Even though much of its mountainous and nootinous terrain is unsuitable for farming, Italy has a large work force (1.4 million) employed in farming. Most farms are small, with the average farm only 7 hectares.
From 1992 to 1997, Italy faced significant challenges as voters (disenchanted with past political paralysis, massive government debt, extensive corruption, and organized crime's considerable influence) demanded political, economic, and ethical reforms. In 1993 referendums, voters approved substantial changes, including moving from a proportional to a largely majoritarian electoral system and the abolishment of some ministries (some of which have however been reintroduced with only partly modified names).
As a country, Italy offers many different faces, both culturally and geographically. The far north has many German speaking areas, popular destinations for skiing in the winter and walking during spring and summer. The Italian Lakes attract large numbers of visitors yearly, Tuscany (Toscana) and Umbria have been popular destinations for centuries, as has the Amalfi coast.
Italy has been a democratic republic since June 2, 1946, when the monarchy was abolished by popular referendum. The constitution was romulgated on January 1, 1948. The Italian State has a central state authority (the Government), 20 regions and about a hundred provinces. The prefect of each of the provinces is appointed by and responding to the central government, which he locally represents.
Italy has few natural resources. With much of the land unsuited for farming, it is a net food importer. There are no substantial deposits of iron, coal, or oil. Proven natural gas reserves, mainly in the Po Valley and offshore Adriatic, have grown in recent years and constitute the country's most important mineral resource. Most raw materials needed for manufacturing and more than 80% of the country's energy sources are imported. Italy's economic strength is in the processing and the manufacturing of goods, primarily in small and medium-sized family-owned firms. Its major industries are precision machinery, motor vehicles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, electric goods, and fashion and clothing.
Islam was almost entirely absent in Italy from the time of that country's unification in 1861 until the 1970s, when the first trickle of North African immigrants began arriving. These North Africans, mostly of Berber or Arab origin, came mainly from heavily Islamic Morocco, though they have been followed in more recent years by Tunisians, Albanians and to a lesser extent, Libyans, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Middle Eastern Arabs and Kurds. Some estimate the number of Italian converts to be around 10,000.
Puglia (Apulia) and Calabria in the south serve up a very different atmosphere to the north, with centuries of occupation and settlement leaving behind traces of many, many cultures and civilisations. Ditto Sicily (Sicilia). These areas, along with less visited ones such as Marche, Emilia-Romagna and Liguria are likely to offer better bargains for the visitor to Italy.
Major political parties, beset by scandal and loss of voter confidence, underwent far-reaching changes. New political forces and new alignments of power emerged in March 1994 national elections. The election saw a major turnover in the new parliament, with 452 out of 630 deputies and 213 out of 315 senators elected for the first time. The 1994 elections also swept media magnate Silvio Berlusconi (leader of "House of Freedoms" (Casa delle Libertą) coalition) into office as Prime Minister. Berlusconi, however, was forced to step down in January 1995 when one member of his coalition withdrew support. The Berlusconi government was succeeded by a technical government headed by Prime Minister Lamberto Dini, which left office in early 1996.
After the Lombard invasion, the popes (i.e. St. Gregory) were nominally subject to the eastern emperor, but often received little help from Constantinople, and had to fill the lack of stately power, protecting Rome from Lombard incursions; in this way, the popes started building an independent state.