1.
Italian Social Republic
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The Italian Social Republic, informally known as the Republic of Salò, was a state with limited recognition that was created during the later part of World War II, existing from 1943 until 1945. Mussolini had originally intended to call his new republic the “Italian ‘Socialist’ Republic. ”It was the second and last incarnation of the Fascist Italian state and was led by Duce Benito Mussolini and his reformed Republican Fascist Party. The state declared Rome its capital, but was de facto centered on Salò, a town on Lake Garda, near Brescia, where Mussolini. The RSI exercised nominal sovereignty in northern and central Italy, but was dependent on German troops to maintain control. The new government began peace negotiations with the Allied powers. When the Armistice of Cassibile was announced in September, Germany was prepared, Germany seized control of the northern half of Italy, freed Mussolini and brought him to the German-occupied area to establish a satellite regime. The RSI was proclaimed on 23 September 1943, although the RSI claimed most of the lands of Italy as rightfully belonging to it, it held political control over a vastly reduced portion of Italy. The RSI received diplomatic recognition from only Germany, Japan and their puppet states, around 25 April 1945, Mussolinis republic came to an end. In Italy, this day is known as Liberation Day, on this day a general partisan uprising alongside the efforts of Allied forces, during their final offensive in Italy, managed to oust the Germans from Italy almost entirely. At the point of its demise, the Italian Social Republic had existed for more than nineteen months. On 27 April partisans caught Mussolini, his mistress, several RSI ministers, on 28 April the partisans shot Mussolini and most of the other captives. The RSI Minister of Defense, Rodolfo Graziani, surrendered what was left of the RSI on 2 May when the German forces in Italy capitulated, this put a definitive end to the Italian Social Republic. On 24 July 1943, after the Allied landings in Sicily, the next day, King Victor Emmanuel III dismissed Mussolini from office and ordered him arrested. The failed war effort left Mussolini humiliated at home and abroad as a sawdust Caesar, the new government, under Marshal Pietro Badoglio, began secret negotiations with the Allied powers and made preparations for the capitulation of Italy. These surrender talks implied a commitment from Badoglio not only to leave the Axis alliance, while the Germans formally recognised the new status quo in Italian politics, they intervened by sending some of the best units of the Wehrmacht to Italy. This was done both to resist new Allied advances and to face the predictably imminent defection of Italy, on 8 September, Badoglio announced Italys armistice with the Allies. German Führer Adolf Hitler and his staff, long aware of the negotiations, acted immediately by ordering German troops to control of northern. The Germans disarmed the Italian troops and took all of the Italian Armys materials
2.
Italian Army
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The Italian Army is the land defence force of the Italian Armed Forces of the Italian Republic. The armys history dates back to the unification of Italy in the 1850s and 1860s, during the Cold War the army prepared itself to defend against a Warsaw Pact invasion from the east. Since the end of the Cold War the army has seen extensive peacekeeping service and combat in Afghanistan, the headquarters of the Army General Staff are located in Rome, at the back of the Presidential Palace. The army is a force of active-duty personnel, numbering 99,042 personnel in 2016. The Italian Army originated as the Royal Army which dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy following the seizure of the Papal States and the unification of Italy. In 1861, under the leadership of Giuseppe Garibaldi, Victor Emmanuel II of the House of Savoy was invited to take the throne of the independent kingdom. Italian expeditions were dispatched to China during the Boxer Rebellion of 1900, the Italian Royal Armys first real taste of modern warfare was during World War I. Most of the actions were fought in northern Italy and the Royal Army suffered many casualties, Italian discipline was also harsher, with punishments for infractions of duty of a severity not known in the German, French, and British armies. On paper, the Royal Army was one of the largest ground forces in World War II, though in reality it could not field the numbers claimed, due to their generally smaller size, many Italian divisions were reinforced by an Assault Group of two battalions of Blackshirts. Reports of Italian military prowess in the Second World War were, almost always and this perception was the result of disastrous Italian offensives against Egypt and the performance of the army in the Greco-Italian War. Both campaigns were ill-prepared and executed inadequately, Italian medium M11, M13, M14 and M15 tanks were at a marked disadvantage against the comparatively heavily armed American Sherman tanks, for example. There were too few weapons, obsolete anti-tank guns. When the Soviet offensive Operation Saturn began on December 12,1942 the Italian 8th Army was quickly crushed, in North Africa, the Italian 132 Armored Division Ariete and the 185 Airborne Division Folgore fought to total annihilation at the Second Battle of El Alamein. Although the battle was lost, the resistance of the Italian soldiers at the Battle of Keren in East Africa is still commemorated today by the Italian military. After the Axis defeat in Tunisia the morale of the Italian troops dropped, the sagging morale led to the overthrow of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini by King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy 15 days later. The Italian Co-Belligerent Army was the army of the Italian royalist forces fighting on the side of the Allies in southern Italy after the Allied armistice with Italy in September 1943. The Italian soldiers fighting in this no longer fought for Benito Mussolini as their allegiance was to King Victor Emmanuel and to Marshal of Italy Pietro Badoglio. The kingdom was replaced by a Republic in 1946 and the Royal Army changed its name to become the Italian Army, initially five infantry divisions were active, including the newly renamed Infantry Division Friuli
3.
Army
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An army or ground force is a fighting force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the military branch. It may also include other branches of the such as the air force via means of aviation corps. Within a national force, the word army may also mean a field army. They differ from army reserves who are activated only during such times as war or natural disasters, in several countries, the army is officially called the Land Army to differentiate it from an air force called the Air Army, notably France. In such countries, the army on its own retains its connotation of a land force in common usage. By convention, irregular military is understood in contrast to regular armies which grew slowly from personal bodyguards or elite militia, regular in this case refers to standardized doctrines, uniforms, organizations, etc. Regular military can also refer to full-time status, versus reserve or part-time personnel, other distinctions may separate statutory forces, from de facto non-statutory forces such as some guerrilla and revolutionary armies. Armies may also be expeditionary or fencible, india has had some of the earliest armies in the world. During the Indus Valley Civilization however, there was just a small force as they didnt fear invasion at the time. After the Aryan invasion, kingdoms and city-states started forming armies to protect their cities, one of the first known recorded battles, the Battle of the Ten Kings, happened when a Hindu king defeated an alliance of ten kings. During the Iron Age, the Maurya and Nanda Empires had large armies, in the Gupta age, large armies of longbowmen were recruited to fight off invading horse archer armies. Elephants, pikemen and cavalry were other featured troops, in Rajput times, the main piece of equipment was iron or chain-mail armour, a round shield, either a curved blade or a straight-sword, a chakra disc and a katar dagger. China has existed as a culture for thousands of years, the states of China raised armies for at least 1000 years before the Spring and Autumn Annals. By the Warring States period, the crossbow had been perfected enough to become a military secret, thus any political power of a state rested on the armies and their organization. China underwent political consolidation of the states of Han, Wei, Chu, Yan, Zhao and Qi, until by 221 BCE, Qin Shi Huang, sun Tzus The Art of War remains one of Chinas Seven Military Classics, even though it is two thousand years old. Since no political figure could exist without an army, measures were taken to only the most capable leaders could control the armies. Civil bureaucracies arose to control the power of the states
4.
Italian Navy
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The Italian Navy is the maritime defence force of the Italian Republic. It is one of the four branches of Italian Armed Forces and was formed in 1946 from what remained of the Regia Marina after World War II. As of August 2014, the Italian Navy had a strength of 30,923 active personnel with approximately 184 vessels in service, the Regia Marina was formed on March 17,1861, after the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy. The Italian Navy assumed its present name after the Italian monarchy was abolished following a referendum held on June 2,1946. At the end of its five years involvement in World War II, however, a large number of its naval units had survived the war, albeit in a low efficiency state, which was due to the conflict and the age of many vessels. A ban on owning Battleships, Aircraft carriers, Submarines and Amphibious Assault units, a ban on operating military installations on the islands of Pantelleria, Pianosa and on the archipelago of Pelagie Islands. The total displacement, battleships excluded, of the navy was not allowed to be greater than 67,500 tons. Some had already been dismantled in La Spezia between 1948 and 1955, including the aircraft carrier Aquila. However, the Soviet Union demanded the surrender of the battleship Giulio Cesare, the cruisers Attilio Regolo and Scipione Africano became the French Chateaurenault and Guichen, while Eugenio di Savoia became the Greek Helli. After break up and/or transfers, only a part of the fleet remained to be recommissioned into the Marina. With the new elections in 1946, the Kingdom of Italy became a Republic, the US government in Washington wished to keep its own installations on the Italian Peninsula and relaxed the Treaty restrictions by including Italy in the Mutual Defense Assistance Programme. Within NATO, the Marina Militare was assigned control of the Adriatic Sea and Strait of Otranto. This solution required a great effort to rebuild and transform the fleet. Progress was slow due to pressures on Italy and due to opposition from other European governments. These nations were concerned at seeing an Italian Navy capable of rivaling the Western naval forces, the ensign of the Italian Navy is the Italian tricolour defaced with the coat of arms of the Marina Militare. A further difference is that St, in 2012 the Navy began a restructuring process that will see a 21% decrease in personnel by 2025. A new structure was implemented in January 2014, the command structure is depicted below, Reporting to the Logistics Command is Maritime Command – divided into four areas who provide logistic support for their areas. The Corps of the Port Captaincies – Coast Guard is the coast guard of Italy and is part of the Italian Navy under the control of the Ministry of Infrastructures, in Italy, it is commonly known as simply the Guardia costiera
5.
Navy
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A navy or maritime force is a fleet of waterborne military vessels and its associated naval aviation, both sea-based and land-based. It is the branch of an armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare, namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations. The strategic offensive role of a navy is projection of force into areas beyond a countrys shores, the strategic defensive purpose of a navy is to frustrate seaborne projection-of-force by enemies. The strategic task of the navy also may incorporate nuclear deterrence by use of submarine-launched ballistic missiles. In most nations, the naval, as opposed to navy, is interpreted as encompassing all maritime military forces, e. g. navy, marine / marine corps. First attested in English in the early 14th century, the navy came via Old French navie, fleet of ships, from the Latin navigium, a vessel. The word naval came from Latin navalis, pertaining to ship, cf. Greek ναῦς, ship, ναύτης, seaman, the earliest attested form of the word is in the Mycenaean Greek compound word
6.
Italian Air Force
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The Italian Air Force is the aerial defence force of the Italian Republic. The Air Force was founded as an independent service arm on March 28,1923, after World War II, when Italy was made a republic by referendum, the Regia Aeronautica was given its current name. Since its formation the service has held a prominent role in modern Italian military history, the aerobatic display team is the Frecce Tricolori. Among the earlier adopters of military aviation, Italys air arm dates back to 1884, the Air Service operated balloons based near Rome. In 1911, reconnaissance and bombing sorties during the Italo-Turkish War by the Servizio Aeronautico represented the first ever use of heavier than air aircraft in armed conflict. On 28 March 1923, the Italian air force was founded as an independent service by King Vittorio Emanuele III of the Kingdom of Italy and this air force was known as the Regia Aeronautica. During the 1930s, the fledgeling Regia Aeronautica was involved in its first military operations, first in Ethiopia in 1935, after a period of neutrality, Italy entered World War II on 10 June 1940 alongside Germany. The Regia Aeronautica could deploy more than 3,000 aircraft, the Regia Aeronautica fought from the icy steppes of Russia to the sand of the North African desert losing men and machines. After the armistice of 8 September 1943, Italy was divided two sides, and the same fate befell the Regia Aeronautica. The Air Force was split into the Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force in the south aligned with the Allies, the end of the hostilities, on 8 May 1945, opened the gates to the rebirth of military aviation in Italy. A popular vote by the people resulted in the end of the Kingdom of Italy, hence the Regia Aeronautica lost its Royal designation, and it became the Aeronautica Militare, a name that it has continued to hold ever since. American military aid sent by the Mutual Defense Assistance Program brought about the introduction of American-made P-47 Thunderbolt, then in 1952, the Italian Air Force was granted jet fighters for the first time, American F-84G Thunderjets and F-86D Sabre jets. Next F-84F jet fighters and C-119 Flying Boxcar transport planes were sent from the United States to the Italian Air Force, during the 1970s, the Air Force acquired the Italian Aeritalia G222 and the modern American C-130 Hercules tactical transport planes, capable of carrying cargo or paratroopers. It also received the new Lockheed-Aeritalia F-104S Starfighter fighters for ground attack and this was a huge development and production project. Tornado fighters are still in service with all three countries, plus a few more, as of 2012, also, Italian companies worked together with the Embraer Company of Brazil in the smaller project of developing and producing the AMX International AMX aircraft. In 1990, after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, Italy joined the coalition forces, with the need to replace the obsolescent F-104 Starfighters, Italy joined with Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom in the development of the Eurofighter Typhoon. With the Eurofighter Typhoon still some years from introduction to service, the ADV Tornados served as fighter-interceptors to supplement and then to replace the old F-104 Starfighters. The last of the Italian F-104s was removed from service in 2004 and this latter one occurred just a few minutes flying time east of the Italian peninsula, and the commanders-in-chief of the Italian Air Force soon saw the need to improve the Italian air defenses
7.
Air force
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An air force, also known in some countries as an air army, is in the broadest sense, the national military organization that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nations armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army, navy, or a marine corps. Typically, air forces are responsible for gaining control of the air, carrying out strategic and tactical bombing missions, Air forces typically consist of a combination of fighters, bombers, helicopters, transport planes and other aircraft. Many air forces are responsible for operations of the military space, intercontinental ballistic missiles. Some air forces may command and control other air defence assets such as artillery, surface-to-air missiles, or anti-ballistic missile warning networks. In addition to pilots, air forces have ground support staff who support the aircrew, however, some supporting personnel such as airfield defence troops, weapons engineers and air intelligence staff do not have equivalent roles in civilian organizations. Balloon or flying corps are not generally regarded as examples of an air force, however, with the invention of heavier-than-air craft in the early 20th century, armies and navies began to take interest in this new form of aviation as a means to wage war. The first aviation force in the world was the Aviation Militaire of the French Army formed in 1910, in 1911, during the Italo-Turkish War, Italy employed aircraft for the first time ever in the world for reconnaissance and bombing missions against Turkish positions on Libyan Territory. The Italian–Turkish war of 1911–1912 was the first in history that featured air attacks by airplanes, during World War I France, Germany, Italy, the British Empire and the Ottoman Empire all possessed significant forces of bombers and fighters. World War I also saw the appearance of senior commanders who directed aerial warfare, the British Royal Air Force was the first independent air force in the world. The RAF was founded on 1 April 1918 by amalgamation the British Armys Royal Flying Corps, on establishment the RAF comprised over 20,000 aircraft, was commanded by a Chief of the Air Staff who held the rank of major-general and was governed by its own government ministry. Over the following decades most countries with any military capability established their own independent air forces. The Canadian Air Force was formed at the end of World War I and it became the permanent Royal Canadian Air Force when it received the Royal title by royal proclamation on 1 April 1924. It did not however become independent of the Canadian Army until 1938 when its head was designated as Chief of the Air Staff. Similarly, the Royal New Zealand Air Force was established in 1923 as the New Zealand Permanent Air Force, other British-influenced countries also established their own independent air forces. For example, the Royal Egyptian Air Force was created in 1937 when Egyptian military aviation was separated from Army command, outside of the British Empire, the Finnish Air Force was established as a separate service on 4 May 1928 and the Brazilian Air Force was created in 1941. Both the United States Air Force and the Philippine Air Force were formed as a separate branches of their armed forces in 1947. The Israeli Air Force came into being with the State of Israel on 18 May 1948, the Japan Air Self-Defense Force was not established until 1954, in World War II Japanese military aviation had been carried out by the Army and Navy
8.
Carabinieri
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The Carabinieri is the national gendarmerie of Italy, policing both military and civilian populations. It originally was founded as the force of the Kingdom of Sardinia. During the process of Italian unification, it was appointed the First Force of the new military organization. Since 2001, it has one of the four Italian Armed Forces. Inspired by the French Gendarmerie, the corps was created by King Victor Emmanuel I of Savoy with the aim of providing the Kingdom of Sardinia with a police corps, previously, police duties were managed by the Dragoni di Sardegna corps, created in 1726 and composed of volunteers. The new force was divided into divisions on the scale of one division for each province, in 1868, the Corazzieri mounted division was formed – initially as an escort of honour for the sovereign, and since 1946 for the President of the Republic. The Italian unification saw the number of divisions increased, and on 24 January 1861 the Carabinieri were appointed the First Force of the new military organization. In May 1915 Italian troops marched to encompass South Tyrol, territory of their allies the Austro-Hungarian empire. The role of the Carabinieri was to act as barrier troops, setting up machine gun posts to control the rear of the attacking regiments, during the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini, the Carabinieri were one of the police forces entrusted with suppressing opposition in Italy. During the same period, while part of the Italian Africa Police, during World War II they fought in their function as military police against the Allied forces, and against Yugoslav partisans as part of the Italian occupation force in Yugoslavia. After Mussolinis fall on 25 July 1943, he was arrested by the Carabinieri as he left the private residence in Rome. In southern Italy the Carabinieri Command for Liberated Italy was founded in Bari and these units were attached to the Italian Liberation Corps and the six Italian Combat Groups of the Italian Co-Belligerent Army, fighting with the Allied forces. In northern Italy the fascist regime organized the Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana, to employ it as a military police, GNR was later joined by the Black Brigades which should have represented a new militant incarnation of the Fascist party. As German forces subsequently began to arrest and deport members of the Carabinieri to Germany for forced labour, large numbers of Carabinieri joined the Italian resistance movement. After the war the Carabinieri counted at least 2,735 fallen and 6,500 wounded, out of approximately 14,000 who had joined the Resistance in northern and central Italy. In Yugoslavia the Carabinieri formed a battalion of the Italian partisan Garibaldi Division, the battalion lost over 80% of its members in combat and was awarded the Silver Medal of Military Valor to commemorate the fallen. The Carabinieri increased in status and joined the Armed Forces on 31 March 2000, dAcquisto exchanged his life for the lives of citizens due to be executed in retaliation for the killing of a German soldier, instead, he claimed responsibility and was executed for the offence. In recent years Carabinieri units have been dispatched on peacekeeping missions, including Kosovo, Afghanistan, the State Forestry Corps was dissolved on 31 December 2016 and all personnel were militarized and absorbed by the Carabinieri
9.
Gendarmerie
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A gendarmerie or gendarmery is a military component with jurisdiction in civil law enforcement. The term gendarmerie is derived from the medieval French expression gens darmes, in France and most Francophone nations, the gendarmerie is the branch of the armed forces responsible for internal security during wartime. This concept was introduced to several other Western European countries during the Napoleonic conquests, in the mid twentieth century, a number of former French mandates or colonial possessions such as Syria and the Republic of the Congo adopted a gendarmerie after independence. A somewhat related phenomenon has been the formation of units which fall under the authority of civilian police agencies. Since these are not strictly military forces, however, they are not considered gendarmerie, some of the more prominent modern gendarmerie organizations include the French National Gendarmerie, Italian Carabinieri, and Spanish Civil Guard. The word gendarme comes from the Old French gens darmes, meaning men-at-arms, during the Late Medieval to the Early Modern period, the term referred to a heavily armoured cavalryman of noble birth, primarily serving in the French army. The word gained policing connotations only after the French Revolution when the Maréchaussée of the Ancien Régime was renamed the Gendarmerie, historically, the spelling in English was gendarmery, but now the French spelling gendarmerie is more common. The Oxford English Dictionary uses gendarmery as the spelling, Merriam-Webster uses gendarmerie as the principal spelling. Gendarmes are often deployed in situations, sometimes in their own country. A gendarmerie may come under the authority of a ministry of defence, generally there is some coordination between a ministry of defence and a ministry of the interior over the use of gendarmes. A few forces which are no longer considered military retain the title gendarmerie for reasons of tradition, since different countries may make different use of institutional terms such as gendarmerie, there are cases in which the term may become confusing. For instance, in the French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland the gendarmeries are the civil police. In Chile, the word gendarmerie refers for historic reasons to the prison service, in some cases, a police services military links are ambiguous and it can be unclear whether a force should be defined as a gendarmerie. Some historical military units, such as South-West Africas Koevoet, were defined as police for political reasons. In 2014 the Mexican Federal Police, an armed force which has many attributes of a gendarmerie. The new force would initially number 5,000 personnel and was created with the assistance of the French gendarmerie, in countries where the gendarmerie and civilian police co-exist there may be rivalries and tensions between the forces. This was one of the reasons cited for the decision to disband the Belgian Gendarmerie, since the year 2000 four European countries—Belgium, Luxembourg, Greece and Austria—have replaced long-established gendarmeries with civilian police forces having no military links or functions. The GNA often take part in UN peace keeping missions, the use of military organisations to police civilian populations is common to many time periods and cultures
10.
Rome
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Rome is a special comune and the capital of Italy. Rome also serves as the capital of the Lazio region, with 2,873,598 residents in 1,285 km2, it is also the countrys largest and most populated comune and fourth-most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. It is the center of the Metropolitan City of Rome, which has a population of 4.3 million residents, the city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio, along the shores of the Tiber. Romes history spans more than 2,500 years, while Roman mythology dates the founding of Rome at only around 753 BC, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it one of the oldest continuously occupied sites in Europe. The citys early population originated from a mix of Latins, Etruscans and it was first called The Eternal City by the Roman poet Tibullus in the 1st century BC, and the expression was also taken up by Ovid, Virgil, and Livy. Rome is also called the Caput Mundi, due to that, Rome became first one of the major centres of the Italian Renaissance, and then the birthplace of both the Baroque style and Neoclassicism. Famous artists, painters, sculptors and architects made Rome the centre of their activity, in 1871 Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, and in 1946 that of the Italian Republic. Rome has the status of a global city, Rome ranked in 2014 as the 14th-most-visited city in the world, 3rd most visited in the European Union, and the most popular tourist attraction in Italy. Its historic centre is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, monuments and museums such as the Vatican Museums and the Colosseum are among the worlds most visited tourist destinations with both locations receiving millions of tourists a year. Rome hosted the 1960 Summer Olympics and is the seat of United Nations Food, however, it is a possibility that the name Romulus was actually derived from Rome itself. As early as the 4th century, there have been alternate theories proposed on the origin of the name Roma. There is archaeological evidence of occupation of the Rome area from approximately 14,000 years ago. Evidence of stone tools, pottery and stone weapons attest to about 10,000 years of human presence, several excavations support the view that Rome grew from pastoral settlements on the Palatine Hill built above the area of the future Roman Forum. Between the end of the age and the beginning of the Iron age. However, none of them had yet an urban quality, nowadays, there is a wide consensus that the city was gradually born through the aggregation of several villages around the largest one, placed above the Palatine. All these happenings, which according to the excavations took place more or less around the mid of the 8th century BC. Despite recent excavations at the Palatine hill, the view that Rome has been indeed founded with an act of will as the legend suggests in the middle of the 8th century BC remains a fringe hypothesis. Traditional stories handed down by the ancient Romans themselves explain the earliest history of their city in terms of legend and myth
11.
President of Italy
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The President of the Italian Republic is the head of state of Italy and, in that role, represents national unity and guarantees that Italian politics comply with the Constitution. The presidents term of office lasts for seven years, the 11th President of the Republic, Giorgio Napolitano, was elected on 10 May 2006, and elected to a second term for the first time in Italian Republic history, on 20 April 2013. On 31 January 2015, the incumbent President, former Constitutional judge Sergio Mattarella, was elected at the ballot with 665 votes out of 1,009. The framers of the Constitution of Italy intended for the President to be a statesman of some stature. Article 84 states that any citizen who is fifty or older on election day and enjoys civil and those citizens who already hold any other office are prohibited from becoming President unless they resign their previous office once they are elected. The 1948 Italian Constitution does not have term limits although until 2013 no Italian President of the Republic had run for a term of office. He made it clear, however, that he would not serve his full term, three representatives come from each region, save for the Aosta Valley, which appoints one, so as to guarantee representation for all localities and minorities. According to the Constitution, the election must be held by a ballot, with the 315 Senators, the 630 Deputies. A two-thirds vote is required to elect on any of the first three rounds of balloting, after that, a majority suffices. The election is presided over by the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, the vote is held in the Palazzo Montecitorio, home of the Chamber of Deputies, which is expanded and re-configured for the event. The President assumes office after having taken an oath before Parliament, the Presidents term may end by, voluntary resignation, death, permanent disability, due to serious illness, dismissal, as for crimes of high treason or an attack on the Constitution. Former Presidents of the Republic are called Presidents Emeritus of the Republic and are appointed Senator for life, in the absence of the President of the Republic, including travel abroad, presidential functions are performed by the President of the Senate. In judicial matters, Presiding over the Consiglio Superiore della Magistratura, Naming one-third of the Constitutional Court, in practice, the Presidents office is mostly, though not entirely, ceremonial. Many of the others are duties that he is required to perform, however, pardons and commutations have been recognized as autonomous powers of the President. The President resides in Rome at the Quirinal Palace, and also has at his disposal the presidential holdings of Castelporziano, near Rome, and Villa Rosebery, in Naples. There is one living former Italian President, Italian presidential election,2015 List of Presidents of Italy Wife of the President of the Italian Republic Official site
12.
Sergio Mattarella
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Sergio Mattarella, OMRI, OMCA is an Italian politician, lawyer and judge who is the 12th and current President of Italy since 2015. He was a member of Parliament from 1983 to 2008, serving as Minister of Education from 1989 to 1990, in 2011, he became an elected judge on the Constitutional Court. On 31 January 2015, he was elected by parliament to be the 12th President of the Italian Republic and he is the first Sicilian to have held the post. Sergio Mattarella was born in Palermo of a prominent Sicilian family, Sergio Mattarellas brother, Piersanti Mattarella, was also a Christian Democratic politician and President of Sicily from 1978 until his death in 1980, when he was killed by the Sicilian Mafia. During his youth, Sergio Mattarella was a member of Azione Cattolica, in 1964, he graduated in law at the Sapienza University of Rome, after a few years he started teaching Parliamentary procedure at the University of Palermo. Mattarella entered politics after the assassination of his brother Piersanti by the Mafia, in 1985 Mattarella helped the young lawyer Leoluca Orlando, who had worked alongside his brother Piersanti during his governorship of Sicily, to become the new Mayor of Palermo. In 1990 Mattarella was appointed Vice-Secretary of Christian Democracy and he left the post two years later to become director of Il Popolo, the official newspaper of the party. Following the Italian referendum of 1993 he drafted the new electoral law nicknamed Mattarellum, in the ensuing 1994 general election Martinazzoli was again elected to the Chamber of Deputies. Following Buttigliones appointment, Mattarella resigned as director of Il Popolo in opposition to this policy, Mattarella was one of the first supporters of the economist Romano Prodi at the head of the centre-left coalition known as The Olive Tree in the 1996 general election. After the electoral victory of the centre-left, Mattarella served as President of the PPIs parliamentary group, after the resignation of DAlema in 2000, Mattarella kept his position as Minister of Defence in the government of Giuliano Amato. In October 2000 the PPI joined with other centrist parties to form an alliance called The Daisy, on 5 October 2011 he was elected by the Italian Parliament with 572 votes to be a judge of the Constitutional Court. He was sworn in on 11 October 2011 and he served until he was sworn in as president of the Republic of Italy. Mattarella was officially endorsed by the Democratic Party, after his name was put forward by the Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, Mattarella replaced Giorgio Napolitano, who had served for nine years, the longest presidency in the history of the Italian Republic. His first statement as new President was, My thoughts go first, Mattarella stated that Europe and the world must be united to defeat whoever wants to drag us into a new age of terror. Candidates run for election in 100 multi-member constituencies with open lists, on 7 December 2016, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi announced his resignation, following the rejection of his proposals in the 2016 Italian constitutional referendum. On 11 December Mattarella appointed the incumbent Minister of Foreign Affairs Paolo Gentiloni as new head of the government and he was married to Marisa Chiazzese, daughter of Lauro Chiazzese, a professor of Roman law and rector of the University of Palermo. Parliamentary profile of Sergio Mattarella in the 15th term of the Italian Chamber of Deputies
13.
Prime Minister of Italy
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The office of Prime Minister is established by Articles 92 through to 96 of the Constitution of Italy. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President of the Republic after each general election, prior to the establishment of the Italian Republic, the position was called President of the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom of Italy. King Victor Emmanuel III removed Mussolini from office in 1943 and the position was restored with Marshal Pietro Badoglio becoming Prime Minister in 1943, Alcide De Gasperi became the first Prime Minister of the Italian Republic in 1946. The Prime Minister is the President of the Council of Ministers—which holds executive power, the position is similar to those in most other parliamentary systems. The formal Italian order of precedence lists the office as being ceremonially the fourth most important Italian state office, as the President of the Council of Ministers the modern Prime Minister leads the Cabinet. In addition the Prime Minister leads a political party and generally commands the majority in the Parliament. Article 95 of the Italian constitution provides that the Prime Minister directs, the Prime Ministers activity has often consisted of mediating between the various parties in the majority coalition, rather than directing the activity of the Council of Ministers. The office was first established in 1848 in Italys predecessor state, the Kingdom of Sardinia—although it was not mentioned in its constitution, from 1848 to 1861 ten Prime Ministers governed the Kingdom, most of them being right-wing politicians. After the Unification of Italy and the establishment of the kingdom, in fact the candidate for office was appointed by the king, and presided over a very unstable political system. The first Prime Minister was Camillo Benso di Cavour, who was appointed on 23 March 1861, from 1861 to 1911 Historical Right and Left Prime Ministers alternatively governed the country. One of the most famous and influential Prime Ministers of this period was Francesco Crispi, a patriot and statesman. He led the country for six years, from 1887 until 1891, Crispi was internationally famous and often mentioned along with world statesmen such as Bismarck, Gladstone and Salisbury. Originally an enlightened Italian patriot and democrat liberal, he went on to become a bellicose authoritarian prime minister, ally, and admirer of Bismarck. His career ended amid controversy and failure due to becoming involved in a banking scandal. He is often seen as a precursor of the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, in 1892 Giovanni Giolitti, a young leftist politician, was elected Prime Minister by king Umberto I, but after less than a year he was forced to resign and Crispi returned to power. In 1903 after a period of instability he was appointed head of the government. Giolitti was the Prime Minister five times between 1892 and 1921 and the second-longest serving Prime Minister in Italian history, after Mussolini, under his influence, the Italian Liberals did not develop as a structured party. They were instead a series of informal personal groupings with no links to political constituencies
14.
Paolo Gentiloni
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Paolo Gentiloni Silveri is an Italian politician who has been Prime Minister of Italy since 12 December 2016. Gentiloni, a member of the Democratic Party, served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 31 October 2014 until December 2016, previously he was Minister of Communications from 2006 to 2008, during the second government of Romano Prodi. Gentiloni has the titles of Nobile of Filottrano, Nobile of Cingoli, born in Rome, he attended the Classical Lyceum Torquato Tasso in the city and graduated in political sciences at the La Sapienza University. Gentiloni was a professional journalist before entering politics, during those years he became a close friend of Chicco Testa who helped Gentiloni to become director of La Nuova Ecologia, the official newspaper of Legambiente. As director of this newspaper he met the young leader of Federation of the Greens. In the 2001 general election, Gentiloni was elected as a Member of Parliament, in 2002 he was a founding member of the Daisy party, being the party’s communications spokesman for five years. From 2005 until 2006, he was Chairman of the Broadcasting Services Watchdog Committee, the committee oversees the activity of state broadcaster RAI and he was re-elected in the 2006 election as a member of The Olive Tree, the political coalition led by the Bolognese economist Romano Prodi. After the centre-lefts victory, Gentiloni served as Minister for Communications in Prodis second government from 2006 until 2008, Gentiloni was re-elected in the 2008 general election, which saw the victory of the conservative coalition led by Silvio Berlusconi. On 6 April 2013 he ran in the election to select the center-left candidate for Mayor of Rome, placing third after Ignazio Marino, who became Mayor. Gentiloni was elected again to the Chamber of Deputies in the 2013 general election, common Good led by Pier Luigi Bersani, Secretary of the PD. In 2013, after Bersanis resignation as Secretary, Gentiloni supported the Mayor of Florence, Matteo Renzi and he took office two months before Italys rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union ended in December 2014. At the time of his appointment, Gentiloni had not been mentioned in political circles as a candidate, Renzi had reportedly wanted to replace Mogherini with another woman, to preserve gender parity in his 16-member cabinet. Also, Gentiloni was not known as a specialist in international diplomacy, the following day Gentiloni was threatened by ISIL, which accused him of being a crusader, minister of an enemy country. In March 2015 Gentiloni visited Mexico and Cuba and met Cuban President Raúl Castro, on 11 July 2015, a car bomb exploded outside the Italian consulate in the Egyptian capital Cairo, resulting in at least one death and four people injured, the Islamic State claimed responsibility. On the same day Gentiloni stated that Italy will be not intimidated, as Foreign Minister, Gentiloni had to confront various abductions of Italian citizens. In January 2015, he negotiated the release of Vanessa Marzullo, on 7 December 2016, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi announced his resignation, following the rejection of his proposals to overhaul the Italian Senate in the 2016 Italian constitutional referendum. A few days later, on 11 December 2016, Gentiloni was asked by President Mattarella to form a new government, on the following day Gentiloni was officially sworn in as the new head of the government. He led a government supported by his own Democratic Party and the Christian democratic Popular Area, composed of the New Centre-Right
15.
Roberta Pinotti
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Roberta Pinotti is an Italian politician. Since 22 February 2014 she has been the Italian Minister of Defence, born in Genoa, Pinotti holds a degree in modern literature and is a teacher of Italian in high schools. She began her career at the end of the 1980s as a district counselor of Italian Communist Party. She later joined the Democratic Party of the Left, the Democratici di Sinistra party, in her hometown she has served as councilor for school, youth policies and social policies and for educational institutions. First elected deputy in 2001, Pinotti was the minister of defense in the Shadow Cabinet of Walter Veltroni between May 2008 and April 2009. In 2013 she was appointed undersecretary of state in the Ministry of Defence in the Letta Cabinet and she received the America Award of the Italy-USA Foundation in 2014. She received criticism in February 2015 over navy recruitment adverts which used slogans written in English. Later that month she hinted that Italy was ready to lead a force to defeat ISIS in Libya, saying, “We have been discussing it for months
16.
General officer
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A general officer is an officer of high rank in the army, and in some nations air forces or marines. The term general is used in two ways, as the title for all grades of general officer and as a specific rank. It originates in the 16th century, as a shortening of captain general, the adjective general had been affixed to officer designations since the late medieval period to indicate relative superiority or an extended jurisdiction. Today, the title of General is known in countries as a four-star rank. However different countries use different systems of stars for senior ranks and it has a NATO code of OF-9 and is the highest rank currently in use in a number of armies. The various grades of general officer are at the top of the rank structure. Lower-ranking officers in military forces are typically known as field officers or field-grade officers. There are two systems of general ranks used worldwide. In addition there is a system, the Arab system of ranks. Variations of one form, the old European system, were used throughout Europe. It is used in the United Kingdom, from which it spread to the Commonwealth. The other is derived from the French Revolution, where ranks are named according to the unit they command. The system used either a general or a colonel general rank. The rank of marshal was used by some countries as the highest rank. Many countries actually used two brigade command ranks, which is why some countries now use two stars as their brigade general insignia, mexico and Argentina still use two brigade command ranks. As a lieutenant outranks a sergeant major, confusion arises because a lieutenant is outranked by a major. Originally the serjeant major was, exclusively, the commander of the infantry, junior only to the captain general, the distinction of serjeant major general only applied after serjeant majors were introduced as a rank of field officer. Serjeant was eventually dropped from both titles, creating the modern rank titles
17.
Claudio Graziano
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General Claudio Graziano is an Italian Army officer. He is a former Force Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, on 6 December 2011 he became the Chief of the Army General Staff of the Italian Army. Since 28 February 2015 Graziano has been the Chief of Defence Staff of the Italian Armed Forces, biographical note from the United Nations Department of Public Information
18.
Guardia di Finanza
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The Guardia di Finanza is an Italian law enforcement agency under the authority of the Minister of Economy and Finance. It is a police force, forming a part of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Guardia di Finanza is essentially responsible for dealing with crime and smuggling. It maintains over 600 boats and ships and more than 100 aircraft to serve in its mission of patrolling Italys territorial waters. The mission and institutional tasks of Guardia di Finanza are stated in the law 189 of April 23,1959 and 68/2001 and are subdivided into priority ones and contribution ones. The origins of the Guardia di Finanza date back to October 5,1774 and this was the first example in Italy of a special corps established and organized for financial surveillance duties along the borders, as well as for military defense. Once the unification of Italy was completed in 1862, the Customs Guards Corps was set up and its main task was Customs surveillance and co-participation in the Countrys defense during wartime. Subsequently, the Corps took part in rescue operations during serious natural disasters. The re-organization of the forces in 1919 also affected the Royal Guardia di Finanza. In 1923, the Investigative Tax Police was set up as a branch of the Royal Financial Guard. Besides the review of its structure, laid out by the issuance of Presidential Decree Law no.34 dated January 29,1999. The Guardia di Finanza Historical Museum is custodian of the traditions of the Corps and it preserves artifacts of relevance to the Guardia di Finanza and promotes historical research, to aid researchers, scholars and military history enthusiasts. In 2005, the Financial Guard was responsible for 77% of the Heroin seizures, 69% of Cocaine seizures and these later turned out to be counterfeit. Under the minister of finance and economy, the corps is commanded by a general commander, comando Aeronavale Central ´Aeronaval Operations Command, with one aeromaritime exploration group, and three aeronaval groups. Aviation Center Naval Center Source, Territorial commands Six interregional commands Regional commands, provincial commands, one for each of Italys provinces. The Guardia di Finanza utilises a rank similar to that of other state police forces in Italy. The Guardia di Finanza has around 68,000 members and its personnel are in service in the Europol and OLAF. Its Latin motto since 1933 has been Nec recisa recedit, there are 3,250 officers in the Guardia di Finanza
19.
Avio
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Avio S. p. A. is an Italian company operating in the aerospace sector with its head office in Rivalta di Torino, Turin, Italy. Founded in 1908, it is present in Italy and abroad with different commercial offices and 10 production sites, the company is active in the field of technological research. It carries out projects in collaboration with 14 among Italian universities and research centres and 10 foreign, aimed at the improvement of product. In 1908, aeronautical production was in its stages in Turin. At that time Fiat decided to design and produce an airplane engine, the first mass-produced engine produced by Fiat was the A10. 1,070 units were created between 1914 and 1915, at point the pioneer age had come to an end. Thus in 1916 the Società Italiana Aviazione was founded, changing its name in 1918 to Fiat Aviazione, in Colleferro, the Bombrini Parodi-Delfino-BPD Company, established in Genoa in 1912, started manufacturing explosives and chemical products, from which the space segment originated. The aeronautical field began in Brindisi with the SACA Company, gradually, other companies began such as the CMASA di Marina Company in Pisa, founded in 1921 by German design engineer Claude Dornier, in collaboration with Rinaldo Piaggio and Attilio Odero. Avio were present in the development and manufacture of engines for the production of electric energy, Fiat started the study of marine engines in 1903. In 1971, production began on large engines in Trieste. The development of a gas turbine was started up through a collaboration agreement stipulated with Westinghouse in 1954, avios experience in this field, combined with the increased availability of methane gas, enabled the development and manufacture of several electric power generation plants in Italy and abroad. The success of the gas led to the decision to leave the segment of large diesel engines in order to focus on this. In 1973, Fiat set up the company Turbomeccanica Turbogas, focusing entirely on the Turin Company’s activities in the energy sector. Situated in a region of Roman countryside, the town of Colleferro began around the industrial site and was elevated to a municipal district in 1935 by Royal Decree. The town grew in correlation with the activities of BPD that, from explosives. The production plants developed and expanded attracting labour, and the provided for social works. In 1927, the BPD Test Centre started to experiment on the first rockets powered by chemical powder, in 1966, following its success with the rockets, BPD entered into a contract with ELDO for the development and production of the apogee boost motor of the ELDO-PAS telecommunications satellite. This led to development in the field of solid-propellant motors, in 1968, the SNIA Viscosa Company took over BPD, which became SNIA-BPD
20.
Beretta
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Fabbrica dArmi Pietro Beretta is a privately held Italian firearms manufacturing company operating in several countries. Its firearms are used worldwide for a variety of civilian, criminal, law enforcement, sporting arms account for three-quarters of sales, Beretta is also known for marketing shooting clothes and accessories. Founded in the 16th century, Beretta is the oldest active manufacturer of components in the world. In 1526 its inaugural product was barrels, by all accounts Beretta-made barrels equipped the Venetian fleet at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. In 1650 the company invented the breech-loading cannon, and Beretta has supplied weapons for every major European war since. Berettas sister company, Beretta USA Corp. located in the United States and it lost the contract in 2017. Val Trompia, a northern Italian river valley in the Province of Brescia, in the Middle Ages, Val Trompia was known for its ironworks, after the Renaissance it came to be a center for the manufacture of weapons. By the mid 16th century Val Trompia had forty ironworks, supplied by fifty mines, the birthplace of Beretta is in the village of Gardone located on the banks of the Mella river, in the middle of Val Trompia. The original account document for the order of those barrels is now stored in the Archivio di Stato di Venezia in Venice, by the end of the 17th century, Beretta had become the second largest gun barrel maker in Gardone. Beretta has been owned by the family for almost five hundred years and is a founding member of Les Henokiens. In 1918, the Beretta Model 1918, one of the first submachine guns in the world, was fielded by the Italian army, Beretta manufactured rifles and pistols for the Italian military until the 1943 Armistice between Italy and the Allied forces during World War II. With the Wehrmachts control of northern Italy, the Germans seized Beretta, in that time, the quality of the exterior finish of the weapons diminished and was much more inferior to both the pre-war and mid-war weapons, but their operation remained excellent. The last shipment of Type I Rifles left Venice for Japan in a U-boat in 1942, after World War II, Beretta was actively involved in repairing the American M1 Garands given to Italy by the U. S. After the war, Beretta continued to develop firearms for the Italian Army and police, in the 1980s, Beretta enjoyed a renewal of popularity in North America after its Beretta 92 pistol was selected as the service handgun for the United States Army under the designation of M9 pistol. In the 1970s, Beretta also started a plant in São Paulo. A contract between Beretta and the Brazilian government was signed, under which Beretta produced Beretta 92s for the Brazilian Army until 1980, Beretta acquired several domestic competitors and some foreign companies in the late 1980s. Today, Fabbrica dArmi Pietro Beretta is run by Franco Gussalli Beretta, President and his sons are now direct descendants through their mothers side of the family. The parent company, Beretta Holding, also owns Beretta USA, Benelli, Franchi, SAKO, Stoeger, Tikka, Uberti, the model Beretta 92FS is the primary side arm of the United States Army, Marine Corps and Air Force, designated the M9 pistol
21.
CNH Industrial
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CNH Industrial is one of the worlds largest capital goods companies, registered in the Netherlands with corporate offices in London. It is financially controlled by the Italian investment company Exor, which belongs to the Agnelli family, present in all major markets worldwide, CNH Industrial is focused on expanding its presence in high-growth markets, including through joint ventures. CNH Industrial currently employs over 64,000 people in a 180 countries around the world and they operate with 64 manufacturing plants and have 50 centres for research and development. CNH Industrial N. V. was incorporated in November 2012 and became operational at the end of September 2013 following the integration of Fiat Industrial S. p. A. and CNH Global. Fiat Industrial, a leader in the capital goods sector, was created on January 1,2011 through the demerger of CNH, Iveco. One of the top players worldwide in the agricultural and construction equipment sectors, CNH was created in November 1999 through the merger of New Holland N. V. and Case Corporation. The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and on Borsa Italiana, Case IH Steyr Case Construction Equipment New Holland Agriculture New Holland Construction Iveco Astra Iveco Bus Heuliez Bus Magirus Iveco Defence Vehicles FPT Industrial CNH Global Fiat Industrial
22.
Fincantieri
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Fincantieri - Cantieri Navali Italiani S. p. A. is an Italian shipbuilding company based in Trieste, Italy. It was formed in 1959 and is owned by the Italian state through Fintecna, already the largest shipbuilder in Europe, after the acquisition of VARD in 2013 the Fincantieri group doubled in size to become the fourth largest in the world. The company builds both commercial and military vessels, the company is listed on the Borsa Italiana and is a component of FTSE Italia Mid Cap Index. Fincantieri designs and builds merchant vessels, passenger ships, offshore, and naval vessels, the company also owned Grandi Motori Trieste, which constructed marine diesel engines, but this was sold to Wärtsilä in 1999. Founded in 1959 as Società Finanziaria Cantieri Navali – Fincantieri S. p. A. as a State financial holding company, part of IRI, today Fincantieri is one of Europes largest shipbuilding groups and the largest in the Mediterranean. Fincantieri employs a staff of about 10,000 working at eight shipyards, already the largest shipbuilder in Europe, after the acquisition of Vard the Fincantieri group doubled in size to become the fourth largest in the world. In March 2015, Fincantieri won its biggest ever independent order from Carnival Corporation & plc in a 4 billion euro deal commissioning the company to five new cruise ships
23.
Fiocchi Munizioni
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Fiocchi Munizioni is one of Italys largest and oldest manufacturers of ammunition. The Companys headquarters and main plant are in Via Santa Barbara in Lecco. Fiocchi Munizioni was founded on 3 July 1876 in Lecco, Italy, in 1876, Giulio Fiocchi took over the ammunition production part of a weapon and ammunition company already based in Lecco, which produced small caliber ammunition. At that time a change was introduced in firearms, the newly developed breech-loader replaced the traditional muzzle loader. Fiocchi started manufacturing cases with primers suitable for reloading, in the early 1890s production was extended to complete cartridges loaded with bullets or shot, at the same time, Fiocchi gave up the production of black powder, as it was no longer profitable. At the beginning of 20th century, Fiocchi introduced a product diversification and this brought to the creation of Fiocchi Snaps in 1903. During its long life, Fiocchi has manufactured all kinds of ammunition from pinfire, shotshells and they are known for manufacturing rarer cartridges for collectors and enthusiasts, for example the.455 Webley. Its presence and production sites are also in the United States, in 2008 Fiocchi UK was opened in Great Britain. In 2011 newly developed 12GA shot shells filled with chemical tracer Cyalume in which allows the shooter to see where the shots are going, the tracer shots are non-toxic and biodegradable and packaged in a sealed metal can in Fiocchis line of Canned Heat ammunition. The Canned Heat line of ammunition allows a greater shelf life and maintaining quality of the ammo throughout shipping, retail shelf, Fiocchi Munizioni is still entirely owned by private capital heading to the Fiocchi Family
24.
Leonardo S.p.A.
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Leonardo S. p. A. formerly Leonardo-Finmeccanica and Finmeccanica, is an Italian multinational aerospace, defence and security company headquartered in Rome in Italy and with operations worldwide. It is the ninth-largest defence contractor in the based on applicable 2014 revenues. The company is owned by the Italian government through the Ministry of Economy and Finance. On 1 January 2016, Leonardo-Finmeccanica became an industrial company by integrating the activities of its subsidiaries AgustaWestland, Alenia Aermacchi, Selex ES, Oto Melara. Leonardo-Finmeccanica is listed on the Borsa Italiana and is a constituent of the FTSE MIB, the company changed its name to Leonardo S. p. A. on 1 January 2017, after the Italian inventor Leonardo Da Vinci. The company was established in 1948 as a subholding for mechanical industry of state owned IRI, Finmeccanica has held for years some historic Italian enterprises, such as Alfa Romeo, Aeritalia and Ansaldo. In 1989 an internal IRI reorganization process brought STET electronic enterprises to Finmeccanica, Finmeccanica, which was previously fully state owned by IRI, went under a privatization process in 1993, when it was listed in Milan Borsa Italiana. In 1992 Finmeccanicas Agusta became a 32% partner in NHIndustries, the contractor for NH90 helicopter. In July 2000 Finmeccanica and the British GKN agreed to merge their respective helicopter subsidiaries to form AgustaWestland, in July 2003 Finmeccanica and BAE Systems announced their intention to set up three joint venture companies, to be collectively known as Eurosystems. These companies would have pooled the avionics, C4ISTAR and communications businesses of the two companies, in March 2007 BAE Systems sold its 25% share to Finmeccanica for €400 million. In January 2013 the company merged with Finmeccanicas other defence electronics companies, SELEX Elsag and SELEX Sistemi Integrati, in May 2008 Finmeccanica announced its intention to purchase the U. S. defense contractor DRS Technologies for nearly $5.2 billion. On 22 October 2008 the sale of DRS Technologies was finalized, during 2011–2013, Finmeccanica emails were published by WikiLeaks and Finmeccanica was subject to judicial inquiries on several fronts and management changes. On 12 February 2013, the executive, Giuseppe Orsi, was arrested on corruption charges. Prosecutors alleged that he paid bribes to ensure the sale of 12 helicopters to the Indian government, in July 2013, the Letta government appointed former police chief Giovanni De Gennaro as Chairman of Finmeccanica. In December 2013 Finmeccanica sold 39. 55% of its capital in Ansaldo Energia to Fondo Strategico Italiano. The remaining 15% of Finmeccanicas share will be sold by December 31,2017, the goal was to create a more cohesive and efficient group in which all processes are centralized and integrated and can interact more effectively. This encompasses the 100% owned companies of the aerospace and defence business being transformed into seven new Finmeccanica divisions. At the end of 2014, Finmeccanica transferred its stake in BredaMenarinibus to the newco Industria Italiana Autobus, thereby taking a further step in the Groups portfolio rationalization process
25.
Piaggio Aerospace
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Piaggio Aerospace, formerly Piaggio Aero Industries S. p. A. is a multinational aerospace manufacturing company headquartered in Genoa, Italy. Its origins date back to the former Rinaldo Piaggio S. p. A. company, Piaggio Aero Industries was established in its current form in November 1998, when a group of shareholders headed by Piero Ferrari and Josè Di Mase acquired the assets of Rinaldo Piaggio. Piaggio Aero Industries designs, develops, constructs and maintains aircraft, aero-engines and it has a subsidiary in the United States, Piaggio America, located at West Palm Beach, Florida. Piaggio was founded in Genoa in 1884, originally outfitting ocean liners, due to financial gains in this industry, Rinaldo Piaggio was able to build a factory in 1906 in Final Marina. Today, the site of Piaggios facility is in Finale Ligure, together they created modern technical solutions for aviation, that brought forth the design and build of the worlds first helicopter. Senator Rinaldo Piaggio died in 1938, at 71 years old, when the battles of World War II left the companys facilities in ruins, it was Rinaldos sons Enrico, inventor of the Vespa motor scooter, and Armando, who began the rebuilding process. 1948 was the year Piaggio launched the Piaggio P.136, a seaplane, that was operated by the Italian Air Force. Due to the increase of basic training, the German Air Force ordered 265 Piaggio P.149 units in 1953. By 1957 Piaggio created the Piaggio P.166 light transport aircraft that was marketed and produced for the military, in 1960, Piaggio, under the license of the Rolls Royce Viper and started manufacturing jet engines. This move led to the expansion of Piaggios current business, in 1966, the company separated into two separate entities, one was Vespa motor scooter and the other Piaggio Aero. Though one focused on the developments of the scooter and the other on aeronautical. By 1998, the assets of Rinaldo Piaggio S. p. A. exchanged hands and this acquiring of assets brought Piaggio Aero Industries back to its roots, as a designer and producer of business aircraft. In 2006 Mubadala Development Company, acquired a 35% stake Piaggio Aero Industries S. p. A, Mubadala Development Company is a wholly owned investment vehicle of the Government of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. As part of the acquisition Tata gained the right to appoint three of the nine seats on the board, and one of the three seats on the management committee. In 2015, Mubadla Development Company has Acquired 100% of the capital stock, the final aircraft assembly and flight-testing of aircraft is located at main facility in Genoa, which includes the corporate headquarters. Also located here is the Companys new JAR145 certified service center, Piaggio Aero also operates two additional service centers, one at Romes Ciampino Airport and the other at the Pratica di Mare Air Base. These service centers provide support services to commercial, government and military customers, aircraft and engine component manufacturing operations, general engineering, and engine maintenance and overhaul are all undertaken at Finale Ligure. Operations include a center and two production areas, one for engines and sheet metal parts, another for major aircraft sub-assemblies
26.
European Union
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The European Union is a political and economic union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe. It has an area of 4,475,757 km2, the EU has developed an internal single market through a standardised system of laws that apply in all member states. Within the Schengen Area, passport controls have been abolished, a monetary union was established in 1999 and came into full force in 2002, and is composed of 19 EU member states which use the euro currency. The EU operates through a system of supranational and intergovernmental decision-making. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community, the community and its successors have grown in size by the accession of new member states and in power by the addition of policy areas to its remit. While no member state has left the EU or its antecedent organisations, the Maastricht Treaty established the European Union in 1993 and introduced European citizenship. The latest major amendment to the basis of the EU. The EU as a whole is the largest economy in the world, additionally,27 out of 28 EU countries have a very high Human Development Index, according to the United Nations Development Programme. In 2012, the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, through the Common Foreign and Security Policy, the EU has developed a role in external relations and defence. The union maintains permanent diplomatic missions throughout the world and represents itself at the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the G7, because of its global influence, the European Union has been described as an emerging superpower. After World War II, European integration was seen as an antidote to the nationalism which had devastated the continent. 1952 saw the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community, the supporters of the Community included Alcide De Gasperi, Jean Monnet, Robert Schuman, and Paul-Henri Spaak. These men and others are credited as the Founding fathers of the European Union. In 1957, Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany signed the Treaty of Rome and they also signed another pact creating the European Atomic Energy Community for co-operation in developing nuclear energy. Both treaties came into force in 1958, the EEC and Euratom were created separately from the ECSC, although they shared the same courts and the Common Assembly. The EEC was headed by Walter Hallstein and Euratom was headed by Louis Armand, Euratom was to integrate sectors in nuclear energy while the EEC would develop a customs union among members. During the 1960s, tensions began to show, with France seeking to limit supranational power, Jean Rey presided over the first merged Commission. In 1973, the Communities enlarged to include Denmark, Ireland, Norway had negotiated to join at the same time, but Norwegian voters rejected membership in a referendum
27.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
28.
Military history of Italy
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The military history of Italy chronicles a vast time period, lasting from the overthrow of Tarquinius Superbus in 509 BC, through the Roman Empire, Italian unification, and into the modern day. The Etruscans were settled north of Rome in Etruria and they founded cities like Tarquinia, Veii and Volterra and deeply influenced Roman culture, as clearly shown by the Etruscan origin of some of the mythical Roman kings. The origins of the Etruscans are lost in prehistory, historians have no literature, no texts of religion or philosophy, therefore much of what is known about this civilization is derived from grave goods and tomb findings. The Italics were war-like as the Etruscans, the Italics and the Etruscans had a significant military tradition. In addition to marking the rank and power of individuals in their culture, warfare was a considerable economic boon to their civilization. It is also likely individuals taken in battle would be ransomed back to their families, the Greeks had founded many colonies in Southern Italy, such as Cumae, Naples and Taranto, as well as in the eastern two-thirds of Sicily, between 750 and 550 BC. After 650 BC, the Etruscans became dominant in central Italy, the early Roman army was, like those of other contemporary city-states influenced by Greek civilization, a citizen militia which practiced hoplite tactics. It was small and organized in five classes, with three providing hoplites and two providing light infantry, the early Roman army was tactically limited and its stance during this period was essentially defensive. Thirty maniples arranged in three lines with supporting troops constituted a legion, totaling between 4,000 and 5,000 men, with the new organization came a new orientation toward the offensive and a much more aggressive posture toward adjoining city-states. Legions were often significantly understrength from recruitment failures or following periods of service due to accidents, battle casualties, disease. This pattern also held true for auxiliary forces, harris suggests that down to 200 BC, the average rural farmer might participate in six or seven campaigns. Freedmen and slaves and urban citizens did not serve except in rare emergencies, after 200 BC, economic conditions in rural areas deteriorated as manpower needs increased, so that the property qualifications for service were gradually reduced. Terms of service became continuous and long—up to twenty years if emergencies required it although Brunt argues that six or seven years was more typical, cavalry and light infantry attached to a legion were often recruited in the areas where the legion served. Caesar formed a legion, the Fifth Alaudae, from non-citizens in Transalpine Gaul to serve in his campaigns in Gaul, by the time of Caesar Augustus, the ideal of the citizen-soldier had been abandoned and the legions had become fully professional. Legionaries were paid 900 sesterces a year and could expect a payment of 12,000 sesterces on retirement, at the end of the Civil War, Augustus reorganized Roman military forces, discharging soldiers and disbanding legions. He retained 28 legions, distributed through the provinces of the Empire, during the Principate, the tactical organization of the Army continued to evolve. The auxilia remained independent cohorts, and legionary troops often operated as groups of cohorts rather than as full legions and this increase in organizational flexibility over time helped ensure the long-term success of Roman military forces. The Emperor Gallienus began a reorganization that created the military structure of the late Empire
29.
Royal Italian Army
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The Royal Italian Army was the army of the Kingdom of Italy from the unification of Italy in 1861 to the birth of the Italian Republic in 1946. In World War II the Royal Army fought first as part of the Axis, after the monarchy ended, the army changed its name to become the Italian Army. The Regio Esercito dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, on 4 May 1861, Manfredo Fanti signed the creation decree, by which the new army was to replace the previous Armata Sarda and the Army of the Two Sicilies. On 20 September 1870, the IV Corps captured Rome, which had remained under Papal control up until then, on 8 February 1885, a corps of fewer than 1,000 soldiers landed at Massaua, Eritrea, starting the creation of an Italian colonial empire. The Italian advance was halted by a defeat at the Battle of Adwa by Ethiopian forces. The following year, as part of the Italian collaboration with the pacification program after the revolt against the Turkish domination in Cyprus. On 14 July 1900, another force was constituted to suppress the Boxer Rebellion in China in defense of the European protectorates. On 3 October 1911, Italy invaded Libya as part of the Italo-Turkish War, the war against the Ottoman Empire ended with the signing of the First Treaty of Lausanne in Ouchy, near Lausanne, Switzerland. The Royal Italian Armys first experience with modern warfare was in World War I, the war was fought mostly on the Italian Front in Northern Italy, costing the Italian Army serious casualties, including some 700,000 dead. The Regio Esercito was one of the largest ground forces in World War II, many Italian divisions were reinforced by a MVSN Gruppo di Assalto of two battalions due to the small size of the divisions. In 1943, Italy surrendered and split into the Italian Social Republic, which fielded its own army, the Kingdom was ultimately replaced by the Italian Republic in 1946, and the Royal Army accordingly changed its name to become the Esercito Italiano
30.
Regia Marina
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The Royal Navy was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the birth of the Italian Republic, the Royal Navy changed its name to Military Navy, the Regia Marina was established on 17 March 1861 following the proclamation of the formation of the Kingdom of Italy. These problems were compounded by the continuation of separate officer schools at Genoa and Naples and these innovations quickly made older warships obsolete. The new navys baptism of fire came on 20 July 1866 at the Battle of Lissa during the Third Italian War of Independence, the battle was fought against the Austrian Empire and occurred near the island of Vis in the Adriatic sea. The Italian fleet, commanded by Admiral Persano, mustered 12 ironclad and 17 wooden-hulled ships, though only one, in 1896 the corvette Magenta completed a circumnavigation of the world. The following year the Regia Marina conducted experiments with Guglielmo Marconi in the use of radio communications,1909 saw the first use of aircraft with the fleet. An Italian naval officer, Vittorio Cuniberti, was the first in 1903 to envision in an article the all-big gun battleship design. In 1911 and 1912, the Regia Marina was involved in the Italo-Turkish War against forces of the Ottoman Empire, in the Red Sea the Italian forces were vastly superior to those of the Ottomans who only possessed a squadron of gunboats there. These were destroyed while attempting to withdraw into the Mediterranean at the Battle of Kunfuda Bay, during the war, the Regia Marina spent its major efforts in the Adriatic Sea, fighting the Austro-Hungarian Navy. Considered a relatively minor part of the warfare of World War I. For most of the war the Italian and Austro-Hungarian navies each kept a relatively passive watch over their adversaries, the Italian fleet lost the pre-dreadnought battleship Benedetto Brin at Brindisi and the dreadnought Leonardo da Vinci at Taranto due to a magazine explosion. The battleship SMS Tegetthoff was handed over to Italy as a war prize in 1919, during the interwar years the Italian government set about modernizing the Regia Marina in a way that could enable it to reach dominance over the Mediterranean Sea. Italian naval construction was limited by the Washington Naval Conference, the 1922 treaty required a parity in naval forces between the Italian and French navies, with equality in total displacement in battleships and carriers. The treaty influenced the development of the Italian fleet over the years between the two world wars, much of these new naval units were responses to French naval constructions, as the Marine nationale was seen until the mid 1930s as the most likely enemy in a hypothetical conflict. In theory this would allow them to engage or break off at their own choosing, New guns were developed with longer ranges than their British counterparts of similar caliber. Speed was emphasized in their new construction, subsequently, newer Italian cruisers such as the Giovanni dalle Bande Nere were built with a newly designed and relatively thin armour. The armor of these vessels was 24 mm, as compared to 102 mm on their contemporaries and this would have a decisive role in a number of naval battles, including the Battle of Cape Spada. The modernization work on the four Great War era battleships turned into a significant reconstruction project, the ships guns were upgraded in main armament, going from 13 guns of 305mm diameter, to 10 guns of 320mm diameter
31.
Regia Aeronautica
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The Italian Royal Air Force was the name of the air force of the Kingdom of Italy. It was established as an independent of the Royal Italian Army from 1923 until 1946. In 1946, the monarchy was abolished and the Kingdom of Italy became the Italian Republic, during World War I, the Italian Corpo Aeronautico Militare, then still part of the Regio Esercito, operated a mix of French fighters and locally-built bombers, notably the gigantic Caproni aircraft. The Regia Marina had its own air arm, operating locally-built flying boats, the Italian air force became an independent service—the Regia Aeronautica—on March 28,1923. This pioneering achievement was organized and led by General of Aviation Italo Balbo, during the latter half of the 1930s, the Regia Aeronautica participated in the Spanish Civil War, as well as the invasions of Ethiopia and Albania. The first test for the new Italian Royal Air force came in October 1935, during the final stages of the war, Regia Aeronautica deployed up to 386 aircraft, operating from Eritrea and Somalia. The Italian aviators did not have any opposition in the air, as the Imperial Ethiopian Air Force had just 15 transport and liaison aircraft, only nine of which were serviceable. However the Regia Aeronautica lost 72 planes and 122 aircrew members while supporting the operations of the Regio Esercito, and after the end of hostilities, on 5 May 1936, for the following 13 months the Regia Aeronautica had to assist Italian forces in fighting Ethiopian guerrillas. During the Spanish Civil War Italian pilots fought alongside Spanish Nationalist and this deployment took place from July 1936 to March 1939 and complimented an expeditionary force of Italian ground troops titled Corps of Volunteer Troops. In Spain, the Italian pilots were under command of the Spanish Nationalists and took part in training. The Aviazione legionaria achieved approximately 500 air victories, losing 86 aircraft in air combat, the Regia Aeronautica played a limited role during the Italian invasion of Albania. When World War II began in 1939, Italy had the smallest air force among the three major Axis powers, with a paper strength of 3,296 machines, only 2,000 were fit for operations, of which just 166 were modern fighters. The Macchi MC.200 and Fiat G.50 were the best available but were slower than potential Allied fighters. While numerically still a force to be reckoned with, it was hampered by the aircraft industry which was using obsolete production methods. Technical assistance provided by its German ally did little to improve the situation, on 10 June 1940, during the closing days of the Battle of France, Italy declared war on France and the United Kingdom. On 13 June, Fiat CR. 42s attacked French air bases, two days later, CR. 42s from 3° Stormo and 53° Stormo attacked again French Air Force bases and clashed with Dewoitine D. 520s and Bloch MB. 152s, claiming eight kills for five losses. The Regia Aeronautica carried out 716 bombing missions in support of the Italian invasion of France by the Regio Esercito, Italian aircraft dropped a total of 276 tons of bombs. Only about 80 long tons of bombs were dropped on the targets, during this short war, Regia Aeronautica lost 10 aircraft in aerial combat and 24 aircrew personnel, while claiming 10 kills and 40 French planes destroyed on the ground
32.
Italian language
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By most measures, Italian, together with Sardinian, is the closest to Latin of the Romance languages. Italian is a language in Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City. Italian is spoken by minorities in places such as France, Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Crimea and Tunisia and by large expatriate communities in the Americas. Many speakers are native bilinguals of both standardized Italian and other regional languages, Italian is the fourth most studied language in the world. Italian is a major European language, being one of the languages of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. It is the third most widely spoken first language in the European Union with 65 million native speakers, including Italian speakers in non-EU European countries and on other continents, the total number of speakers is around 85 million. Italian is the working language of the Holy See, serving as the lingua franca in the Roman Catholic hierarchy as well as the official language of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Italian is known as the language of music because of its use in musical terminology and its influence is also widespread in the arts and in the luxury goods market. Italian has been reported as the fourth or fifth most frequently taught foreign language in the world, Italian was adopted by the state after the Unification of Italy, having previously been a literary language based on Tuscan as spoken mostly by the upper class of Florentine society. Its development was influenced by other Italian languages and to some minor extent. Its vowels are the second-closest to Latin after Sardinian, unlike most other Romance languages, Italian retains Latins contrast between short and long consonants. As in most Romance languages, stress is distinctive, however, Italian as a language used in Italy and some surrounding regions has a longer history. What would come to be thought of as Italian was first formalized in the early 14th century through the works of Tuscan writer Dante Alighieri, written in his native Florentine. Dante is still credited with standardizing the Italian language, and thus the dialect of Florence became the basis for what would become the language of Italy. Italian was also one of the recognised languages in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Italy has always had a dialect for each city, because the cities. Those dialects now have considerable variety, as Tuscan-derived Italian came to be used throughout Italy, features of local speech were naturally adopted, producing various versions of Regional Italian. Even in the case of Northern Italian languages, however, scholars are not to overstate the effects of outsiders on the natural indigenous developments of the languages
33.
Constitution of Italy
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The Constitution of the Italian Republic was enacted by the Constituent Assembly on 22 December 1947, with 453 votes in favour and 62 against. The text, which has since been amended 15 times, was promulgated in the edition of Gazzetta Ufficiale No.298 on 27 December 1947. The Constituent Assembly was elected by universal suffrage on 2 June 1946, the Constitution came into force on 1 January 1948, one century after the Statuto Albertino had been enacted. Although the latter remained in force after Benito Mussolinis March on Rome in 1922, wherever an Italian died to redeem freedom and dignity, go there young people and ponder, because that was where our Constitution was born. All the different political and social views of the Assembly contributed in shaping and influencing the final text of the Constitution and this has been repeatedly described as the constitutional compromise, and all the parties that shaped the Constitution were referred to as the arco costituzionale. These members came from all walks of life, including politicians, philosophers and partisans and it is important to note that the Constitution primarily contains general principles, it is not possible to apply them directly. As with many written constitutions, only few articles are considered to be self-executing, the majority require enabling legislation, referred to as accomplishment of constitution. This process has taken decades and some contend that, due to political considerations. While the Principles recognise a central government and the integrity of the State, they also recognise and promote local autonomies. They also promote scientific, technical and cultural development, and safeguard the environmental, historical, the State and the Church are recognised as independent and sovereign, each within its own sphere. In fact, the treaty was modified by a new agreement between church and state in 1984. The last of the Principles establishes the Italian tricolour as the Flag of Italy, green, white and red, articles 13–28 are the Italian equivalent of a bill of rights in common law jurisdictions. Every citizen is free to travel, both outside and inside the territory of the Republic, with restrictions granted only for eventual health, security, citizens have the right to freely assemble, both in private and public places, peacefully and unarmed. Notifications to the authorities is required only for meetings on public lands. The Constitution recognises the freedom of association, within the limits of criminal law, secret associations and organisations having military character are forbidden. Freedom of expression, press and religion are guaranteed in public places, for example, hate speech, calumny and obscenity in the public sphere are considered criminal offences by the Italian Criminal Code. Every citizen is protected from persecution and cannot be subjected to personal or financial burden outside of the law. The right to a trial is guaranteed, with everyone having the right to protect their rights regardless of their economic status
34.
Italian Parliament
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The Italian Parliament is the national parliament of the Italian Republic. The Parliament is the body of Italian citizens and is the successor to the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia. It is a legislature with 950 elected members and a small number of unelected members. The two houses are independent from one another and never meet jointly except under circumstances specified by the Constitution, on the other hand, no distinction is made between deputies and senators. The Chamber of Deputies has 630 elected members, while the Senate has 315 elected members, the Senate of the Republic also includes a small number of unelected members. There are two categories of senators for life, former Presidents of the Republic are senators for life by law, unless they renounce this privilege. Furthermore, Presidents of the Republic can appoint up to five Italian citizens as senators for life for outstanding merits in the social, scientific, artistic or literary field. Similarly, the two houses have a different age of candidacy, deputies are required to be 25 or older, no explicit age limit is required to be appointed senator for life. The main prerogative of the Parliament is the exercise of legislative power, for a bill to become law, it must receive the support of both houses independently in the same text. A bill is first introduced in one of the houses, amended, and then approved or rejected, if approved, it is passed to the other house, if approved without amendments, the bill is then promulgated by the President of the Republic and becomes law. If approved with amendments, it is back to the other house. The process continues until the bill is approved in the text by both houses or is rejected by one house. The Council of Ministers, which is led by the Prime Minister and is the executive of Italy. If the President of the Republic is unable to find a new Prime Minister able to receive the support of both houses, he or she can dissolve one or both houses and new elections are held. The process by which the Italian Parliament makes law, the iter legis, is as follows, proposals can be made by the Government, individual Members of Parliament, private citizens, individual Regional Councils, and the National Council for Economics and Labour. Once a proposal is introduced in one of the two Chambers, it is assigned to a committee to carry out preliminary inspection of the proposal. At this point, two different procedures can be taken and this must be completed in no more than four months for the Chamber of Deputies and two months for the Senate. Once the bill has come before one of the chambers, a discussion takes place, followed by the review article by article, and finally a vote on the whole bill
35.
Politics of Italy
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Politics of Italy is conducted through a constitutional republic with a multi-party system. The executive power is exercised collectively by the Council of Ministers, legislative power is vested in the two houses of parliament primarily, and secondarily on the Council of Ministers, which can introduce bills and holds the majority in the parliament. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislative branches and it is headed by the High Council of the Judiciary. The president is the head of state, though his position is separate from all branches, the current President is Sergio Mattarella and the current Prime Minister of Italy is Paolo Gentiloni. Article 1 of the Italian Constitution states Italy is a democratic Republic founded on labour, sovereignty belongs to the people and is exercised by the people in the forms and within the limits of the Constitution. By stating that Italy is a republic, the article solemnly declares the results of the constitutional referendum which took place on 2 June 1946. The State is not a property of the ruling monarch. The people who are called to administer the republic are not owners, but servants, and the governed are not subjects. And the sovereignty, that is the power to make choices that involve the community, belongs to the people, in accordance with the concept of a democracy, from the Greek demos. This power, however, is not to be exercised arbitrarily, as the head of state, the President of the Republic represents the unity of the nation and has many of the duties previously given to the king of Italy. The President serves as a point of connection between the three branches, he is elected by the lawmakers, he appoints the executive, and is the president of the judiciary, the president is also commander-in-chief in the time of war. These delegates are elected by their respective Regional Councils so as to guarantee representation to minorities, the election needs a wide majority that is progressively reduced from two-thirds to one-half plus one of the votes after the third ballot. The only Presidents ever to be elected on the first ballot are Francesco Cossiga, mr. Ciampi was replaced by Giorgio Napolitano, who was elected on 10 May 2006. While it is not forbidden by law, no president had ever served two terms, until 20 April 2013, when president Giorgio Napolitano was re-elected. According to the Constitution, any citizen that is fifty on the day of the election, the President cannot hold office in any other branch of power, and the offices salary and privileges are established by law. The President also presides over the High Council of the Judiciary, usually, the President tries to stay out of the political debate, and to be an institutional guarantee for all those involved in the political process. The president can also reject openly anti-constitutional acts as the guardian of the Constitution of Italy, with article 48 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to vote, the people exercise their power through their elected representatives in the Parliament. The Italian legislative branch has rights to declare war with a majority vote, the Parliament has a bicameral system, and consists of the Chamber of deputies and the Senate, elected every five years
36.
Boxer Rebellion
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The Boxer Rebellion, Boxer Uprising or Yihequan Movement a violent anti-foreign and anti-Christian uprising that took place in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty. The uprising took place against a background of severe drought and the disruption caused by the growth of foreign spheres of influence, Foreigners and Chinese Christians sought refuge in the Legation Quarter. Diplomats, foreign civilians and soldiers as well as Chinese Christians in the Legation Quarter were placed under siege by the Imperial Army of China, Chinese officialdom was split between those supporting the Boxers and those favoring conciliation, led by Prince Qing. The supreme commander of the Chinese forces, the Manchu General Ronglu, the Eight-Nation Alliance, after being initially turned back, brought 20,000 armed troops to China, defeated the Imperial Army, and captured Beijing on August 14, lifting the siege of the Legations. Uncontrolled plunder of the capital and the surrounding countryside ensued, along with the execution of those suspected of being Boxers. The Empress Dowager then sponsored a set of institutional and fiscal changes in an attempt to save the dynasty by reforming it. The Righteous and Harmonious Fists arose in the sections of the northern coastal province of Shandong long known for social unrest, religious sects. American Christian missionaries were probably the first to refer to the well-trained, athletic men as Boxers, because of the martial arts. Their primary practice was a type of possession which involved the whirling of swords, violent prostrations. The opportunities to fight back Western encroachment and colonization were especially attractive to unemployed village men, the tradition of possession and invulnerability went back several hundred years but took on special meaning against the powerful new weapons of the West. The Boxers, armed with rifles and swords, claimed supernatural invulnerability towards blows of cannon, rifle shots, furthermore, the Boxer groups popularly claimed that millions of soldiers of Heaven would descend to assist them in purifying China of foreign oppression. The Big Swords, emboldened by this support, also attacked their local Catholic village rivals. The Big Swords responded by attacking Catholic churches and burning them, the line between Christians and bandits, remarks one recent historian, became increasingly indistinct. As a result of pressure in the capital, Yuxian executed several Big Sword leaders. More martial secret societies started emerging after this, the early years saw a variety of village activities, not a broad movement or a united purpose. Martial folk religious societies such as the Baguadao prepared the way for the Boxers, like the Red Boxing school or the Plum Flower Boxers, the Boxers of Shandong were more concerned with traditional social and moral values, such as filial piety, than with foreign influences. One leader, for instance, Zhu Hongdeng, started as a healer, specializing in skin ulcers. Zhu claimed descent from Ming dynasty emperors, since his surname was the surname of the Ming imperial family and he announced that his goal was to Revive the Qing and destroy the foreigners
37.
Ottoman Empire
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After 1354, the Ottomans crossed into Europe, and with the conquest of the Balkans the Ottoman Beylik was transformed into a transcontinental empire. The Ottomans ended the Byzantine Empire with the 1453 conquest of Constantinople by Mehmed the Conqueror, at the beginning of the 17th century the empire contained 32 provinces and numerous vassal states. Some of these were later absorbed into the Ottoman Empire, while others were granted various types of autonomy during the course of centuries. With Constantinople as its capital and control of lands around the Mediterranean basin, while the empire was once thought to have entered a period of decline following the death of Suleiman the Magnificent, this view is no longer supported by the majority of academic historians. The empire continued to maintain a flexible and strong economy, society, however, during a long period of peace from 1740 to 1768, the Ottoman military system fell behind that of their European rivals, the Habsburg and Russian Empires. While the Empire was able to hold its own during the conflict, it was struggling with internal dissent. Starting before World War I, but growing increasingly common and violent during it, major atrocities were committed by the Ottoman government against the Armenians, Assyrians and Pontic Greeks. The word Ottoman is an anglicisation of the name of Osman I. Osmans name in turn was the Turkish form of the Arabic name ʿUthmān, in Ottoman Turkish, the empire was referred to as Devlet-i ʿAlīye-yi ʿOsmānīye, or alternatively ʿOsmānlı Devleti. In Modern Turkish, it is known as Osmanlı İmparatorluğu or Osmanlı Devleti, the Turkish word for Ottoman originally referred to the tribal followers of Osman in the fourteenth century, and subsequently came to be used to refer to the empires military-administrative elite. In contrast, the term Turk was used to refer to the Anatolian peasant and tribal population, the term Rūmī was also used to refer to Turkish-speakers by the other Muslim peoples of the empire and beyond. In Western Europe, the two names Ottoman Empire and Turkey were often used interchangeably, with Turkey being increasingly favored both in formal and informal situations and this dichotomy was officially ended in 1920–23, when the newly established Ankara-based Turkish government chose Turkey as the sole official name. Most scholarly historians avoid the terms Turkey, Turks, and Turkish when referring to the Ottomans, as the power of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum declined in the 13th century, Anatolia was divided into a patchwork of independent Turkish principalities known as the Anatolian Beyliks. One of these beyliks, in the region of Bithynia on the frontier of the Byzantine Empire, was led by the Turkish tribal leader Osman, osmans early followers consisted both of Turkish tribal groups and Byzantine renegades, many but not all converts to Islam. Osman extended the control of his principality by conquering Byzantine towns along the Sakarya River and it is not well understood how the early Ottomans came to dominate their neighbours, due to the scarcity of the sources which survive from this period. One school of thought which was popular during the twentieth century argued that the Ottomans achieved success by rallying religious warriors to fight for them in the name of Islam, in the century after the death of Osman I, Ottoman rule began to extend over Anatolia and the Balkans. Osmans son, Orhan, captured the northwestern Anatolian city of Bursa in 1326 and this conquest meant the loss of Byzantine control over northwestern Anatolia. The important city of Thessaloniki was captured from the Venetians in 1387, the Ottoman victory at Kosovo in 1389 effectively marked the end of Serbian power in the region, paving the way for Ottoman expansion into Europe
38.
Italo-Turkish War
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The Italo-Turkish or Turco-Italian War was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from September 29,1911, to October 18,1912. As a result of conflict, Italy captured the Ottoman Tripolitania Vilayet, of which the main sub-provinces were Fezzan, Cyrenaica. These territories together formed what became known as Italian Libya, during the conflict, Italian forces also occupied the Dodecanese islands in the Aegean Sea. Although minor, the war was a significant precursor of the First World War as it sparked nationalism in the Balkan states, seeing how easily the Italians had defeated the weakened Ottomans, the members of the Balkan League attacked the Ottoman Empire before the war with Italy had ended. The Italo-Turkish War saw numerous changes, notably the airplane. The Turks, lacking anti-aircraft weapons, were the first to shoot down an aeroplane by rifle fire, when Italian diplomats hinted about possible opposition by their government, the French replied that Tripoli would have been a counterpart for Italy. In 1902, Italy and France had signed a treaty which accorded freedom of intervention in Tripolitania. However, the Italian government did little to realize the opportunity and knowledge of Libyan territory, the Italian press began a large-scale lobbying campaign in favour of an invasion of Libya at the end of March 1911. It was fancifully depicted as rich in minerals, well-watered, also, the population was described as hostile to the Ottoman Empire and friendly to the Italians, the future invasion was going to be little more than a military walk, according to them. The Socialist party had strong influence over public opinion, however, it was in opposition and also divided on the issue. It acted ineffectively against a military intervention, the future fascist leader Benito Mussolini – at this time still a left-wing Socialist – took a prominent anti-war position. A similar opposition was expressed in Parliament by Gaetano Salvemini and Leone Caetani, an ultimatum was presented to the Ottoman government led by the Committee of Union and Progress party on the night of 26–27 September. Through Austrian intermediation, the Ottomans replied with the proposal of transferring control of Libya without war and this suggestion was comparable to the situation in Egypt, which was under formal Ottoman suzerainty, but was actually controlled by the United Kingdom. Giolitti refused, and war was declared on September 29,1911, despite the time it had had to prepare the invasion, the Italian Royal Army was largely unprepared when the war broke out. The Italian fleet appeared off Tripoli in the evening of September 28, the city was conquered by 1,500 sailors, much to the enthusiasm of the interventionist minority in Italy. Another proposal for a settlement was rejected by the Italians. The Turks did not have an army in Trablusgarp. Many of the Ottoman officers had to travel there by their own means, often secretly, through Egypt, the Ottoman navy was too weak to transport troops by sea
39.
Alps
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The mountains were formed over tens of millions of years as the African and Eurasian tectonic plates collided. Extreme shortening caused by the event resulted in marine sedimentary rocks rising by thrusting and folding into high mountain peaks such as Mont Blanc, Mont Blanc spans the French–Italian border, and at 4,810 m is the highest mountain in the Alps. The Alpine region area contains about a hundred peaks higher than 4000 metres, the altitude and size of the range affects the climate in Europe, in the mountains precipitation levels vary greatly and climatic conditions consist of distinct zones. Wildlife such as live in the higher peaks to elevations of 3,400 m. Evidence of human habitation in the Alps goes back to the Palaeolithic era, a mummified man, determined to be 5,000 years old, was discovered on a glacier at the Austrian–Italian border in 1991. By the 6th century BC, the Celtic La Tène culture was well established, Hannibal famously crossed the Alps with a herd of elephants, and the Romans had settlements in the region. In 1800 Napoleon crossed one of the passes with an army of 40,000. The 18th and 19th centuries saw an influx of naturalists, writers, in World War II, Adolf Hitler kept a base of operation in the Bavarian Alps throughout the war. The Alpine region has a cultural identity. The Winter Olympic Games have been hosted in the Swiss, French, at present, the region is home to 14 million people and has 120 million annual visitors. The English word Alps derives from the Latin Alpes, maurus Servius Honoratus, an ancient commentator of Virgil, says in his commentary that all high mountains are called Alpes by Celts. The term may be common to Italo-Celtic, because the Celtic languages have terms for high mountains derived from alp and this may be consistent with the theory that in Greek Alpes is a name of non-Indo-European origin. According to the Old English Dictionary, the Latin Alpes might possibly derive from a pre-Indo-European word *alb hill, Albania, a name not native to the region known as the country of Albania, has been used as a name for a number of mountainous areas across Europe. In Roman times, Albania was a name for the eastern Caucasus, in modern languages the term alp, alm, albe or alpe refers to a grazing pastures in the alpine regions below the glaciers, not the peaks. An alp refers to a mountain pasture where cows are taken to be grazed during the summer months and where hay barns can be found. The Alps are a crescent shaped geographic feature of central Europe that ranges in a 800 km arc from east to west and is 200 km in width, the mean height of the mountain peaks is 2.5 km. The range stretches from the Mediterranean Sea north above the Po basin, extending through France from Grenoble, the range continues onward toward Vienna, Austria, and east to the Adriatic Sea and Slovenia. To the south it dips into northern Italy and to the north extends to the border of Bavaria in Germany
United Nations
European Union
NATO
Esercito Italiano (Army) 
Marina Militare (Navy) 
Aeronautica Militare (Air Force) 
Arma dei Carabinieri (Gendarmerie)
