Home › Countries of the World › Divisions and Government: Italy

Divisions and Government: Italy

NATURAL PRODUCTIONS.-The vegetable productions of Italy are greatly varied, and include all the growths of the sub-tropical and temperate zones. Corn is extensively cultivated in Sicily and on the plains of Lombardy, where rice is also grown. Wheat, peas, beans, and lentils are among the chief crops, the yield of wheat being over 100,000,000 bushels yearly. Barley, oats, and rye are cultivated to a considerable extent. Hemp, flax, and tobacco are grown for home consumption, and the cotton plant succeeds well in Sicily and Calabria. Sugar-cane, the mulberry tree, the olive, and the vine are widely distributed. In Piedmont and Lombardy the dairy interest is very valuable, and great quantities of cheese are exported, the quality being superior. The Alps are heavily timbered with oak, walnut, and chestnut trees, and the fruit of the latter forms an important part of the diet of the peasantry. Fruits in endless variety and of superior quality flourish, and great quantities of oranges and lemons are exported from Sicily and Naples. The wine crop of Italy is immense, but only a small proportion of the whole product is of recognized superiority. The soil of Italy is naturally fertile, and yields abundant harvests. Even the marshes, have in many instances been reclaimed, while the slopes of the Apennines are cultivated in terraces to a great height. The vast plains of Piedmont and Lombardy include perhaps the most productive area in Europe, and the mountains above the limit of tillage are clothed with forests of chestnut, oak, and pine.

MINING AND MANUFACTURING. From the most ancient times Italy has been famous for its mineral wealth. Lead, silver, iron, and copper mines have been worked for many centuries, some of the silver deposits having been known to the ancient Etruscans. Tuscany and Piedmont have especially rich metalliferous deposits, and the mines of Calabria are valuable. Sicily produces great quantities of sulphur, and in southern Tuscany antimony and quicksilver are found. The production of sea salt is over 500,000 tons per annum. Coal is scarce, and charcoal is generally used for smelting purposes. The manufactures of this country are greatly inferior to those of northern nations, but much improvement has been shown in this regard since the unification of the monarchy. In silk manufacturing Italy exceeds all European nations, over 3,500,000 spindles being employed. Its ship-building interest is also important, as are those of musical instruments, straw goods, glass, earthenware, artificial flowers and macaroni. Of the exports the chief are hides, fish, silk, oil, wines, fruits, cheese, wool, and sulphur, with considerable grain and valuable marble. Nearly 250,000 of the inhabitants are engaged as sailors and fishermen.

GOVERNMENT, LAWS, ETC.-Italy is a limited Monarchy, the Crown being hereditary in the House of Savoy. There are two Chambers and a responsible Ministry. The Senate is composed of about 270 members appointed by the King for life, the Princes of the blood having seats of right. High officers of State, pullotes, officers of the military or naval service, scientific men, and persons who have paid a certain large amount of taxes, are eligible for membership in the Senate. The Chamber of Deputies is composed of 508 persons, each one representing an electoral district, and the term of service is 5 years. All citizens 25 years of age and upward, who pay a certain amount (about $8.00) of taxes or of rent, are voters, and all members of the liberal profession vote in virtue of their educational qualifications. Annual sessions of the Chamber are held. Local self-government is accorded to the provinces and communes, and the cities have many municipal privileges. The civil and political rights of citizens are entirely independent of their religious belief. Important advances have recently been made in educational matters, and a system of primary instruction has been introduced, elementary education being made compulsory. There are 22 Universities, some of which, such as those of Rome, Padua, Turin, Naples, and Palermo enjoy a world-wide fame. No country possesses greater stores of literary and artistic treasures, and none can equal Italy in interesting antiquities. There is no State religion, and the convents and monasteries have been legally abolished within the past 15 years. The greater part of the church property has also been secularized, and the theological faculties have been abolished in all the 17 Royal Universities. The population of the kingdom of Italy last census was 29,699,781. The people are almost exclusively of the Latin race, and to a great extent have preserved the characteristics of their forefathers. There are not more than 350,000 persons of other nationalities in the entire kingdom, and of these nearly half are French domiciled in the province of Turin. Besides these there are 40,000 Jews, 60,000 Albanians, and about 25,000 each of Germans, Slovenes, and Greeks. Nearly all the inhabitants are Roman Catholics, that Church having 50 archbishops, 220 bishops, and over 100,000 priests. The Pope, although shorn of his temporal sovereignty, still enjoys extensive privileges. The Government makes him an annual allowance of over $600,ooo; the late and present Pope both declining to accept this, it is therefore paid over to the "Asse Ecclesiastica." The written language is the same throughout the entire country, but, as in all European nations, the dialects spoken in the various provinces differ widely. The people are industrious and frugal, with the exception of the laz- ۱