ITALY

Geography: Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia.

Climate: predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south.

Languages: Italian (official), German (parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region are predominantly German speaking), French (small French-speaking minority in Valle d'Aosta region), Slovene (Slovene-speaking minority in the Trieste-Gorizia area).

Currency: Euro.