Italy. San Marino. Vatican City. Malta

Author: Zhou Min
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-08-01
Features: Italy: 301,318 square kilometers. Located in southern Europe, it includes the Italian Peninsula and islands such as Sicily and Sardinia. To the north, it borders France, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia with the Alps as a natural barrier. It faces the Mediterranean Sea's sub-seas of the Adriatic Sea, Ionian Sea, and Tyrrhenian Sea to the east, west, and south. The coastline is approximately 7,200 kilometers long. Four-fifths of the country is hilly terrain, with the Alps and the Apennines. Mont Blanc on the Italy-France border has an elevation of 4,810 meters, ranking second in Europe. It is home to the famous Vesuvius volcano and Europe's largest active volcano—Mount Etna. The largest river is the Po River. Major lakes include Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore. Most of the region has a Mediterranean climate with subtropical characteristics. The average annual temperature is 2–10°C in January and 23–26°C in July. The average annual precipitation is 500–1,000 millimeters. Population: 57,888,200 (end of 2003). 94% of the residents are Italians, with minority groups including French, Latins, Romans, Friulians, etc. The Italian language is spoken, with French and German spoken in some regions. Most residents adhere to Catholicism.