Italy (in Italian: Repubblica Italiana or Italia ) is a country in southern Europe. Italy comprises a boot-shaped peninsula and two large islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. The country shares its northern alpine boundary with France , Switzerland , Austria and Slovenia .
The independent countries of San Marino and the Vatican City (Holy See) are enclaves within Italian territory.
The capital of Italy is Rome .
conventional long form: Italian Republic
conventional short form: Italy
local long form: Repubblica Italiana
local short form: Italia
former: Kingdom of Italy