Italy

• Holidays
• Introduction
• Key Facts
• Climate

• Capital city: Rome
• Population: 60,808,000 (est. 2015)
• Size of country: 301,340 sq km
• Currency: Euro
• Power supply: 220/240v
• Sockets: 2 pin round
• Language: ItalianTime difference: GMT +1 hr
• Visas: Visas are not required for UK citizens to travel to Italy
• Religion: Christian 80% (overwhelming Roman Catholic with very small groups of Jehova Witnesses and Protestants), Muslims NEGL (about 700,000 but growing), Atheists and Agnostics 20%
• Popular dishes: In the Alpine region traditional Ladin dishes include ‘canederli’ (bread dumplings), barley soup and ‘tutres’ (ricotta cheese, spinach or sauerkraut pancakes). In Sicily pasta and 'peasant' dishes such as Maccu - a traditional bean soup - are commonly eaten. Neopolitan cuisine is characterised by delicious pasta dishes and an abundance of seafood as well as being the home of the modern pizza.
• Popular drinks: Beer is very popular and the South Tyrol has several good local brews.
• Did you know: The Ladin flag comprises three horizontal stripes – green, white and blue which represent the grass, snow and sky. The flag was banned by Mussolini during the Second World War as an anti-Italian symbol but was reintroduced once the war ended.
• FCDO advice: FCDO travel advice