Flag of Italy

Italy is a state of southern Europe, comprising the Italian peninsula and the islands of Sardinia and Sicily.

Small states are located in Italy, the Republic of San Marino and the Vatican City State. It is bordered to the North-West by France, to the North by Switzerland and Austria, to the North-East by Slovenia, to the East by the Adriatic Sea and the Ionian Sea, and to the South and West by the Mediterranean; surface area : 301,230 km2; population : 58.13 million inhabitants (2009).