People often associate Italy with images such as Pisa’s iconic leaning tower or delicious Italian cuisine such as pizza and pasta, while being known for famous artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.
Italians place great value in family values and relationships, and adore their children. Additionally, they are known for their sense of humor and agreeable nature.
History
Italy is an incredible southern European nation known for its natural beauty and historic landmarks like Ancient Greek and Roman artifacts, Renaissance art and its industrial legacy. Millions of tourists visit each year the coast and cities inland.
Italian explorers and navigators played an instrumental role in the Age of Discovery and European colonization of the Americas. Today Italy is a republic with an economy heavily focused on services and manufacturing.
Rome, its capital city, boasts the Roman Forum and other notable historical landmarks, while other important cities in Italy such as Florence, Venice and Milan also contain significant historic sites. Furthermore, Italy is internationally-recognized for its cuisine.
Long before Italy became independent from Rome in 1871, its territory was controlled by various ethnicities including Greeks, Celts and early Italian tribes. Later city-states began emerging across its peninsula.
Risorgimento marked the beginning of Italy’s unification through an internal movement among many Italians to form one state. While support was high for unification, there was confusion as to which form this should take; some wanted a republic; Vincenzo Gioberti led this revolution, advocating instead for monarchy with an appointed prime minister.
Parliamentary democracy emerged during the 19th century with laws expanding suffrage and making running for office easier, but ultimately Napoleon’s fall enabled Italy to come into its own and emerge as an independent nation.
After World War II, Italy faced an impoverished economy and fractured society. Coupled with growing dissatisfaction among his supporters over his support of fascism, Umberto II decided to hold an institutional referendum asking citizens whether they favored monarchy or republicanism; ultimately the referendum passed and Italy became a republic.
Fascism ended in 1945 and Italy returned to democracy. Economic growth quickly blossomed during the 1950s and 60s before striking and oil crisis caused problems to worsen during 1973. Resurgent right-wing sentiments caused a surge of parties led by media magnate Silvio Berlusconi during the 1990s.
Politics
Foreigners may find Italy’s politics complex and difficult to understand, but this is due to a significant breakdown of forces once dominating political life in Italy. As a result, new realities have arisen which established parties and coalitions find difficult to comprehend or adapt to.
President Sergio Mattarella of Italy appoints a prime minister who typically leads Italy’s lower house Chamber of Deputies. This prime minister then proposes a council of ministers which is approved by parliament.
As soon as Mario Draghi’s national unity government collapsed in July 2022, President Mattarella disbanded parliament and called snap elections. A right-wing alliance led by Giorgia Meloni of the Brothers of Italy party prevailed and in September Meloni was officially appointed prime minister on October 1.
Meloni’s immediate goals include the reduction of energy costs for families and businesses through an introduction of a gas price cap. She plans on diverting uncommitted funds from cohesion and NGEU programs toward increasing focus on energy. Furthermore, her government intends on reviewing allocation of migrant redistribution funds with the intention of increasing flexibility within their system.
Meloni has shown a willingness to learn from past errors when it comes to European policies. She does not seem eager to increase the power of her Prime Minister as was done under PD rule in 2016, nor insisting on strict interpretation of EU laws regarding asylum seekers.
Meloni has made clear her desire to strengthen regional governments while simultaneously diminishing the influence of European Commission and Council of Europe institutions, but this remains an extremely delicate situation – it remains to be seen whether Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi can achieve his or her objectives. Additionally, EP President Roberta Metsola and other top European politicians have already begun meeting with her; should Meloni take advantage of her victory and align herself with EPP Group politicians she could alter the European political landscape further while giving the new Italian government greater strength within European institutions.
Economy
Italy ranks third among European economies and 10th globally with its estimated 2024 GDP at $2,085 billion and population of approximately 59 million people. Italy boasts one of the highest per capita incomes globally.
Italy has managed to weather the global financial crisis well despite slow growth and its high debt ratio, thanks to strong fiscal policy responses and enhanced competitiveness which have contributed to its resilience. Yet structural challenges still exist.
Over the medium-term, economic activity should experience a decline as interest rates increase and consumption slows. Rising borrowing costs make it more difficult for businesses and individuals to repay loans on time, leading to decreased spending. Furthermore, declining employment levels and slow wage growth reduce disposable incomes further.
On the other hand, large inflows of EU funding could stimulate economic activity. Furthermore, Italy plans to implement measures designed to boost productivity among small and medium-sized enterprises (SME).
Italy is also an increasingly attractive location for foreign direct investments; Italy was the 16th-highest source of FDI to the US in 2022, supporting 99,800 American jobs. Key areas for investment include industrial equipment, renewable energy sources, food & beverages products, software & IT services as well as metals.
Economic recovery following COVID-19 pandemic remains difficult. Public debt remains amongst the highest levels across Europe while potential growth rates remain subpar. Structural issues such as labor market rigidity and bureaucratic inefficiency must also be tackled head on to ensure sustained prosperity in Italy.
Fratelli d’Italia Party leader Giorgia Meloni’s current government is mandated by its voters to implement policies that strengthen competitiveness and boost growth; however, political factions could prevent this effort from succeeding. Recently, IMF Executive Board held consultation with Italy and advised it to accelerate structural reforms, increase labor productivity and tackle population aging challenges through gradual fiscal consolidation over several years.
Culture
Italy has long been revered as an artistic and literary powerhouse. Its culture is respected worldwide and many Italians have left Italy to further other cultures around the globe. Italian music, cuisine and cultural traditions are celebrated globally; opera, classical music or popular song are just a few examples of Italy’s contribution to Western culture that stand the test of time.
Italians tend to identify more with their region, city or town – or sometimes even their quartier (a district within a town) – than with any of Italy’s individual states due to its history of frequent warring among them and having different cultural characteristics from surrounding provinces that left an imprint in terms of language, dialects, cuisine and lifestyle.
Italy’s culture is heavily influenced by Roman Catholicism, with this religion having an influence in nearly all aspects of life from national holidays and shop opening hours to social structures and even food, wine and architecture.
Italians place great value on family life. In contrast to many Western cultures, Italians tend to stay with their parents well into their twenties and look to them for guidance and wisdom. Children will often help out their grandparents at restaurants while couples will seek marriage advice from elders – this close bond helps explain their warmth and hospitality as well as family gatherings at meals in trattorias or more formal ristorantes.
Italy boasts an illustrious operatic tradition dating back centuries, with composers such as Puccini, Verdi and Ruggero Leoncavallo among its luminaries. Modern Italian classical music tends to be experimental yet progressive while remaining true to past melodic and harmonic styles.
Italy has long had an expectation that one should “fare una bella figura”, or make a strong and positive first impression, which is seen as a mark of grace and dignity, even among those from modest means. Furthermore, doing well demonstrates a person’s capacity for engaging with and accommodating various opinions – something Italians pride themselves on doing!