Italy

I

Introduction

Italy (Italian Italia), republic in southern Europe, on the northern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. Most of Italy consists of a boot-shaped peninsula that juts out from southern Europe into the Mediterranean. Italy also includes the Mediterranean islands of Sardinia and Sicily and many lesser islands. Italy is blessed with varied and splendid landscapes, and because of its location most of the country enjoys sunshine and a mild Mediterranean climate.

Italy was the heart of the ancient Roman Empire, which united the lands bordering the Mediterranean Sea and spread the civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome through much of Europe. After the Roman Empire collapsed in the 5th century ad, Italy’s political unity was lost. But Rome, under the Roman Catholic Church, remained the spiritual center of western Europe. In the late Middle Ages northern Italian cities such as Florence, Venice, and Milan became prosperous commercial centers. In these cities the rebirth of classical culture known as the Renaissance began in the 14th century. Italian Renaissance painters, sculptors, writers, and architects were admired and imitated all over Europe, while Italy’s many small states became pawns in power struggles between France, Spain, and Austria.

Italian nationalism emerged as a powerful force in the 19th century, and a united Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed in 1861. In 1946, after World War II, the monarchy was abolished and the Italian Republic was established. Since then, Italy has had a succession of governments, dominated during most of that period by the center-right, with the left in opposition. Rome is the capital and largest city of Italy, but nearly all of Italy’s towns and cities retain artistic treasures and other reminders of Italy’s cultural heritage.

II

Land and Resources of Italy

More than half of Italy consists of the Italian Peninsula, a long projection of the continental mainland. Shaped much like a boot, the Italian Peninsula extends generally southeast into the Mediterranean Sea. The country is about 1,100 km (about 700 mi) long; the toe of the boot adds another 200 km (124 mi) or so. The mainland portion of Italy, in the north, has a maximum width of about 610 km (about 380 mi), whereas the narrower peninsula measures about 240 km (about 150 mi) across at its widest point. Except for a few parts of the Alps in northern Italy, no place in the country is more than 120 km (75 mi) from the sea.

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Italy is bordered by Switzerland and Austria on the north; by Slovenia and the Adriatic Sea, on the east; by the Ionian Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, on the south; on the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea, the Ligurian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea; and on the northwest by France. It comprises, in addition to the Italian mainland, the islands of Elba, Sardinia, and Sicily, and many lesser islands. Enclaves within mainland Italy are the independent countries of San Marino and Vatican City; the latter is a papal state mostly enclosed by Rome.

The Alps extend in a wide arc along Italy’s northern frontier, from the French border on the west to the Slovenian border on the east. They include high peaks such as Monte Cervino and Monte Rosa, which rises to its highest point in Switzerland just west of the border. The highest point in Italy is near the summit of Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco), on the border of Italy, France, and Switzerland; the peak, located in France, is 4,810 m (15,782 ft). Italy’s other mountain chain, the Apennines, forms the backbone of the Italian Peninsula. The broad Plain of Lombardy, including the valley of the Po River, spreads between the Alps and the Apennines. With the exception of this plain in the north, most of Italy is mountainous or hilly, with few large areas of level land. The Apennines run from the Gulf of Genoa on the Mediterranean coast south into Sicily. The highest peak in this chain is Monte Corno (2,912 m/9,554 ft). The Apennines form the watershed of the Italian Peninsula.

Only about one-third of the total land surface of Italy is made of plains, of which the greatest single tract is the Plain of Lombardy. The coast of Italy along the northern Adriatic Sea is low and sandy, bordered by shallow waters and, except at Venice, not readily accessible to oceangoing vessels. From a point near Rimini southward, the eastern coast of the peninsula is fringed by spurs of the Apennines. Along the middle of the western coast, however, are three stretches of low and marshy land, the Campagna di Roma, the Pontine Marshes, and the Maremma.

The western coast of Italy is broken up by bays, gulfs, and other indentations, which provide a number of natural anchorages. In the northwest is the Gulf of Genoa, the harbor of the important commercial city of Genoa. Naples, another leading western coast port, is situated on the beautiful Bay of Naples, dominated by the volcano Mount Vesuvius. A little farther south is the Gulf of Salerno, at the head of which stands the port of Salerno. The southeastern end of the peninsula is deeply indented by the Gulf of Taranto, which divides the so-called heel of Italy (ancient Calabria) from the toe (modern Calabria). The Apennine range continues beneath the narrow Strait of Messina and traverses the island of Sicily, where the volcano Mount Etna is located. Another active volcano rises on Stromboli, one of the Lipari Islands (Isole Eolie), northwest of the Strait of Messina. In addition to volcanic activity, Italy is also plagued by frequent minor earthquakes, especially in the southern regions.

A

Rivers and Lakes

Italy has many rivers, of which the Po and the Adige are the most important. The Po, 652 km (405 mi) long, is navigable for about 480 km (about 300 mi), and with its tributaries affords about 970 km (about 600 mi) of inland waterways. The Adige, 410 km (255 mi) long, flows east as far as Bolzano, and then courses in a generally southern direction through Trento and Verona. Like the Po, it empties into the Adriatic. The beds of these rivers are slowly being elevated by alluvial deposits from the mountains.

The rivers of the Italian Peninsula are shallow, often dry during the summer season, and consequently of little importance for navigation or industry. The chief peninsular rivers are the Arno and the Tiber. From its sources in the Apennines, the Arno flows west for about 240 km (about 150 mi), through a well-cultivated valley and the cities of Florence and Pisa. The Tiber rises not far from the sources of the Arno and runs through the city of Rome. Both the northern and peninsular regions of Italy have numerous lakes. The principal lakes of northern Italy are Garda, Maggiore, Como, and Lugano; the peninsular lakes, which are considerably smaller, include Trasimeno, Bolsena, and Bracciano.

B

Climate

The climate of Italy is highly diversified, with extremes ranging from frigid in the higher elevations of the Alps and Apennines, to semitropical along the coast of the Ligurian Sea and the western coast of the lower peninsula. Regional climatic variations on the peninsula result chiefly from the configurations of the Apennines, and are influenced by tempering winds from the adjacent seas. In the lowlands regions and lower slopes of the Apennines bordering the western coast, from northern Tuscany to the vicinity of Rome, winters are mild and sunny, and extreme temperatures are modified by cooling Mediterranean breezes. Temperatures in the same latitudes on the east of the peninsula are much lower, chiefly because of the prevailing northeastern winds. Along the upper eastern slopes of the Apennines, climatic conditions are particularly bleak. Semitropical conditions prevail in southern Italy and along the Gulf of Genoa, whereas the climate of the Plain of Lombardy is continental. Warm summers and cold winters prevail on this plain, which is shielded from sea breezes by the Apennines. Heaviest precipitation occurs in Italy during the fall and winter months, when westerly winds prevail. The lowest mean annual rainfall, about 460 mm (about 18 in), occurs in the Apulian province of Foggia in the south and in southern Sicily; the highest, about 1,520 mm (about 60 in), occurs in the province of Udine in the northeast.

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