Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the regional states of the peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, united under King Victor Emmanuel II. Parliamentary government came to a halt in the early 1920's when Benito Mussolini established a fascist dictatorship. His alliance with Nazi Germany led to Italy's defeat in World War II. A democratic republic replaced the monarchy in 1946 and economic revival followed. Italy was a charter member of NATO and the European Economic Community. It has been at the forefront of European economic and political unification, and joined the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999.

Two Italian media giants--the publicly-owned Radiotelevisione Italiana and the privately-owned Mediaset--each own three national terrestrial stations and dominate Italian broadcast media. Additional broadcasts are provided by a large number of private stations and by Sky Italia, a satellite TV network.

There are approximately 175 newspapers in Italy. Sports papers such as La Gazzetta dello Sport are by far the most popular. There are several large Italian publishing companies, of which Editoriale Espresso--which owns La Repubblica and 15 regional newspapers--and RSC Editoriale--which owns Il Corriere della Sera and La Gazzetta dello Sport--are the most prominent.