The Country of Italy Italy is one of the most beautiful and culturally rich countries in the world. Ask any person on the street to name an old and artistic country and they will answer Italy. It got its name from the ancient Romans. They called the southern peninsula Italia that meant land of oxen or grazing land. It is well known for its art, literature, culture, sculpture, music, and religion. Most of Italy is a peninsula that leads onto the Mediterranean Sea. It is also well known for the shape if a boot kicking a rock. That rock is Sicily. The most southern tip of Sicily is less then 100 mile