The Environment and Us: Italy

"It's a three-coloured flag. also called tri-colour (in Italian, 'Il Tricolore' pronounced "Eel Tree-col-aw-ray"). The three vertical stripes are the same size, and the colours are green, white and red. The green stripe is always placed nearest to the flagpole ... "

"Italy is a boot-shaped peninsula that juts out of southern Europe into the Adriatic Sea, Tyrrhenian Sea, Mediterranean Sea, and other waters ... "

"Italy covers 116,300 square miles (301,225 sq. km.). Its prominent geographical feature is the 500-mile-long Italian Peninsula, which is shaped like a boot and extends southeast from Europe into the Mediterranean Sea ... "

"Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the regional states of the peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King Victor Emmanuel II ... "

"The European country of Italy is shaped like a high-heeled boot. Two thousand years ago the capital of Italy, Rome, was the center of an empire that ruled most of the known world ... "

"Most regions (6) in Italy lie in the Marine west coast, warm summer climate zone (Köppen: Cfb). The mean average of annual temperatures range from a high of 18.25°C (64.85°F) in Sicily to a low of 3.28°C (37.9°F) in Aosta Valley ... "