Italy

G

Culture

From antiquity to modern times, Italy has played a central role in world culture. Italians have contributed some of the world’s most admired sculpture, architecture, painting, literature, and music, particularly opera. Although the nation was politically unified less than 150 years ago, the Italians do not consider themselves to be a “new” people, but see themselves instead as the descendants of the ancient Romans. Moreover, regional differences persist because of natural geographical boundaries and the disparate cultural heritage that has come down from the Greeks, Etruscans, Arabs, Normans, and Lombards. Regional variety is evident in persistent local dialects, holidays, festivals, songs, and cuisine. Central to all Italian life is the tradition of the family as a guiding force and focus of loyalty.

Many of the great Italian painters, such as Giotto, Fra Angelico, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Titian, and Amedeo Modigliani, are covered in separate articles in the encyclopedia, as are such composers as Antonio Vivaldi, Gaetano Donizetti, Giacomo Puccini, Gioacchino Rossini, and Giuseppe Verdi. See Italian Literature; Cinema, Early Development of; Italian Cinema; Music, Western.

Italy is rich in important library collections. Among the largest and most valuable are the national libraries in Florence, Naples, and Rome. Several universities also have large libraries. Smaller collections, rich in local manuscripts and incunabula, are found in most Italian cities.

World-famous art collections are housed in numerous Italian cities. Among the most important art museums are the Uffizi Gallery and Medici Chapel in Florence, the National Museum in Naples, and, in Rome, the Villa Giulia Museum, the Galleria Borghese, and the National Gallery of Modern Art. Vatican City has important art collections in its museums and chapels, the most famous of which is the Sistine Chapel (see also Michelangelo). An international biennial exhibition of visual arts in Venice is world renowned.

H

The Mafia

A loosely affiliated network of criminal groups that first developed in Sicily during the late Middle Ages, the Mafia has historically been a powerful social and economic force in large parts of Italy. By the late 19th century, the Mafia, known for its familial structure, ruthless violence, and strong code of silence (omertà), controlled the Sicilian countryside, infiltrating or manipulating local authorities, extorting money, and terrorizing citizens. During the 20th century, except for a period of repression by Benito Mussolini from the 1920s until the end of World War II, the Mafia continued to expand its influence over both legal and illegal operations in Italy, especially in the south. The Mafia’s influence was exported to other countries by emigrants, and by the 1970s the Mafia controlled a large part of the world’s heroin trade. Renewed government prosecution of Mafia figures and activities beginning in the mid-1980s, and a series of political scandals linking many Italian politicians with the Mafia, gave rise to hopes that Mafia influence in Italy would eventually decline.

IV

Economy

A largely agricultural country before World War II, Italy has developed a diversified industrial base in the north, which contributes significantly to the economy. In 2004 the GNP of Italy was US$1,513 billion (World Bank figure), or US$30,250 per capita, while the gross domestic product was estimated at US$1,763 billion, or about US$30,073.50 per capita; industry contributed about 26.9 per cent to the value of domestic output, agriculture 2.3 per cent in 2005. Italy has essentially a private-enterprise economy, although the government has a controlling interest in a number of large commercial and manufacturing enterprises, such as the oil industry through the Italian state petroleum company. Also, the state owns the principal transport and telecommunication systems. An ongoing problem of the Italian economy has been the slow growth of industrialization in the south, which lags behind the north in most aspects of economic development. Government efforts to foster industrialization in the south have met with mixed results, as problems with the workforce and the overriding influence of the Mafia have discouraged many large corporations from opening operations there. Many southerners have migrated to northern Italy in search of employment. Unemployment remains a problem throughout the country, however: the unemployment rate remains at over 12 per cent (1995) of the working-age population. The large national debt has also plagued Italy’s economy: the national budget of Italy in 2005 included revenue of about US$694 billion and expenditure of some US$629 billion.

A

Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing

Nearly 60 per cent of the land area of Italy is devoted to crops and pasture; agriculture employs about 4 per cent of the workforce. Variations of climate, soil, and altitude allow the cultivation of many types of crops. Italy is one of the leading nations in the production of grapes, and ranks among the world’s foremost wine producers. Italian wine production totalled about 6.3 million hectalitres in 1994. Italy is also one of the world’s leading producers of olives and olive oil. The output of olives was about 2.7 million tonnes in 1994, and production of olive oil was about 6.3 million hectolitres. In 2005 the chief field crops, with approximate annual production figures in tonnes, included sugar beet (12 million), wheat (7.53 million), potatoes (1.81 million), and rice (1.37 million). Other field crops are maize, tomatoes, barley, rye, artichokes, chilli peppers, and watermelons. Orchard crops, prominent in the Italian economy, include olives, apples, oranges, figs, peaches, nectarines, and nuts. Dairy-farming is a major industry. About 50 kinds of cheese are produced, including Gorgonzola, pecorino, and Parmesan. The livestock population in 2005 numbered about 7.95 million sheep, 9.20 million pigs, 6.25 million cattle, 237,000 water buffalo, 0.95 million goats, 300,000 horses, and 126 million chickens.

The forestry industry is limited in Italy, and much wood is imported. Most of the old-growth forests have been harvested, first by the Romans in antiquity and then in the 19th century. The resulting soil erosion has also hampered industry. However, some advances have been made in recent years, and roundwood removals in 2005 amounted to about 8.05 million cu m (284 million cu ft).

The annual catch of the country’s substantial fishing industry in 2004 was about 404,870 tonnes. Among the species harvested are mussels and other shellfish, shrimps and prawns, sardines, trout, mullet, squid, and anchovies.

B

Mining

Mining contributes only a small portion of the annual national product, but production of some minerals is sizeable. In 2004 production of economic significance included an estimated 688,000 tonnes of sulphur and about 1,000 tonnes of lead. Production of fossil fuels included 35 million barrels of crude petroleum and 13.6) billion cu m (479 billion cu ft) of natural gas. Other mineral resources include barite, lignite, pyrites, and fluorspar.