The geography of Italy includes the description of all the physical geographical elements of Italy. Italy, whose territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical region, is located in southern Europe and comprises the long, boot-shaped Italian Peninsula crossed by the Apennines, the southern side of Alps, the large plain of the Po Valley and some islands including Sicily and Sardinia. Italy is part of the Northern Hemisphere. Two of the Pelagie Islands are located on the African continent.
The Baja California peninsula is a peninsula in northwestern Mexico. It separates the Gulf of California from the Pacific Ocean. The peninsula extends from Mexicali, Baja California, in the north to Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, in the south.
Giannutri is a small island in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the coast of Tuscany, Italy; it is the southernmost island of the Tuscan Archipelago and it is a frazione of the comune of Isola del Giglio in the Province of Grosseto.
Lampedusa is the largest island of the Italian Pelagie Islands in the Mediterranean Sea.
Margarita Island is the largest island in the Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta, situated off the northeastern coast of the country, in the Caribbean Sea. The capital city of Nueva Esparta, La Asunción, is located on the island.
Punta Cana is a resort town in the easternmost region of the Dominican Republic. It is part of the Veron–Punta Cana municipal district, in the Higüey municipality of La Altagracia Province. According to the 2010 census, this district had a population of 43,982 inhabitants.
The Tuscan Archipelago is a chain of islands between the Ligurian Sea and Tyrrhenian Sea, west of Tuscany, Italy.
Punta Arenas is the capital city of Chile's southernmost region, Magallanes and Antarctica Chilena. Although officially renamed as Magallanes in 1927, the name was changed back to Punta Arenas in 1938. The city is the largest south of the 46th parallel south and the most populous southernmost city in Chile and the Americas. Due to its location, it is also the coldest coastal city with more than 100,000 inhabitants in Latin America. Punta Arenas is one of the world's most southerly ports and serves as an Antarctic gateway city.
Charlotte Harbor Estuary, the second largest bay in Florida, is located on the Gulf of Mexico coast of west Florida with two thirds lying in Charlotte County, Florida and one in Lee County. The harbor's mouth is located behind Gasparilla Island, one of the many coastal barrier islands on the southwest coast of Florida, with access from the Gulf of Mexico through the Boca Grande Pass between Gasparilla Island on the north and Lacosta Island on the south. Charlotte Harbor covers about 270 sq mi (700 km2)
Cubagua Island or Isla de Cubagua is the smallest and least populated of the three islands constituting the Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta, after Margarita Island and Coche Island. It is located 16 kilometres (10 mi) north of the Araya Peninsula, the closest mainland area.
In 2021, Istat estimated that 5,171,894 foreign citizens lived in Italy, representing about 8.7% of the total population. These figures do not include naturalized foreign-born residents as well as illegal immigrants, the so-called clandestini, whose numbers, difficult to determine, are thought to be at least 670,000.
On 6 April 2011, a boat carrying migrants from Libya to Italy sank 32 nautical miles south of Lampedusa and 96 nautical miles southwest of Malta. An emergency response involving the Italian Coast Guard resulted in the rescue of an initial 48 survivors and the retrieval of 20 bodies. A fishing boat picked up an additional three survivors. At least a further 130 people were not found after the shipwreck.
The Lampedusa immigrant reception center, officially Reception Center (CDA) of Lampedusa, has been operating since 1998, when the Italian island of Lampedusa became a primary European entry point for immigrants from Africa. It is one of a number of centri di accoglienza (CDA) maintained by the Italian government. The reception center's capacity of 801 people has been greatly exceeded by numerous people arriving on boats from various parts of Africa.
On 3 October 2013, a boat carrying migrants from Libya to Italy sank off the Italian island of Lampedusa. It was reported that the boat had sailed from Misrata, Libya, but that many of the migrants were originally from Eritrea, Somalia and Ghana. An emergency response involving the Italian Coast Guard resulted in the rescue of 155 survivors. On 12 October it was reported that the confirmed death toll after searching the boat was 359, but that further bodies were still missing; a figure of "more than 360" deaths was later reported.
Operation Mare Nostrum was a year-long naval and air operation commenced by the Italian government on 18 October 2013, which rescued at least 150,000 migrants on the dangerous Mediterranean sea crossing. The operation ended on 31 October 2014, and was superseded by Frontex's Operation Triton.
Bioko is an island 32 km (20 mi) off the west coast of Africa and the northernmost part of Equatorial Guinea. Its population was 335,048 at the 2015 census and it covers an area of 2,017 km2 (779 sq mi). The island is part of the Cameroon line of volcanoes and is located off the Cameroon coast, in the Bight of Biafra portion of the Gulf of Guinea. Its geology is volcanic; its highest peak is Pico Basile at 3,012 m (9,882 ft). Malabo, on the north coast of the island, is the capital city of Equatorial Guinea.
Pietro Bartolo, OMRI, is an Italian doctor and politician who was elected as a Member of the European Parliament in 2019 for the Democratic Party.
Sea-Watch is a German non-governmental organisation that operates in the Mediterranean Sea, notably by commissioning ships to rescue migrants.
Mediterranea Saving Humans APS is a "civil society platform" making connections between existing networks and individuals and a "non governmental project". Though it is similar to the many NGOs operating in the Mediterranean it is not actually an NGO, it brings together heterogeneous organizations and individuals, secular and religious, social and cultural, unions and political, who have decided to take a stand against the deaths and the human rights violations committed daily in the Mediterranean Sea. It was founded in 2018 to keep watch of the situation in the Mediterrean sea and to save lives in difficulty after the majority of other NGOs were not able to act due the legal obstacles created by the Italian authorities. The group coordinates the search and rescue operations of the ships Mare Jonio and Alex which sail under the Italian flag. The project also has the support of the German association Sea-Watch and the Spanish Proactiva Open Arms. It has carried out several search and rescue operations in the Central Mediterranean Sea with the ship Mare Jonio. Recognition of the work of Mediterranea has come from Pope Francis.
