Map of Italy

5 reasons to invest in Italy

About the people

Area: 301,318 sq km
Population: 57.5m
Capital City: Rome (population: 2.6m)
People: Mostly Italian, with small populations of German, French and Slovene Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south. Life expectancy: men (74), women (81)
Language(s): Italian. However, German is the predominant language in the South Tyrol (Trentino-Alto Adige); French is predominant in the Valle d'Aosta region on the Swiss/French border and Slovene on the Slovene border.
Religion(s): 83% Roman Catholic; remainder Jewish and Protestant and a growing Muslim immigrant community - an estimated 825,000 of which between 140,00-160,000 are Italian born.
Currency: euro

GEOGRAPHY

A peninsula in Southern Europe extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, including the islands of Sicily, Sardinia, Elba and about 70 other smaller islands. It is mostly mountainous, though between the Apennines (which form the spine of Italy) and the eastern coastline there are the fertile plains of Emilia-Romagna in the north and of Puglia in the south. The Alps in the north divide Italy from France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia. The climate is predominantly Mediterranean in the south and Alpine in the north.

HISTORY

The "Risorgimento"

Italian unity was achieved in an intense and dramatic struggle, known as the Risorgimento (Revival), between 1848 and 1870 under the House of Savoy and was essentially the conquest of the Italian peninsula by the Kingdom of Sardinia in the north ruled by the Savoy dynasty from Turin. The first part of this process ended in 1861 with the declaration of the Kingdom of Italy, comprising the northern provinces, Sicily, Sardinia and the south. Mazzini, Garibaldi and Cavour were the epic figures who led the unification of Italy, which was completed in 1871 when the King of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II (formerly the King of Piedmont and Sardinia), entered Rome, the capital of the Papal States, expelled the French troops defending papal authority and declared it the capital of Italy. The conquest of the Papal States ended the temporal power of the papacy. However, the Church refused to recognise the new state and excommunicated its monarch, the Pope remaining confined within the small enclave of the Vatican. The "Roman Question", or the territorial status of Rome, and the question of Church/state relations were not settled until 1929 when the Lateran Pact was concluded between the Vatican and Mussolini.

Basic Economic Facts (2005)
GDP: US$1.645 trillion
Annual Growth: 0.1%
Inflation: 1.9%
Unemployment: 7.9%
Major trading partners: EU (59.9%), US, China, Japan, Turkey, Russia

Areas & Attractions

Calabria: Italy’s best kept secret. Bianco: It’s all about location.

Bianco is close to the stunning Aspromonte national park, sites of ancient Greco-Roman ruins, perfect sandy beaches and the clearest aquamarine waters in Italy. Combine all of this with Glorious southern sunshine and it makes Calabria an undiscovered paradise.

The Calabrese people are warm and open and were the originators of the famous Tarantella dance. The area is also renowned for it use of local produce so vegetables are used extensively in their dishes.

GETTING THERE

The best way is to fly direct into Lamezia Terme Airport in Calabria, Italy from London tanstead with Ryan Air OR Manchester with Thomson Fly.

Flights are available Monday, Wednesdays, Fridays & Sundays from as little as £8.99 each way with Ryan Air. Their web site to book flights is www.ryanair.com .

Both Ryan Air & Easy Jet have cheap flights to Rome where you can make a connection to Lamezia Terme with the Italian Airline Alitalia who fly there several times a day.

Ryan Air fly to Rome Ciamino airport from Tees Valley, East Midlands, Glasgow, Liverpool, London Luton & London Stanstead.

Easy Jet fly to Rome Ciampino from Belfast, Newcastle, Bristol, East Midlands & London Gatwick.
British Airways fly to Rome Fiumicino from London’s Heathrow & Gatwick airports.

Alitalia also fly to Rome Fiumicino and onto Lamezia Terme from London Heathrow. Flights from Alitalia to Calabria cost as little as 57 Euros, depending on when you book & what time of year you are travelling.

If you choose to travel with Ryan Air or Easy Jet into Rome Ciampino, you will need to leave time to transfer to Rome Fiumicino. The journey time is approximately 30 minutes, and can do this easily & costs approximately 37 Euros (exc vat) by airport shuttle http://www.rome-airport-shuttle.com who run regular services. You can also get a taxi which costs approximately 40 to 50 Euros.