Italy, officially known as the Italian Republic, is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest islands in theMediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northernAlpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia. The independent states of San Marino and the Vatican City are enclaveswithin the Italian Peninsula, while Campione d'Italia is an Italian exclave in Switzerland.Italy has been the home of many European cultures, such as theEtruscans and the Romans, and later was the birthplace of the movement of the Renaissance, that began in Tuscany and spread all over Europe. Italy's capital Rome has been for centuries the center ofWestern civilization, and is the seat of the Catholic Church.