Photo credits: NASA ISS047e125942 (05/21/2016)

Year in review: Italy from space

Our iconic country as seen in 2016 from the International Space Station.

With his iconic shape, Italy is very recognizable on every map. And its shape makes the country one of the most photographed from space.

After the magical photos taken by Italian astronauts Luca Parmitano and Samantha Cristoforetti — in 2013 and 2015 respectively — throughout 2016 astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) posted amazing photos of Italy from space.

This Earth observation image of the southern Mediterranean area was taken by the crew of Expedition 47 aboard the International Space Station. The image looks from the coastline of Greece (bottom left) across the Ionian sea to the bottom “heel” of Italy. The tip of the toe reaches toward Sicily. Photo credits: NASA ISS47e141893 (06/02/2016)

Photos astronaut by Scott Kelly (US)

Photos by astronaut Tim Peake (UK)

Photos by astronaut Tim Kopra (US)

Photos by astronaut Shane Kimbrough (US)

Photos by astronaut Thomas Pesquet (France)

Photos by Jeff Williams (US)

Photos posted by the European Space Agency (ESA)

These four images from the Sentinel-2A satellite show Lake Iseo in northern Italy — the site of the ‘Floating Piers’ installation by the Bulgarian–American artist, Christo. The first image from 19 April shows the lake’s Monte Isola (island), but as time progresses the floating dock takes form and, in the final image from 21 June, is covered with yellow fabric. The walkway is about 16 m wide. (Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2016)/ESA)