Italy is in Southern Europe, a peninsula extending from the Alps into the central Mediterranean Sea.
Italy has 7,600 km of coastline, and, with a total of 1,932.2 km land boundaries, Italy shares borders with
Austria (430 km),
France (488 km),
Holy See (Vatican City, 3.2 km),
San Marino (39 km),
Slovenia (232 km), and
Switzerland (740 km).
Italy's territory is mostly rugged and mountainous with some plains and coastal lowlands.
Statistics
Area: 301,230 km² (land: 294,020 km² includes Sardinia and Sicily; water: 7,210 km²)
Population: 57,998,353 (July 2003)
Capital: Rome
Language: Italian (official), German (parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region are predominantly German speaking), French (small French-speaking minority in Valle d'Aosta region), Slovene (Slovene-speaking minority in the Trieste-Gorizia area)
Religion: predominately Roman Catholic; mature Protestant and Jewish communities; growing Muslim immigrant community
Climate: predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south