning of 2002, now
it is the Euro. Twelve Member States of the European Union are
participating in the common currency. They are: Belgium, Germany,
Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands,
Austria, Portugal and Finland.
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Italy
comprises, in addition to the Italian mainland, the Mediterranean
islands of Elba, Sardinia, and Sicily, and many lesser islands.
Enclaves within
mainland Italy are the independent countries of San Marino and
Vatican City; the latter is a papal state mostly enclosed by
Rome. |
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That
is me in Piazza Solferino, in Torino, Italy, where I spent my
birthday on July 3rd, 1999.
I had
lunch in a restaurant nearby and had a gorgonzola ice cream for
dessert. It may sound strange to people who had never tasted
these different ice creams, but they are good. :o) |
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Italy
was one of my grandma Irene's favorite country, she went there
three times and have always told me about it since I was a little
kid. Hope I can go back to Italy one day and visit other cities,
specially Rome and Venice. The beautiful fountains, ruins, canals
and gondolas must be great. |
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