Italy, officially the Italian Republic (Italian: Italia, IPA: or Repubblica Italiana, IPA: ), is a Southern European country. It comprises the Italian Peninsula, the Po River valley, and two large islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia, and shares its northern alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia. The country also shares a sea border with Croatia, and France. The independent countries of San Marino and the Vatican City are enclaves within Italian territory. It is shaped like a boot, and for this reason it is commonly called lo stivale (Italian for the boot).
Italy was home to many well-known and influential European civilizations, including the Etruscans, Greeks and the Romans. For more than 3,000 years Italy experienced migrations and invasions from Germanic, Celtic, Frankish, Byzantine Greek, Saracen, Norman, and the French Angevin, and Lombard peoples, and was divided into many independent states until 1861 when Italy became a nation-state.
Italy is called "il Belpaese" (Italian for beautiful country) by its inhabitants, due to the beauty and variety of its landscapes and for having the world's largest artistic patrimony; the country is home to the greatest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites (41 as of July 13 2006).
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American Academy in Rome - An American overseas center for independent study and advanced research in the fine arts and the humanities. Rome prize, summer programs, library, publications, events, and staff.
Meta Description: [ The only American overseas center for independent study and advanced research in the fine arts and the humanities ]
International Students at Bocconi - Students association that provides forum, events, links, downloads, and things related to international classes at Bocconi University.
Istituto Carlo Secoli - Institute that trains technicians for the clothing industries. Located in Milan.
The Domenico Pacitti Archive - Articles on Italian higher education, culture, and politics.
Umbra Institute - Study abroad in Italy, in English. College and university studies in varied international curricula in Perugia, Italy.
Meta Description: [ STUDY ABROAD IN ITALY. Accredited study abroad program in Perugia, Italy. Courses in art, art history, business, classics, literature, Italian studies, etc. Students study Italian at the Univerista' per Stranieri di Perugia ]
University of Bari - Information on the Athaenaeum. Links to faculties web sites.
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University of Trento - The web site of the Trento University is providing lots of Academic and administrative information, as well as some useful links on the province of Trento.
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