Italy is located on the Apennine Peninsula in Southern Europe and also consists of several islands, among these Sicily and Sardinia, the two largest islands in the Mediteranean Sea.

Two independent mini-states lie within Italy: San Marino and th Vatican City in Rome. While technically not part of the European Union, both states are part of the Schengen Region and the European Monetary Union.

The population of Italy is just over 60 million, making it the fourth largest population in Europe.

Italy is home to the world's greatest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, art and monuments are everywhere around the country.

It is also famous for its cuisine, its fashion, luxury sports cars and its soccer teams, as well as for its beautiful coasts, lakes and mountains.

It is not a surprise that Italy is found on fifth place on the world top ten list of countries most visited by tourists.

There are many famous and beautiful cities to visit in Italy, among these first of all Rome full of reminders of its past as center for the Roman Empire, and still today the capital city of Italy.

With a population of around 4.3 million, Rome is not the largest city in Italy. Milan in northern Italy has a population of around 7.4 million. Naples is the third largest city with a population of around 3.1 million. Among other famous Italian cities are Florence, Siena, Pisa and Venice all of these cities are virtual outdoor museums.

Italy is a great destination not only for cultural reasons, but it has some lovely beaches surrounding the whole of the peninsula. In the northern parts of Italy are some great ski resorts in the Alps with many visitors in the skiing season. Also in the northern parts are some beautiful lakes, Lake Como, Lake Lugano, and the Garda Lake, all of these lakes are great tourist destinations, especially in the summer season. Italy is in fact the fifth most popular tourist destination in the world.

Map of Italy