Essay Example on Geographic Environment Italy is located in southern Europe

Geographic Environment Italy is located in southern Europe The country has a boot shaped Peninsula It is made of the south side of the Alps Po Valley and the islands of Sardinia and Sicily Italy is in the Eastern Hemisphere and is 40 mountainous Its major cities are Rome Milan and Naples Italy's capital city is Rome which is also its largest Economic Research Italy has a population of 61 3 million people The primary language spoken is Italian German and French Ladin in spoken in some of the Northern regions Italy's religion consists mainly of Christians who are Roman Catholic The currency is the Euro It is the official currency of the European Union The Euro is the second most traded currency in the after the US dollar in the foreign exchange market The Autostrada are the roads that form the Italian system of motorways Italy has a diversified industrial economy which is the third largest in the Eurozone and the eighth largest in the world It is divided into a developed industrial north dominated by private companies and the agricultural south 

The Italian economy is driven by the manufacturing consumer goods produced by small and medium sized companies Italy also has a sizable underground economy which accounts for 15 of GDP gross domestic product These activities are most common within the construction and agriculture sectors of business Italy has begun to implement structural reforms such as increasing employment opportunities for young working women A rise in exports has begun to help their economy grow Imports Exports Italy Exports 454 6 billion Top Exports Engineering products textiles and clothing production machinery motor vehicles transport equipment chemicals food beverages and tobacco minerals and nonferrous metals Imports 389 2 billion Top Imports Engineering products chemicals transport equipment energy products minerals and nonferrous metals textiles and clothing food beverages and tobacco Natural Resources Italy's natural resources consist of coal zinc potash marble barite pumice asbestos fluorspar mercury feldspar pyrite natural gas and crude oil reserves The Italian government controls its mineral industry Italy produces a lot of industrial minerals such as cement marble feldspar lime clay and pumice that gets exported all over the world The metal industries produce not only steel but copper iron and lead 

These industries are important to the country's revenue Political Factors Italy is a republic with a bicameral parliament that consists of a Senate with 315 seats and the Chamber of Deputies that has 630 seats The president is Head of State He is elected for a seven year term by an electoral college which is formed by the Senate and Chamber representatives The president appoints the prime minister who has to be approved by Parliament The electoral system is Italy's form of proportional representation All of the Members of the Senate are elected by proportional vote by region Their term lasts for 5 years The members of the Chamber of Deputies are also elected for a 5 year term but they are selected by popular vote Trade Barriers Incentive Programs International Trade Organizations Italy is part of the harmonized trade system of the EU and their imports and exports are covered by the EU taxation and Customs Union Culture Italy is one of the most famous places in the world Cities such as Rome Milan Venice and Florence welcome millions of tourists per year since they are home to many of the world s historical sites The country is rich in history and has many places to visit such as Pompeii the Colosseum Mount Vesuvius 

The new business idea that I will introduce is a homemade chocolate shop This idea is based on the food aspect of Italy's economy The company would be set up as a sole proprietorship because it would be a small local family run business This is the simplest business form in Italy The entire liability for the business falls onto the individual running the business The business would be a small chocolate shop that caters to individuals looking to purchase homemade chocolate and chocolate dipped items such as pretzels and fruit They are can also buy a variety of different chocolate for special occasion The business can also provide small gift baskets and other treats for local delivery There will be website setup online so customers can place their orders online and pickup in the store