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An Introduction to the
Italian Properties for Sale...
Property Market
Italy, a complex nation wrapped in as much
myth and romance as its own long-documented history. The uncommonly
pleasant setting is clear: the territory on a boot-shaped peninsula in the
Mediterranean, both mountainous and blessed with 4, 600 miles of coast. The
culturally related points include many of the fountains of Western
culture: the Roman Empire, the Catholic church, the Renaissance (not to
mention pasta and pizza).
But Italy, united fully only in 1870, has long struggled not so much with
its identity as with the concept of itself as a single unit working toward
common goals. It has been central to the formation of the European Union,
and after the destruction of World War II, built itself with uncommon
energy to regain a place in the global economy. But distrustful of
authority after centuries of decentralized and often arbitrary rule,
Italians tend to feel loyalty locally: to region or town or, most
commonly, to the family itself.
Europe's kinky over-the-knee boot has it all: popes, painters, polenta,
paramours, poets, political puerility and potentates. Its dreamy light and
sumptuous landscapes seem made for romance, and its three millennia of
history, culture and cuisine seduces just about everyone.
You can visit Roman ruins, gawk at Renaissance art, stay in tiny medieval
hill towns, go skiing in the Alps, explore the canals of Venice and gaze
at beautiful churches. Naturally you can also indulge in the pleasures of
la dolce vita : good food, good wine and improving your wardrobe.
Italy has been the home of many European cultures, such as the Etruscans
and the Romans, and later was the birthplace of the movement of the
Renaissance, that began in Tuscany and spread all over Europe. Italy's
capital Rome has been for centuries the center of Western civilization,
and is the seat of the Catholic Church.
Today, Italy is a democratic republic and a developed country with the
27th highest GDP per capita, the 8th-highest Quality-of-life index, and
the 20th-highest Human Development Index rating in the world. Italy has
the lowest levels of economic freedom in the Western Europe, ranking 64th
in the Index of Economic Freedom 2008, contributing to various economic
problems. It is a founding member of what is now the European Union
(having signed the Treaty of Rome in 1957), and also a member of the G8
(having the world's 7th largest nominal GDP), NATO, OECD, the Council of
Europe, the Western European Union, and the Central European Initiative.
On January 1, 2007 Italy began a two year term as a non-permanent member
of the United Nations Security Council.
Geography
Area: 301, 225 sq. km. (116, 303 sq. mi.);
Cities: Capital--Rome (pop. 2.8 million, 3.7 million metro). Other
cities--Milan (1.3 million, 3.9 metro), Naples (975, 000, 3 million metro),
Turin (900, 000, 2.1 million metro).
Terrain: Mostly rugged and mountainous.
Climate: Generally mild Mediterranean; cold northern winters.
Etymology
The origin of the term "Italy" (It: Italia), from Latin Italia, is
uncertain. According to one of the more common explanations, the term was
borrowed through Greek, from Oscan Víteliú, meaning "land of young cattle"
(cf. Lat vitulus "calf", Umb vitlo "calf") and named for the god of
cattle, Mars. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italian tribes and is
often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy
during the Samnite Wars.
The name Italia applied to a part of what is now southern Italy. According
to Antiochus of Syracuse, it originally only referred to the southern
portion of the Bruttium peninsula (modern Calabria), but by his time
Oenotrians and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to
most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to use the name
"Italia" for a greater region, but it was not until the time of the Roman
conquests that the term was expanded to cover the entire peninsula.
People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Italian(s).
Population (July 2007 est.): 58.15 million.
Annual growth rate (2007 est.): 0.01%.
Ethnic groups: Primarily Italian, but there are small groups of German-,
French-, Slovene-, and Albanian-Italians.
Religion: Roman Catholic (majority).
Language: Italian (official).
Education: Years compulsory--12. Literacy--98%.
Health: Infant mortality rate--5.72/1, 000 live births. Life
expectancy--77.01 years for men; 83.07 years for women.
Work force (24.63 million, 2006 est.): Services--63%; industry and
commerce--32%; agriculture--5%. Unemployment rate is 7%.
PEOPLE AND HISTORY
Italy is largely homogeneous linguistically and religiously but is diverse
culturally, economically, and politically. Italy has the fifth-highest
population density in Europe--about 200 persons per square kilometer (490
per sq. mi.). Minority groups are small, the largest being the
German-speaking people of Bolzano Province and the Slovenes around
Trieste. There are also small communities of Albanian, Greek, Ladino, and
French origin. Immigration has increased in recent years, however, while
the Italian population is declining overall due to low birth rates.
Although Roman Catholicism is the majority religion--85% of native-born
citizens are nominally Catholic--all religious faiths are provided equal
freedom before the law by the constitution.
Life expectancy: men (78.3), women (84)
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.
Greeks settled in the southern tip of the Italian Peninsula in the eighth
and seventh centuries B.C.; Etruscans, Romans, and others inhabited the
central and northern mainland. The peninsula subsequently was unified
under the Roman Republic. The neighboring islands came under Roman control
by the third century B.C.; by the first century A.D., the Roman Empire
effectively dominated the Mediterranean world. After the collapse of the
Roman Empire in the West in the fifth century A.D., the peninsula and
islands were subjected to a series of invasions, and political unity was
lost. Italy became an oft-changing succession of small states,
principalities, and kingdoms, which fought among themselves and were
subject to ambitions of foreign powers. Popes of Rome ruled central Italy;
rivalries between the popes and the Holy Roman Emperors, who claimed Italy
as their domain, often made the peninsula a battleground.
The commercial prosperity of northern and central Italian cities,
beginning in the 11th century, combined with the influence of the
Renaissance, mitigated somewhat the effects of these medieval political
rivalries. Although Italy declined after the 16th century, the Renaissance
had strengthened the idea of a single Italian nationality. By the early
19th century, a nationalist movement developed and led to the
reunification of Italy--except for Rome--in the 1860s. In 1861, Victor
Emmanuel II of the House of Savoy was proclaimed King of Italy. Rome was
incorporated in 1870. From 1870 until 1922, Italy was a constitutional
monarchy with a parliament elected under limited suffrage.
The fragmentation has revealed itself in politics. Since World War II,
more than 60 governments have risen and fallen, and politicians have had
little success in winning agreement on structural changes to make
government work better and keep a once-robust economy growing. Amid a
marked economic slowdown in recent years, many Italians have described
their frustration at the lack of change with no clear model in sight as a
malaise.
Still, Italy's 58 million people enjoy one of the world's highest
standards of living, and the nation remains a gold standard for fashion,
high-end cars and motorcycles, furniture, tourism, design and food.
Italy has been led since 2006 by Romano Prodi, a former economics
professor, who presides as prime minister over a center-left coalition of
nine diverse parties. The strongest figure in the center-right opposition
is Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's richest man, who restored some measure of
stability to politics by serving a full five-year term as prime minister
between 2001 and 2006.
Recently, both left and right have been reconfiguring themselves in ways
that could change Italian politics dramatically. The two largest center-left
parties combined to form a large Democratic Party. And Mr. Berlusconi has
lost the support of two key allies and is aiming for a third term as prime
minister largely on his own.
Italy is also home to the Vatican city-state, the center of the Roman
Catholic church for nearly 2, 000 years. In 2005, after the death of the
popular and long-serving Pope John Paul II, a German cardinal, Joseph
Ratzinger, was elected Pope Benedict XVI.— Ian Fisher, Dec. 19, 2007
History
Excavations throughout Italy reveal a modern human presence dating back to
the Palaeolithic period some 200, 000 years ago. In the 8th and 7th
centuries BC Greek colonies were established all along Sicily and the
southern part of the Italian Peninsula. Subsequently Romans refereed to
this area as Magna Graecia as it was so densely inhabited by Greeks.
Ancient Rome at first a small agricultural community founded circa 8th
century BC grew the next centuries into a colossal empire encompassing the
whole Mediterranean Sea, in which Ancient Greek and Roman cultures merged
into one civilization, so influential that parts of it survive in modern
law, administration, philosophy and arts forming the ground where Western
civilization is based upon. In its twelve-century existence, it
transformed from a republic to monarchy and finally to autocracy. In
steady decline since 2nd century AD, the empire finally broke into two
parts in 285 AD, a western and an eastern. The western part under the
pressure of Goths finally dissolved leaving the Italian peninsula divided
into small independent kingdoms and feuding city states for the next 14
centuries, and the eastern part as the sole heir to Roman legacy.
Following a short recapture of the peninsula by Byzantine Emperor,
Justinian at 6th cen. AD from the Ostrogoths a new wave of Germanic
tribes, the Lombards, soon arrived to Italy from the north. For several
centuries the armies of the Byzantines were strong enough to prevent
Arabs, Holy Roman Empire, or the Papacy from establishing a unified
Italian Kingdom, but at the same time too weak to fully unify the former
Roman lands. Nevertheless during early Middle Ages Imperial orders such as
the Carolingians, the Ottonians and Hohenstaufens managed to impose their
overlordship in Italy.
Eventually Italy interlocked to its neighboring empires' conflicting
interests would remain divided up to 19th century. It was during this
vacuum of authority that the region saw the rise of Signoria and Comune.
In the anarchic conditions that often prevailed in medieval Italian city
states, people looked to strong men to restore order and disarm the
feuding elites. In times of anarchy or crisis, cities sometimes offered
the Signoria to individuals perceived as strong enough to save the state,
most notably Della Scala family in Verona, Visconti in Milan and Medici in
Florence.
Italy during this period became notable for its merchant Republics. These
city-states, oligarchical in reality, had a dominant merchant class which
under a relative freedom nurtured academic and artistic advancement. The
four classic Maritime Republics in Italy were Venice, Genoa, Pisa, Amalfi
reflecting the temporal sequence of their dominance.
Venice and Genoa were Europe's gateway to trade with the East, with the
former producer of the renown venetian glass, whilst Florence was the
capital of silk, wool, banks and jewelry. The Maritime Republics were
heavily involved in the Crusades, taking advantage of the new political
and trading opportunities, most evidently in the conquest of Zara and
Constantinople funded by Venice.
During late Middle Ages Italy was divided into smaller city states and
territories: the kingdom of Naples controlled the south, the Republic of
Florence and the Papal States the centre, the Genoese and the Milanese the
north and west, and the Venetians the east. Fifteenth-century Italy was
one of the most urbanised areas in Europe and the birthplace of
Renaissance. Florence, in particular with the writings of Dante Alighieri
(1265–1321), Francesco Petrarch (1304–1374) and Giovanni Boccaccio (c.
1313–1375), as well as the painting of Giotto di Bondone (1267–1337) is
considered the center of this cultural movement. Scholars like Niccolò de'
Niccoli and Poggio Bracciolini scoured the libraries in search of works of
classical authors as Plato, Aristotle, Euclid, Ptolemy, Cicero and
Vitruvius.
The Black Death pandemic in 1348 left its mark on Italy by killing one
third of the population. The recovery from the disaster led to a
resurgence of cities, trade and economy which greatly stimulated the
successive phase of the Humanism and Renaissance. In 1494 the French king
Charles VIII opened the first of a series of invasions, lasting up to
sixteenth century, and a competition between France and Spain for the
possession of the country. Ultimately Spain prevailed through the Treaty
of Cateau-Cambresis which recognised Spanish dominance over the Duchy of
Milan and the Kingdom of Naples. The holy alliance between Habsburg Spain
and the Holy See resulted in the systematic persecution of any Protestant
movement. Austria succeeded Spain as hegemon in Italy under the Peace of
Utrecht. Through Austrian domination, the northern part of Italy, gained
economic dynamism and intellectual fervor. The French Revolution and the
Napoleonic Wars (1796–1815) introduced the ideas of equality, democracy,
law and nation.
The creation of the Kingdom of Italy was the result of the efforts by
Italian nationalists and monarchists loyal to the House of Savoy to
establish a united kingdom encompassing the entire Italian Peninsula. In
the context of 1848 liberal revolutions that swept through Europe an
unsuccessful war was declared on Austria.
Giuseppe Garibaldi popular amongst southern Italians led the Italian
republican drive for unification in southern Italy, while the northern
Italian monarchy of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia whose government was
led by Camillo Benso, conte di Cavour, had the ambition of establishing a
united Italian state under its rule. The kingdom successfully challenged
Austrian Empire in the Second Italian War of Independence with the help of
Napoleon III, liberating the Lombardy-Venetia.
In 1866 Victor Emmanuel II aligned the kingdom to Prussia during the
Austro-Prussian War waging the Third Italian War of Independence which
allowed Italy to annex Venice. In 1870, as France during the disastrous
Franco-Prussian War abandoned its positions in Rome, Italy rushed to fill
the power gap by taking over the Papal State from French sovereignty.
Italian unification finally was achieved, and shortly afterwards Italy's
capital was moved to Rome.
As Northern Italy, was industrialized and modernized the south, became
overcrowded, forcing millions of people to emigrate for a better life
abroad. The Sardinian Statuto Albertino of 1848, extended to the whole
Kingdom of Italy in 1861, provided for basic freedoms, but the electoral
laws excluded the non-propertied and uneducated classes from voting. In
1913 male universal suffrage was allowed. The Socialist Party became the
main political party, outclassing the traditional liberal and conservative
organisations. Starting from the last two decades of the nineteenth
century, Italy developed into a colonial power by forcing Somalia, Eritrea
and later Libya and Dodecanese under its rule. [13] During World War I
Italy stayed at first neutral, but in 1915, signed the London Pact
entering Entente, promised Trento, Trieste, Istria, Dalmatia and parts of
Ottoman Empire. During the war, 600, 000 Italians died and the economy
collapsed. Under the Peace Treaty of Saint-Germain, Italy obtained just
Bolzano-Bozen, Trento, Trieste and Istria in a victory defined as
"mutilated" by public.
The turbulence that followed the devastations of World War I, inspired by
the Russian Revolution, led to turmoil and anarchy. The liberal
establishment, fearing a socialist revolution, started to endorse the
small National Fascist Party, led by Benito Mussolini. In October 1922 the
fascists attempted a coup (the "Marcia su Roma", i.e. March on Rome); but
the king ordered the army not to intervene, instead forming an alliance
with Mussolini. Over the next few years, Mussolini banned all political
parties and curtailed personal liberties thus forming a dictatorship. In
1935, Mussolini subjugated Ethiopia after a surprisingly lengthy campaign.
This resulted in international alienation and the exodus of the country
from the League of nations. A first pact with Nazi Germany was concluded
in 1936, and a second in 1938. Italy strongly supported Franco in the
Spanish civil war and Hitler's annexation of Austria and Czechoslovakia.
On April 7, 1939 Italy occupied Albania, a de facto protectorate for
decades and entered World War II in 1940 taking part in the late stages of
the Battle of France. Mussolini wanting a quick and swift victory which
would emulate Hitler's blitzkrieg in Poland and France, invaded Greece in
October 1940 via Albania but was forced to a humiliating defeat after a
few months. At the same time Italy after initially conquering British
Somalia, saw an allied counter-attack leading to the loss of all
possessions in the Horn of Africa. Italy was also defeated by British
forces in North Africa and was only saved by the urgently dispatched
German Africa Corps led by Erwin Rommel. Italy was invaded by Allies in
June 1943 leading to the collapse of the fascist regime and the arrest of
Mussolini. In September 1943, Italy surrendered. Immediately Germany
invaded its former ally with the country becoming a battlefield for the
rest of the war. The country was liberated on April 25, 1945.
In 1946 Vittorio Emanuele III's son, Umberto II, was forced to abdicate.
Italy became a Republic after a referendum held on June 2, 1946, a day
celebrated since as Republic Day. This was the first election in Italy
allowing women to vote.[14] The Republican Constitution was approved and
came into force on January 1, 1948. Under the Paris Peace Treaties of
1947, the eastern border area was lost to Yugoslavia and the free
territory of Trieste was divided between the two states. The Marshall Plan
in 1949 helped to revive the Italian economy which in 1950s and 1960s
enjoyed a prolonged economic growth. Italy is a founding member of
European Union (EU). In the 1970s and 1980s the country experienced the
Years of Lead, a period characterised by widespread social conflicts and
terrorist acts carried out by extra-parliamentary movements. The
assassination of the leader of the Christian Democracy , Aldo Moro, led to
the end of a historic compromise between the DC and the Communist Party.
From 1992 to 1997, the Italian economy faced significant challenges with
massive government debt, extensive corruption, and organized crime's
considerable influence collectively called the political system
Tangentopoli. The Tangentopoli scandals involved all major parties, and
between 1992 and 1994 the DC underwent a severe crisis splitting up into
several factions, including the Italian People's Party and the Christian
Democratic Center. The PSI completely dissolved.
The 1994 elections put media magnate Silvio Berlusconi into the Prime
Minister's seat. However he was forced to step down in December when Lega
Nord withdrew its support. In April 1996, national elections led to the
victory of a centre-left coalition under the leadership of Romano Prodi.
Prodi's first government became the third-longest to stay in power before
he narrowly lost a vote of confidence, by three votes, in October 1998. A
new government was formed by Massimo D'Alema, but in April 2000 he
resigned. In 2001 the centre-right formed government and Silvio Berlusconi
was able to remain in power for a complete five year mandate, but with two
different governments. The first one (2001–2005) became the longest
government in post-war Italy. Italy participated in the US-led military
coalition in Iraq. The elections in 2006 won by centre-left, allowed Prodi
to form his second government but in early 2008, he resigned because of
the collapse of his coalition. In the ensuing new early elections in April
2008, Silvio Berlusconi convincingly won to form a government for the
third time.
Topography
Italy occupies a long, boot-shaped peninsula, surrounded on the west by
the Tyrrhenian Sea and on the east by the Adriatic Sea. It is bounded by
France, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia to the north. The Apennine
Mountains form the peninsula's backbone; the Alps form its northern
boundary. The largest of its northern lakes is Garda (143 sq mi; 370 km²);
the Po, its principal river, flows from the Alps on Italy's western border
and crosses the Padan plain to the Adriatic Sea. Several islands form part
of Italy; the largest are Sicily (9, 926 sq mi; 25, 708 km²) and Sardinia
(9, 301 sq mi; 24, 090 km²).
Volcanoes
There are several active volcanoes in Italy: Etna, the largest active
volcano in Europe; Vulcano; Stromboli; and Vesuvius, the only active
volcano on the mainland of Europe.
Climate
The climate in Italy is highly diverse and can be far from the
stereotypical Mediterranean climate depending on the location. Most of the
inland northern areas of Italy (for example Turin, Milan and Bologna) have
a continental climate often classified as Humid subtropical climate (Köppen
climate classification Cfa). The coastal areas of Liguria and most of the
peninsula south of Florence generally fit the Mediterranean stereotype (Köppen
climate classification Csa). The coastal areas of the peninsula can be
very different from the interior higher altitudes and valleys,
particularly during the winter months when the higher altitudes tend to be
cold, wet, and often snowy. The coastal regions have mild winters and warm
and generally dry summers, although lowland valleys can be quite hot in
summer.
Government and politics
The 1948 Constitution of Italy established a bicameral parliament (Parlamento),
consisting of a Chamber of Deputies (Camera dei Deputati) and a Senate (Senato
della Repubblica), a separate judiciary, and an executive branch composed
of a Council of Ministers (cabinet) (Consiglio dei ministri), headed by
the prime minister (Presidente del consiglio dei ministri).
The President of the Italian Republic (Presidente della Repubblica) is
elected for seven years by the parliament sitting jointly with a small
number of regional delegates. The president nominates the prime minister,
who proposes the other ministers (formally named by the president). The
Council of Ministers must obtain a confidence vote from both houses of
Parliament. Legislative bills may originate in either house and must be
passed by a majority in both.
The houses of parliament are popularly and directly elected through a
complex electoral system (latest amendment in 2005) which combines
proportional representation with a majority prize for the largest
coalition (Chamber). All Italian citizens older than 18 can vote. However,
to vote for the senate, the voter must be at least 25 or older. The
electoral system in the Senate is based upon regional representation.
During the elections in 2006, the two competing coalitions were separated
by few thousand votes, and in the Chamber the centre-left coalition (L'Unione;
English: The Union) got 345 Deputies against 277 for the centre-right one
(Casa delle Libertà; English: House of Freedoms), while in the Senate
L'Unione got only two Senators more than absolute majority. The Chamber of
Deputies has 630 members and the Senate 315 elected senators; in addition,
the Senate includes former presidents and appointed senators for life (no
more than five) by the President of the Republic according to special
constitutional provisions. As of May 15, 2006 there are seven life
senators (of which three are former Presidents). Both houses are elected
for a maximum of five years, but both may be dissolved by the President
before the expiration of their normal term if the Parliament is unable to
elect a stable government. In the post war history, this has happened in
1972, 1976, 1979, 1983, 1994, 1996 and 2008.
A peculiarity of the Italian Parliament is the representation given to
Italian citizens permanently living abroad (about 2.7 million people).
Among the 630 Deputies and the 315 Senators there are respectively 12 and
6 elected in four distinct foreign constituencies. Those members of
Parliament were elected for the first time in April 2006 and they have the
same rights as members elected in Italy.
The Italian judicial system is based on Roman law modified by the
Napoleonic code and later statutes. The Constitutional Court of Italy
(Corte Costituzionale) rules on the conformity of laws with the
Constitution and is a post—World War II innovation.
The content and materials provided in this
web site are for informational and educational purposes only and are not
intended to supplement or comprise any precise facts, although we have
researched sufficiently for the facts and information to be reasonably
accurate. All content and materials including research papers,
case studies and testimonials summarizing facts have been done by
individuals working for this website. We cannot be held responsible for
any inaccuracies, as we have described that information is for educational
purposes and therefore maybe a few weeks old.
Resources:
Wikipedia | lonelyplanet.com | state.gov | nytimes.com | Ian Fisher
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