Talk:Italy

Ethiopia was not a colony

claim that ethiopia was an italian colony was corrrected the souzrce doesn't state that at all ethiopia was occupied IN PART for 5 years but this doesn't meet the criteria of a colony

the source was misrepresented!!! Mnlk (talk) 11:01, 17 June 2012 (UTC)

The colonisation of Ethiopia by Italy is a notorious historical fact. The source confirms this. — Blue-Haired Lawyer ^t 11:31, 17 June 2012 (UTC)

Ref 135 is broken

Sorry, but in such big articles it's too hard to understand how to edit references. Can someone take care of it? Thanks. Walkabout86 (talk) 11:33, 19 June 2012 (UTC)

The oldest bank in the world requesting help

Croatian writer Giancarlo Kravar: The oldest bank in the world, Banca Monte Paschi di Siena in Italy asked for the first time in its history of state aid of EUR 2 billion to finance its despair. The bank is founded 1472nd years and is the third force in Italy. 93.137.42.0 (talk) 18:34, 2 July 2012 (UTC)

WEO

Western European Union is now EU by Lisbon Treaty. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 151.40.78.236 (talk) 15:03, 8 September 2012 (UTC)

The article is most useful in listing the organizations that Italy is a part of as these organizations will aid immensely in understanding the mindset of the Italian government when making decisions involved with trade and international relations as a whole. What the article is weakest in would be lack of cultural identity. It explains the general thought process of the government by simply stating which organizations Italy has become involved in but lacks the view of the Italian people and thus lacks the possibility of a greater understanding of the Italian trade industry, specifically their goals as a people. The article includes some very brief history on significant events such as the deployment of 2,000 troops into Afghanistan to support the OEF, which is current and useful in terms of foreign relations, but does not delve into the meat of the Italian international relations topic but rather skims the surface. The article is both short and superficial in coverage but would be a good start to any foreign relations based research for Italy if subtopic was being thought over. The article in question, overall, lacks the perspective of Italy as it does not defend any foreign relations move on Italy's part nor does it generally explain each membership or decision.

References

(References that may help enhance the article in terms of Italy: Foreign Relations)

Dinmore, G. (2008, June 12). Italy-France form ‘trade axis’ to counter emerging nations. World News, pp. 2.

This article illustrates Italy’s interest, particularly in terms of protection against developing countries, those that could pose an economic threat to Italy in the future. By bolstering ties with France, Italy shows with whom their support lies and how important trade is to their nation. Thus this article helps establish Italy’s cultural viewpoints and interests which are immensely important within the discussion of not only foreign affairs but industry as a whole.

Lane, D. (1989, April 24). A technocrat among politicians. Survey,pp. 40.

This article pertains to the political aspect of Italy's foreign policy as it covers Italy's recent proposals for a Mediterranean Union through their declaration for a new trade axis. This 'Italy-France axis' will change Italy's structure economically and politically which makes it a crucial topic in Italy's trade industry where foreign affairs and maritime industry tend to combine in a natural sense. This combination typically aids in the understanding of government involvement within an industry and how it can be beneficial to a nation.

China Daily. (2012, September 18). Italy registers biggest surplus in 14 years. China Daily European Edition,pp. 11.

This article covers the Italian economy and stregnth in purchasing power parity meaning its value of currency. This is imparitive to both trade and politics in relation to Italy as the value of a nation's currency is heavily affected by their trade with nations and relative size of economy. The better the standing Italy's economy has, the more successful they are in climbing the power ladder not only in terms of trade but also in general terms as a nation.

--Hmcfarlain (talk) 15:19, 3 October 2012 (UTC)

Comments and suggestions

I read the article over a couple of weeks. I think it's fairly well-written but it could be expanded. However, some comments need to be done.

1. "Italy has a free market economy characterized by high per capita GDP and low unemployment rates."

The GDP is a completely useless way to measure the wealth of people, at least not in Italy. In fact, most people in Italy have a monthly income that is well below $3000 per month.

The low unemployment rate is generic and inaccurate.

Unemployment in Italy is a serious problem and it's not at all low.

2. "Italian living standards have a considerable north-south divide"

It should probably be added that this is a result of historical, cultural and political reasons. Needless to say, it is also due to the attitude, corruption and the political orientation at a regional level.

3. "Italy has numerous dialects spoken all over the country and some Italians cannot speak Italian at all."

It should probably pointed out that there are not only dialects but also languages and I'm not talking only about German, Slovenian or French. Piedmont alone has 6 languages that are not Italian or dialects of Italian.

4. "Standardisation was further expanded in the 1950s and 1960s thanks to economic growth and the rise of mass media and television"

However, local use of words/expressions, inflection or phonetics are extremely different across the entire country and within regions.

5. In the "Religion" section, the third paragraph is somewhat redundant with the first paragraph.

6. Nobody uses "scuola secondaria di primo grado" or "scuola secondaria di secondo grado" but rather universally "scuola media" and "scuola superiore".

7. I probably wouldn't list Fra Angelico among Michelangelo, Leonardo or Raphael. He is dissonant among the list of geniuses in the "Visual art" section.

8. It's shocking and ridiculous to realize that Mina is listed with Bocelli, Pausini and Ramazzotti as notable musicians. Aside from the first being a legend of the 60s (long time ago), the last three are just a product of marketing. They certainly recorded nice songs but they are no match for true Italian legends like Lucio Battisti, Pooh or Claudio Baglioni.

9. It should probably be pointed out that cinema in Italy was born in Turin.

10. Italy is one of the most corrupted and bureaucratic countries in the world. I'm surprised no section is dedicated to point out that Italians live under the rule of a bunch of politicians who suppresses and controls them psychologically and economically, either through the law system or the medias. The result is an inefficient system where privileges are given to those who work for different branches of the government. Taxation is high, unfair, unbalanced and tax evasion is also very pronounced. The health system is public but inefficient. It should also be pointed out that relocation is very limited throughout the country and that education does not make much of a difference when it comes to career progression or in terms of salary. The wide linguistic diversity is also not mentioned but it really should, possibly with a map of languages (several can be found here: [1]). It should be explained that people tend to keep one job or a few jobs for the rest of their lives and transitioning from a field to another is practically unheard of. It should be mentioned that the political system revolves around two or three coalitions of parties that win and lose elections alternately without delivering any tangible benefit to the citizens. The article does not mention the euro and the decline in standard of living that the currency brought to Italians since 2002. Investment in technology is rather limited and so is the ability of Italians to start and run successful businesses because the fiscal and bureaucratic system generates countless obstacles that either multiply risks or prevent and limit possibilities.

ICE77 (talk) 08:17, 8 December 2012 (UTC)

11. "Italy has numerous dialects spoken all over the country and some Italians cannot speak Italian at all."

Wrong citation and wrong information. — Preceding unsigned comment added by MMManuel (talk • contribs) 04:36, 9 March 2013 (UTC)

Thanks for the input, ICE77. However, there are a few things I would like to point out.

1.It is your opinion that GDP is a useless metric. Many people disagree with you. As a result, GDP is a standard figure in country articles, which would be considered incomplete without them. This isn't really the place to debate on how best to quantify a nation's wealth.
As you said, "low unemployment" is a generic term. It depends on your perspective. That said, the economic crises has had a noticeable effect. If you think "low unemployment" is inaccurate, find WP:RSes that say otherwise.

2.Everything that happens to a country is a result of historical, cultural and political reasons, but non-vague and cited facts are required for encyclopaedic articles.

3, 4.This is more the scope of Languages of Italy. Italy is the main article; it only provides an overview and attempts to be brief.

5.What do you mean? They look all right to me.

6, 7, 8, 10.Again, citations. Some of what you are saying here can be argued, but it does not matter what any of us editors "know". All that matters is what the reliable sources say.

—Sowlos 16:59, 11 March 2013 (UTC)

Adding templates

Add the template {{Expand Italian}}, {{Expand Arabian}}, {{Expand Croatian}}, {{Expand Icelandic}}, {{Expand Spanish}}. Mormegil 87.18.29.160 (talk) 21:28, 2 January 2013 (UTC)

Immigration: ethnic group vs citizenship of foreigners

• Not all Romanians in Italy belong to the Romanian ethnic group (i.e. Rom and Hungarians). On the other side several migrants from other countries belong to the Romanian ethnic group (mostly from Moldavia and Ukraine).--Deguef (talk) 14:19, 27 March 2013 (UTC)