capital_of ivrea
___MASK17___ , officially the Italian Republic , is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe . Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea , ___MASK17___ shares open land borders with ___MASK44___ , Switzerland , Austria , Slovenia , San Marino and Vatican City . ___MASK17___ covers an area of and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate ; due to its shape , it is often referred to in ___MASK17___ as " lo Stivale " ( the Boot ). With 61 million inhabitants , it is the fourth most populous EU member state . The Via Francigena is the common name of an ancient road and pilgrim route running from ___MASK44___ to ___MASK71___ , though it is usually considered to have its starting point much further away , in the English cathedral city of Canterbury . As such , the route passes through England , ___MASK44___ , Switzerland and Italy . The route was known in Italy as the "" Via Francigena "" (" the road that comes from ___MASK44___ ") or the "" Via Romea Francigena "" (" the road to ___MASK71___ that comes from ___MASK44___ "). In mediaeval times it was an important road and pilgrimage route for those wishing to visit the Holy See and the tombs of the apostles Peter and Paul . Canterbury (, or ) is a historic English cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site , which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury , a local government district of Kent , ___MASK27___ . It lies on the River Stour . ___MASK27___ is a country that is part of the ___MASK65___ . It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west . The Irish Sea lies northwest of ___MASK27___ and the Celtic Sea lies to the ___MASK16___ . ___MASK27___ is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south . The country covers five - eighths of the island of Great Britain ( which lies in the North Atlantic ) in its centre and south ; and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly , and the Isle of Wight . The ___MASK37___ (( official ) or ( usual ); / ( official ) or ( usual )) is a mountainous semi - autonomous region in northwestern ___MASK17___ . It is bordered by ___MASK100___ - Rhône - Alpes , France to the west , Valais , Switzerland to the ___MASK80___ and the region of ___MASK81___ to the south and east . The Holy See is the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in ___MASK71___ , the episcopal see of the Pope , and an independent sovereign entity . It serves as the central point of reference for the Catholic Church everywhere and the focal point of communion due to its position as the pre - eminent episcopal see of the universal church . It traces its origin to the 1st century during the apostolic era , when Saint Peter arrived in ___MASK71___ to evangelise and formed a significant early Christian community of believers there . Today , it is responsible for the governance of all Catholics , organised in their Particular Churches , Patriarchates and religious institutes . ___MASK44___ , officially the French Republic , is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories . The European , or metropolitan , area of ___MASK44___ extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the ___MASK80___ Sea , and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean . Overseas ___MASK44___ include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic , Pacific and Indian oceans . ___MASK44___ spans and had a total population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017 . It is a unitary semi - presidential republic with the capital in Paris , the country ' s largest city and main cultural and commercial centre . Other major urban centres include Marseille , Lyon , Lille , Nice , Toulouse and Bordeaux . The word township is used to refer to various kinds of settlements in different countries . While a " township " may be associated with an urban area , there are many exceptions to this rule . In ___MASK79___ , ___MASK35___ , and the United States , they may be settlements too small to be considered urban . ___MASK79___ . In ___MASK79___ , the designation of " township " traditionally refers to a small town or a small community in a rural district ; such a place in Britain might qualify as a village or a hamlet . The term refers purely to the settlement ; it does not refer to a unit of government ; townships are governed as part of a larger ( e . g ., shire or city ) council . The regions of ___MASK17___ ( Italian : " regioni ") are the first - level administrative divisions of ___MASK17___ , constituting its second NUTS administrative level . There are 20 regions , of which five are constitutionally given a broader amount of autonomy granted by special statutes . The ___MASK60___ is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland , situated in the southwestern part of the country , around the valley of the Rhône from its headwaters to Lake Geneva , separating the Pennine Alps from the Bernese Alps . The canton is simultaneously one of the driest regions of Switzerland in its central Rhône valley and among the wettest , having large amounts of snow and rain up on the highest peaks found in Switzerland . The ___MASK60___ is widely known for the Matterhorn and resort towns such as Crans - Montana , Saas Fee and Zermatt . It is composed of 13 districts ( hence the 13 stars on the flag ) and its capital is Sion . ___MASK81___ ( Piedmontese and ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy . It has an area of 25 , 402 square kilometres ( 9 , 808 sq mi ) and a population of about 4 . 6 million . The capital of ___MASK81___ is Turin . Aosta ( French : " Aoste " - ) is the principal city of ___MASK37___ , a bilingual region in the Italian Alps , ___MASK80___ - ___MASK73___ of Turin . It is situated near the Italian entrance of the Mont Blanc Tunnel , at the confluence of the Buthier and the ___MASK14___ baltée , and at the junction of the Great and Little St . Bernard routes . Aosta is not the capital of the province , because ___MASK37___ is the only Italian region not divided into provinces . Provincial administrative functions are instead shared by the region and the communes . Ivrea ( Italian pronunciation : ( ivra ) ; Latin : Eporedia ) is a town and comune of the ___MASK93___ in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy . Situated on the road leading to the Aosta Valley ( part of the medieval Via Francigena ) , it straddles the Dora Baltea and is regarded as the centre of the Canavese area . Ivrea lies in a basin that in prehistoric times formed a large lake . Today a number of five smaller ___MASK61___ -- Sirio , San Michele , Pistono , Nero and Campagna -- are found in the area around the town . Turin ( pronounced ) is a city and an important business and cultural ___MASK96___ in northern ___MASK17___ , capital of the ___MASK81___ region and was the first capital city of ___MASK17___ . The city is located mainly on the western bank of the Po River , in front of Susa Valley and surrounded by the western Alpine arch and by the Superga Hill . The population of the city proper is 892 , 649 ( August 2015 ) while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 1 . 7 million inhabitants . The Turin metropolitan area is estimated by the OECD to have a population of 2 . 2 million . ___MASK71___ is a city and special " comune " ( named " Roma Capitale ") in Italy . ___MASK71___ is the capital of Italy and of the Lazio region . With 2 , 870 , 336 residents in , it is also the country ' s largest and most populated " comune " and fourth - most populous city in the ___MASK89___ by population within city limits . The Metropolitan City of ___MASK71___ has a population of 4 . 3 million residents . The city is located in the central - western portion of the Italian Peninsula , within Lazio ( Latium ), along the shores of Tiber river . The Vatican City is an independent country geographically located within the city boundaries of ___MASK71___ , the only existing example of a country within a city : for this reason ___MASK71___ has been often defined as capital of two states . Canavese ( French : " Canavais "; Piedmontese : " Canavèis ") is a subalpine geographical and historical area of ___MASK80___ - West Italy which lies today within the ___MASK93___ in Piedmont . Its main town is Ivrea and it is famous for its castles . A castle ( from ) is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle ___MASK29___ during the Middle Ages by nobility . Scholars debate the scope of the word " castle ", but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble . This is distinct from a palace , which is not fortified ; from a fortress , which was not always a residence for nobility ; and from a fortified settlement , which was a public defence  though there are many similarities among these types of construction . Usage of the term has varied over time and has been applied to structures as diverse as hill forts and country houses . Over the approximately 900 years that castles were built , they took on a great many forms with many different features , although some , such as curtain walls and arrowslits , were commonplace . Dora Baltea or ___MASK14___ Baltée ( or " Duria Bautica "; ( Valdôtain )), is a river in northern Italy . It is a left - hand tributary of the Po River and is about long . The ( plural : "") is a basic administrative division in ___MASK17___ , roughly equivalent to a township or municipality . Switzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic in Europe . It consists of 26 cantons , and the city of Bern is the seat of the federal authorities . The country is situated in Western - Central Europe , and is bordered by ___MASK17___ to the ___MASK32___ , France to the west , Germany to the ___MASK80___ , and Austria and ___MASK36___ to the east . Switzerland is a landlocked country geographically divided between the Alps , the Swiss Plateau and the ___MASK63___ , spanning an area of . While the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory , the Swiss population of approximately eight million people is concentrated mostly on the plateau , where the largest cities are to be found : among them are the two global cities and economic centres Zürich and Geneva .