Greece

Greece includes the southern sector of the Balkan peninsula, the Peloponnese peninsula - which, following the construction of the Corinth canal, became an island - the archipelagos of the Ionian and Aegean and the island of Crete. The seas that bathe the coasts of the Hellenic Republic are the Aegean and the Ionian.

The administrative subdivision includes thirteen Suburbs: Attica, Central Greece, Central Macedonia, Crete, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, Epirus, Ionian Islands, Northern Aegean, Peloponnese, Southern Aegean, Thessaly, Western Greece, Western Macedonia. The major cities, in addition to the capital, are Thessaloniki, the Peloponnesian Patras, and Candia, the Cretan capital.

It is a fundamentally maritime territory since it is made up of many islands - more than 1500 - and the markedly peninsular continental area. The population has just over eleven million inhabitants. At an economic level, the tertiary sector, also thanks to tourism, is the driving force, followed by industry and agriculture. The merchant marine is considerably developed.

The main landings are represented by the ports of the municipality of Piraeus, near the capital Athens, and the port of Thessaloniki, in the north of the country. It is one of the world's largest producers of olive oil, and wine and fruit are also significantly exported. Coal mining is also relevant as an activity.

Cradle of Western culture with the conception of modern democracy, it was also the ancient homeland of history and philosophy, mathematics and physics, and of arts such as sculpture, poetry, theater and literature.

Greek gastronomy is heavily based on dairy products, cereals, legumes, oil, fish. The wines are very important, among which the retsína stands out, a white seasoned with pine resin. The climate is typically Mediterranean on the coastal strips, temperate in the central area, almost continental in the interior and northern mountainous areas.