Chapter II: Front Matter (2)

Besides the delta of the Po and the large marshy tracts which it
forms, there exist on both sides of it extensive lagoons of salt
water, generally separated from the Adriatic by narrow strips of sand
or embankments, partly natural and partly artificial, but having
openings which admit the influx and efflux of the sea-water, and serve
as ports for communication with the mainland. The best known and the
most extensive of these lagoons is that in which Venice is situated,
which extends from Torcello in the north to Chioggia and Brondolo in
the south, a distance of above 40 m.; but they were formerly much more
extensive, and afforded a continuous means of internal navigation, by
what were called "the Seven Seas" (Septem Maria), from Ravenna to
Altinum, a few miles north of Torcello. That city, like Ravenna,
originally stood in the midst of a lagoon; and the coast east of it to
near Monfalcone, where it meets the mountains, is occupied by similar
expanses of water, which are, however, becoming gradually converted
into dry land.

The tract adjoining this long line of lagoons is, like the basin of
the Po, a broad expanse of perfectly level alluvial plain, extending
from the Adige eastwards to the Carnic Alps, where they approach close
to the Adriatic between Aquileia and Trieste, and northwards to the
foot of the great chain, which here sweeps round in a semicircle from
the neighbourhood of Vicenza to that of Aquileia. The space thus
included was known in ancient times as Venetia, a name applied in the
middle ages to the well-known city; the eastern portion of it became
known in the middle ages as the Frioul or Friuli.

Returning to the south of the Po, the tributaries of that river on its
right bank below the Tanaro are very inferior in volume and importance
to those from the north. Flowing from the Ligurian Apennines, which
never attain the limit of perpetual snow, they generally dwindle in
summer into insignificant streams. Beginning from the Tanaro, the
principal of them are--(1) the Scrivia, a small but rapid stream
flowing from the Apennines at the back of Genoa; (2) the Trebbia, a
much larger river, though of the same torrent-like character, which
rises near Torriglia within 20 m. of Genoa, flows by Bobbio, and joins
the Po a few miles above Piacenza; (3) the Nure, a few miles east of
the preceding; (4) the Taro, a more considerable stream; (5) the
Parma, flowing by the city of the same name; (6) the Enza; (7) the
Secchia, which flows by Modena; (8) the Panaro, a few miles to the
east of that city; (9) the Reno, which flows by Bologna, but instead
of holding its course till it discharges its waters into the Po, as it
did in Roman times, is turned aside by an artificial channel into the
Po di Primaro. The other small streams east of this--of which the most
considerable are the Solaro, the Santerno, flowing by Imola, the
Lamone by Faenza, the Montone by Forlì, all in Roman times tributaries
of the Po--have their outlet in like manner into the Po di Primaro, or
by artificial mouths into the Adriatic between Ravenna and Rimini. The
river Marecchia, which enters the sea immediately north of Rimini, may
be considered as the natural limit of Northern Italy. It was adopted
by Augustus as the boundary of Gallia Cispadana; the far-famed Rubicon
was a trifling stream a few miles farther north, now called Fiumicino.
The Savio is the only other stream of any importance which has always
flowed directly into the Adriatic from this side of the Tuscan
Apennines.

The narrow strip of coast-land between the Maritime Alps, the
Apennines and the sea--called in ancient times Liguria, and now known
as the Riviera of Genoa--is throughout its extent, from Nice to Genoa
on the one side, and from Genoa to Spezia on the other, almost wholly
mountainous. It is occupied by the branches and offshoots of the
mountain ranges which separate it from the great plain to the north,
and send down their lateral ridges close to the water's edge, leaving
only in places a few square miles of level plains at the mouths of the
rivers and openings of the valleys. The district is by no means devoid
of fertility, the steep slopes facing the south enjoying so fine a
climate as to render them very favourable for the | growth of fruit
trees, especially the olive, which is cultivated in terraces to a
considerable height up the face of the mountains, while the openings
of the valleys are generally occupied by towns or villages, some of
which have become favourite winter resorts.

From the proximity of the mountains to the sea none of the rivers in
this part of Italy has a long course, and they are generally mere
mountain torrents, rapid and swollen in winter and spring, and almost
dry in summer. The largest and most important are those which descend
from the Maritime Alps between Nice and Albenga. The most considerable
of them are--the Roja, which rises in the Col di Tenda and descends to
Ventimiglia; the Taggia, between San Remo and Oneglia; and the Centa,
which enters the sea at Albenga. The Lavagna, which enters the sea at
Chiavari, is the only stream of any importance between Genoa and the
Gulf of Spezia. But immediately east of that inlet (a remarkable
instance of a deep landlocked gulf with no river flowing into it) the
Magra, which descends from Pontremoli down the valley known as the
Lunigiana, is a large stream, and brings with it the waters of another
considerable stream, the Vara. The Magra (Macra), in ancient times the
boundary between Liguria and Etruria, may be considered as
constituting on this side the limit of Northern Italy.

The Apennines (q.v.), as has been already mentioned, here traverse the
whole breadth of Italy, cutting off the peninsula properly so termed
from the broader mass of Northern Italy by a continuous barrier of
considerable breadth, though of far inferior elevation to that of the
Alps. The Ligurian Apennines may be considered as taking their rise in
the neighbourhood of Savona, where a pass of very moderate elevation
connects them with the Maritime Alps, of which they are in fact only a
continuation. From the neighbourhood of Savona to that of Genoa they
do not rise to more than 3000 to 4000 ft., and are traversed by passes
of less than 2000 ft. As they extend towards the east they increase in
elevation; the Monte Bue rises to 5915 ft., while the Monte Cimone, a
little farther east, attains 7103 ft. This is the highest point in the
northern Apennines, and belongs to a group of summits of nearly equal
altitude; the range which is continued thence between Tuscany and what
are now known as the Emilian provinces presents a continuous ridge
from the mountains at the head of the Val di Mugello (due north of
Florence) to the point where they are traversed by the celebrated
Furlo Pass. The highest point in this part of the range is the Monte
Falterona, above the sources of the Arno, which attains 5410 ft.
Throughout this tract the Apennines are generally covered with
extensive forests of chestnut, oak and beech; while their upper slopes
afford admirable pasturage. Few towns of any importance are found
either on their northern or southern declivity, and the former region
especially, though occupying a tract of from 30 to 40 m. in width,
between the crest of the Apennines and the plain of the Po, is one of
the least known and at the same time least interesting portions of
Italy.

2. _Central Italy._--The geography of Central Italy is almost wholly
determined by the Apennines, which traverse it in a direction from
about north-north-east to south-south-west, almost precisely parallel
to that of the coast of the Adriatic from Rimini to Pescara. The line
of the highest summits and of the watershed ranges is about 30 to 40
m. from the Adriatic, while about double that distance separates it
from the Tyrrhenian Sea on the west. In this part of the range almost
all the highest points of the Apennines are found. Beginning from the
group called the Alpi della Luna near the sources of the Tiber, which
attain 4435 ft., they are continued by the Monte Nerone (5010 ft.),
Monte Catria (5590), and Monte Maggio to the Monte Pennino near Nocera
(5169 ft.), and thence to the Monte della Sibilla, at the source of
the Nar or Nera, which attains 7663 ft. Proceeding thence southwards,
we find in succession the Monte Vettore (8128 ft.), the Pizzo di Sevo
(7945 ft.), and the two great mountain masses of the Monte Corno,
commonly called the Gran Sasso d'Italia, the most lofty of all the
Apennines, attaining to a height of 9560 ft., and the Monte della
Maiella, its highest summit measuring 9170 ft. Farther south no very
lofty summits are found till we come to the group of Monti del Matese,
in Samnium (6660 ft.), which according to the division here adopted
belongs to Southern Italy. Besides the lofty central masses enumerated
there are two other lofty peaks, outliers from the main range, and
separated from it by valleys of considerable extent. These are the
Monte Terminillo, near Leonessa (7278 ft.), and the Monte Velino near
the Lake Fucino, rising to 8192 ft., both of which are covered with
snow from November till May. But the Apennines of Central Italy,
instead of presenting, like the Alps and the northern Apennines, a
definite central ridge, with transverse valleys leading down from it
on both sides, in reality constitute a mountain mass of very
considerable breadth, composed of a number of minor ranges and groups
of mountains, which preserve a generally parallel direction, and are
separated by upland valleys, some of them of considerable extent as
well as considerable elevation above the sea. Such is the basin of
Lake Fucino, situated in the centre of the mass, almost exactly midway
between the two seas, at an elevation of 2180 ft. above them; while
the upper valley of the Aterno, in which Aquila is situated, is 2380
ft. above the sea. Still more elevated is the valley of the Gizio (a
tributary of the Aterno), of which Sulmona is the chief town. This
communicates with the upper valley of the Sangro by a level plain
called the Piano di Cinque Miglia, at an elevation of 4298 ft.,
regarded as the most wintry spot in Italy. Nor do the highest summits
form a continuous ridge of great altitude for any considerable
distance; they are rather a series of groups separated by tracts of
very inferior elevation forming natural passes across the range, and
broken in some places (as is the case in almost all limestone
countries) by the waters from the upland valleys turning suddenly at
right angles, and breaking through the mountain ranges which bound
them. Thus the Gran Sasso and the Maiella are separated by the deep
valley of the Aterno, while the Tronto breaks through the range
between Monte Vettore and the Pizzo di Sevo. This constitution of the
great mass of the central Apennines has in all ages exercised an
important influence upon the character of this portion of Italy, which
may be considered as divided by nature into two great regions, a cold
and barren upland country, bordered on both sides by rich and fertile
tracts, enjoying a warm but temperate climate.

The district west of the Apennines, a region of great beauty and
fertility, though inferior in productiveness to Northern Italy,
coincides in a general way with the countries familiar to all students
of ancient history as Etruria and Latium. Until the union of Italy
they were comprised in Tuscany and the southern Papal States. The
northern part of Tuscany is indeed occupied to a considerable extent
by the underfalls and offshoots of the Apennines, which, besides the
slopes and spurs of the main range that constitutes its northern
frontier towards the plain of the Po, throw off several outlying
ranges or groups. Of these the most remarkable is the group between
the valleys of the Serchio and the Magra, commonly known as the
mountains of Carrara, from the celebrated marble quarries in the
vicinity of that city. Two of the summits of this group, the Pizzo
d'Uccello and the Pania della Croce, attain 6155 and 6100 ft. Another
lateral range, the Prato Magno, which branches off from the central
chain at the Monte Falterona, and separates the upper valley of the
Arno from its second basin, rises to 5188 ft.; while a similar branch,
called the Alpe di Catenaja, of inferior elevation, divides the upper
course of the Arno from that of the Tiber.

The rest of this tract is for the most part a hilly, broken country,
of moderate elevation, but Monte Amiata, near Radicofani, an isolated
mass of volcanic origin, attains a height of 5650 ft. South of this
the country between the frontier of Tuscany and the Tiber is in great
part of volcanic origin, forming hills with distinct crater-shaped
basins, in several instances occupied by small lakes (the Lake of
Bolsena, Lake of Vico and Lake of Bracciano). This volcanic tract
extends across the Campagna of Rome, till it rises again in the lofty
group of the Alban hills, the highest summit of which, the Monte Cavo,
is 3160 ft. above the sea. In this part the Apennines are separated
from the sea, distant about 30 m. by the undulating volcanic plain of
the Roman Campagna, from which the mountains rise in a wall-like
barrier, of which the highest point, the Monte Gennaro, attains 4165
ft. South of Palestrina again, the main mass of the Apennines throws
off another lateral mass, known in ancient times as the Volscian
mountains (now called the Monti Lepini), separated from the central
ranges by the broad valley of the Sacco, a tributary of the Liri
(Liris) or Garigliano, and forming a large and rugged mountain mass,
nearly 5000 ft. in height, which descends to the sea at Terracina, and
between that point and the mouth of the Liri throws out several
rugged mountain headlands, which may be considered as constituting the
natural boundary between Latium and Campania, and consequently the
natural limit of Central Italy. Besides these offshoots of the
Apennines there are in this part of Central Italy several detached
mountains, rising almost like islands on the seashore, of which the
two most remarkable are the Monte Argentaro on the coast of Tuscany
near Orbetello (2087 ft.) and the Monte Circello (1771 ft.) at the
angle of the Pontine Marshes, by the whole breadth of which it is
separated from the Volscian Apennines.

The two valleys of the Arno and the Tiber (Ital. _Tevere_) may be
considered as furnishing the key to the geography of all this portion
of Italy west of the Apennines. The Arno, which has its source in the
Monte Falterona, one of the most elevated summits of the main chain of
the Tuscan Apennines, flows nearly south till in the neighbourhood of
Arezzo it turns abruptly north-west, and pursues that course as far as
Pontassieve, where it again makes a sudden bend to the west, and
pursues a westerly course thence to the sea, passing through Florence
and Pisa. Its principal tributary is the Sieve, which joins it at
Pontassieve, bringing down the waters of the Val di Mugello. The Elsa
and the Era, which join it on its left bank, descending from the hills
near Siena and Volterra, are inconsiderable streams; and the Serchio,
which flows from the territory of Lucca and the Alpi Apuani, and
formerly joined the Arno a few miles from its mouth, now enters the
sea by a separate channel. The most considerable rivers of Tuscany
south of the Arno are the Cecina, which flows through the plain below
Volterra, and the Ombrone, which rises in the hills near Siena, and
enters the sea about 12 m. below Grosseto.

The Tiber, a much more important river than the Arno, and the largest
in Italy with the exception of the Po, rises in the Apennines, about
20 m. east of the source of the Arno, and flows nearly south by Borgo
S. Sepolcro and Città di Castello, then between Perugia and Todi to
Orte, just below which it receives the Nera. The Nera, which rises in
the lofty group of the Monte della Sibilla, is a considerable stream,
and brings with it the waters of the Velino (with its tributaries the
Turano and the Salto), which joins it a few miles below its celebrated
waterfall at Terni. The Teverone or Anio, which enters the Tiber a few
miles above Rome, is an inferior stream to the Nera, but brings down a
considerable body of water from the mountains above Subiaco. It is a
singular fact in the geography of Central Italy that the valleys of
the Tiber and Arno are in some measure connected by that of the
Chiana, a level and marshy tract, the waters from which flow partly
into the Arno and partly into the Tiber.

The eastern declivity of the central Apennines towards the Adriatic is
far less interesting and varied than the western. The central range
here approaches much nearer to the sea, and hence, with few
exceptions, the rivers that flow from it have short courses and are of
comparatively little importance. They may be enumerated, proceeding
from Rimini southwards: (1) the Foglia; (2) the Metauro, of historical
celebrity, and affording access to one of the most frequented passes
of the Apennines; (3) the Esino; (4) the Potenza; (5) the Chienti; (6)
the Aso; (7) the Tronto; (8) the Vomano; (9) the Aterno; (10) the
Sangro; (11) the Trigno, which forms the boundary of the southernmost
province of the Abruzzi, and may therefore be taken as the limit of
Central Italy.

The whole of this portion of Central Italy is a hilly country, much
broken and cut up by the torrents from the mountains, but fertile,
especially in fruit-trees, olives and vines; and it has been, both in
ancient and modern times, a populous district, containing many small
towns though no great cities. Its chief disadvantage is the absence of
ports, the coast preserving an almost unbroken straight line, with the
single exception of Ancona, the only port worthy of the name on the
eastern coast of Central Italy.

3. _Southern Italy._--The great central mass of the Apennines, which
has held its course throughout Central Italy, with a general direction
from north-west to south-east, may be considered as continued in the
same direction for about 100 m. farther, from the basin-shaped group
of the Monti del Matese (which rises to 6660 ft.) to the neighbourhood
of Potenza, in the heart of the province of Basilicata, corresponding
nearly to the ancient Lucania. The whole of the district known in
ancient times as Samnium (a part of which retains the name of Sannio,
though officially designated the province of Campobasso) is occupied
by an irregular mass of mountains, of much inferior height to those of
Central Italy, and broken up into a number of groups, intersected by
rivers, which have for the most part a very tortuous course. This
mountainous tract, which has an average breadth of from 50 to 60 m.,
is bounded west by the plain of Campania, now called the Terra di
Lavoro, and east by the much broader and more extensive tract of
Apulia or Puglia, composed partly of level plains, but for the most
part of undulating downs, contrasting strongly with the mountain
ranges of the Apennines, which rise abruptly above them. The central
mass of the mountains, however, throws out two outlying ranges, the
one to the west, which separates the Bay of Naples from that of
Salerno, and culminates in the Monte S. Angelo above Castellammare
(4720 ft.), while the detached volcanic cone of Vesuvius (nearly 4000
ft.) is isolated from the neighbouring mountains by an intervening
strip of plain. On the east side in like manner the Monte Gargano
(3465 ft.), a detached limestone mass which projects in a bold
spur-like promontory into the Adriatic, forming the only break in the
otherwise uniform coast-line of Italy on that sea, though separated
from the great body of the Apennines by a considerable interval of low
country, may be considered as merely an outlier from the central mass.

From the neighbourhood of Potenza, the main ridge of the Apennines is
continued by the Monti della Maddalena in a direction nearly due
south, so that it approaches within a short distance of the Gulf of
Policastro, whence it is carried on as far as the Monte Pollino, the
last of the lofty summits of the Apennine chain, which exceeds 7000
ft. in height. The range is, however, continued through the province
now called Calabria, to the southern extremity or "toe" of Italy, but
presents in this part a very much altered character, the broken
limestone range which is the true continuation of the chain as far as
the neighbourhood of Nicastro and Catanzaro, and keeps close to the
west coast, being flanked on the east by a great mass of granitic
mountains, rising to about 6000 ft., and covered with vast forests,
from which it derives the name of La Sila. A similar mass, separated
from the preceding by a low neck of Tertiary hills, fills up the whole
of the peninsular extremity of Italy from Squillace to Reggio. Its
highest point is called Aspromonte (6420 ft.).

While the rugged and mountainous district of Calabria, extending
nearly due south for a distance of more than 150 m., thus derives its
character and configuration almost wholly from the range of the
Apennines, the long spur-like promontory which projects towards the
east to Brindisi and Otranto is merely a continuation of the low tract
of Apulia, with a dry calcareous soil of Tertiary origin. The Monte
Volture, which rises in the neighbourhood of Melfi and Venosa to 4357
ft., is of volcanic origin, and in great measure detached from the
adjoining mass of the Apennines. Eastward from this the ranges of low
bare hills called the Murgie of Gravina and Altamura gradually sink
into the still more moderate level of those which constitute the
peninsular tract between Brindisi and Taranto as far as the Cape of
Sta Maria di Leuca, the south-east extremity of Italy. This projecting
tract, which may be termed the "heel" or "spur" of Southern Italy, in
conjunction with the great promontory of Calabria, forms the deep Gulf
of Taranto, about 70 m. in width, and somewhat greater depth, which
receives a number of streams from the central mass of the Apennines.

None of the rivers of Southern Italy is of any great importance. The
Liri (Liris) or Garigliano, which has its source in the central
Apennines above Sora, not far from Lake Fucino, and enters the Gulf of
Gaeta about 10 m. east of the city of that name, brings down a
considerable body of water; as does also the Volturno, which rises in
the mountains between Castel di Sangro and Agnone, flows past Isernia,
Venafro and Capua, and enters the sea about 15 m. from the mouth of
the Garigliano. About 16 m. above Capua it receives the Calore, which
flows by Benevento. The Silarus or Sele enters the Gulf of Salerno a
few miles below the ruins of Paestum. Below this the watershed of the
Apennines is too near to the sea on that side to allow the formation
of any large streams. Hence the rivers that flow in the opposite
direction into the Adriatic and the Gulf of Taranto have much longer
courses, though all partake of the character of mountain torrents,
rushing down with great violence in winter and after storms, but
dwindling in the summer into scanty streams, which hold a winding and
sluggish course through the great plains of Apulia. Proceeding south
from the Trigno, already mentioned as constituting the limit of
Central Italy, there are (1) the Biferno and (2) the Fortore, both
rising in the mountains of Samnium, and flowing into the Adriatic west
of Monte Gargano; (3) the Cervaro, south of the great promontory; and
(4) the Ofanto, the Aufidus of Horace, whose description of it is
characteristic of almost all the rivers of Southern Italy, of which it
may be taken as the typical representative. It rises about 15 m. west
of Conza, and only about 25 m. from the Gulf of Salerno, so that it is
frequently (though erroneously) described as traversing the whole
range of the Apennines. In its lower course it flows near Canosa and
traverses the celebrated battlefield of Cannae. (5) The Bradano, which
rises near Venosa, almost at the foot of Monte Volture, flows towards
the south-east into the Gulf of Taranto, as do the Basento, the Agri
and the Sinni, all of which descend from the central chain of the
Apennines south of Potenza. The Crati, which flows from Cosenza
northwards, and then turns abruptly eastward to enter the same gulf,
is the only stream worthy of notice in the rugged peninsula of
Calabria; while the arid limestone hills projecting eastwards to Capo
di Leuca do not give rise to anything more than a mere streamlet, from
the mouth of the Ofanto to the south-eastern extremity of Italy.

Lakes.

The only important lakes are those on or near the north frontier,
formed by the expansion of the tributaries of the Po. They have been
already noticed in connexion with the rivers by which they are formed,
but may be again enumerated in order of succession. They are,
proceeding from west to east, (1) the Lago d'Orta, (2) the Lago
Maggiore, (3) the Lago di Lugano, (4) the Lago di Como, (5) the Lago
d'Iseo, (6) the Lago d'Idro, and (7) the Lago di Garda. Of these the
last named is considerably the largest, covering an area of 143 sq. m.
It is 32¼ m. long by 10 broad; while the Lago Maggiore,
notwithstanding its name, though considerably exceeding it in length
(37 m.), falls materially below it in superficial extent. They are all
of great depth--the Lago Maggiore having an extreme depth of 1198
ft., while that of Como attains to 1365 ft. Of a wholly different
character is the Lago di Varese, between the Lago Maggiore and that of
Lugano, which is a mere shallow expanse of water, surrounded by hills
of very moderate elevation. Two other small lakes in the same
neighbourhood, as well as those of Erba and Pusiano, between Como and
Lecco, are of a similar character.

The lakes of Central Italy, which are comparatively of trifling
dimensions, belong to a wholly different class. The most important of
these, the Lacus Fucinus of the ancients, now called the Lago di
Celano, situated almost exactly in the centre of the peninsula,
occupies a basin of considerable extent, surrounded by mountains and
without any natural outlet, at an elevation of more than 2000 ft. Its
waters have been in great part carried off by an artificial channel,
and more than half its surface laid bare. Next in size is the Lago
Trasimeno, a broad expanse of shallow waters, about 30 m. in
circumference, surrounded by low hills. The neighbouring lake of
Chiusi is of similar character, but much smaller dimensions. All the
other lakes of Central Italy, which are scattered through the volcanic
districts west of the Apennines, are of an entirely different
formation, and occupy deep cup-shaped hollows, which have undoubtedly
at one time formed the craters of extinct volcanoes. Such is the Lago
di Bolsena, near the city of the same name, which is an extensive
sheet of water, as well as the much smaller Lago di Vico (the Ciminian
lake of ancient writers) and the Lago di Bracciano, nearer Rome, while
to the south of Rome the well known lakes of Albano and Nemi have a
similar origin.

The only lake properly so called in southern Italy is the Lago del
Matese, in the heart of the mountain group of the same name, of small
extent. The so-called lakes on the coast of the Adriatic north and
south of the promontory of Gargano are brackish lagoons communicating
with the sea.

Islands.

The three great islands of Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica are closely
connected with Italy, both by geographical position and community of
language, but they are considered at length in separate articles. Of
the smaller islands that lie near the coasts of Italy, the most
considerable is that of Elba, off the west coast of central Italy,
about 50 m. S. of Leghorn, and separated from the mainland at Piombino
by a strait of only about 6 m. in width. North of this, and about
midway between Corsica and Tuscany, is the small island of Capraia,
steep and rocky, and only 4½ m. long, but with a secure port; Gorgona,
about 25 m. farther north, is still smaller, and is a mere rock,
inhabited by a few fishermen. South of Elba are the equally
insignificant islets of Pianosa and Montecristo, while the more
considerable island of Giglio lies much nearer the mainland,
immediately opposite the mountain promontory of Monte Argentano,
itself almost an island. The islands farther south in the Tyrrhenian
Sea are of an entirely different character. Of these Ischia and
Procida, close to the northern headland of the Bay of Naples, are of
volcanic origin, as is the case also with the more distant group of
the Ponza Islands. These are three in number--Ponza, Palmarola and
Zannone; while Ventotene (also of volcanic formation) is about midway
between Ponza and Ischia. The island of Capri, on the other hand,
opposite the southern promontory of the Bay of Naples, is a
precipitous limestone rock. The Aeolian or Lipari Islands, a
remarkable volcanic group, belong rather to Sicily than to Italy,
though Stromboli, the most easterly of them, is about equidistant from
Sicily and from the mainland.

The Italian coast of the Adriatic presents a great contrast to its
opposite shores, for while the coast of Dalmatia is bordered by a
succession of islands, great and small, the long and uniform
coast-line of Italy from Otranto to Rimini presents not a single
adjacent island; and the small outlying group of the Tremiti Islands
(north of the Monte Gargano and about 15 m. from the mainland) alone
breaks the monotony of this part of the Adriatic.

_Geology._--The geology of Italy is mainly dependent upon that of the
Apennines (q.v.). On each side of that great chain are found extensive
Tertiary deposits, sometimes, as in Tuscany, the district of
Monferrat, &c., forming a broken, hilly country, at others spreading
into broad plains or undulating downs, such as the Tavoliere of
Puglia, and the tract that forms the spur of Italy from Bari to
Otranto.

Besides these, and leaving out of account the islands, the Italian
peninsula presents four distinct volcanic districts. In three of them
the volcanoes are entirely extinct, while the fourth is still in great
activity.

1. The Euganean hills form a small group extending for about 10 m.
from the neighbourhood of Padua to Este, and separated from the lower
offshoots of the Alps by a portion of the wide plain of Padua. Monte
Venda, their highest peak, is 1890 ft. high.

2. The Roman district, the largest of the four, extends from the hills
of Albano to the frontier of Tuscany, and from the lower slopes of the
Apennines to the Tyrrhenian Sea. It may be divided into three groups:
the Monti Albani, the second highest[2] of which, Monte Cavo (3115
ft.), is the ancient Mons Albanus, on the summit of which stood the
temple of Jupiter Latialis, where the assemblies of the cities forming
the Latin confederation were held; the Monti Cimini, which extend from
the valley of the Tiber to the neighbourhood of Civita Vecchia, and
attain at their culminating point an elevation of 3454 ft.; and the
mountains of Radicofani and Monte Amiata, the latter of which is 5688
ft. high. The lakes of Bolsena (Vulsiniensis), of Bracciano
(Sabatinus), of Vico (Ciminus), of Albano (Albanus), of Nemi
(Nemorensis), and other smaller lakes belong to this district; while
between its south-west extremity and Monte Circello the Pontine
Marshes form a broad strip of alluvial soil infested by malaria.

3. The volcanic region of the Terra di Lavoro is separated by the
Volscian mountains from the Roman district. It may be also divided
into three groups. Of Roccamonfina, at the N.N.W. end of the Campanian
Plain, the highest cone, called Montagna di Santa Croce, is 3291 ft.
The Phlegraean Fields embrace all the country round Baiae and Pozzuoli
and the adjoining islands. Monte Barbaro (Gaurus), north-east of the
site of Cumae, Monte San Nicola (Epomeus), 2589 ft. in Ischia, and
Camaldoli, 1488 ft., west of Naples, are the highest cones. The lakes
Averno (Avernus), Lucrino (Lucrinus), Fusaro (Palus Acherusia), and
Agnano are within this group, which has shown activity in historical
times. A stream of lava issued in 1198 from the crater of the
Solfatara, which still continues to exhale steam and noxious gases;
the Lava dell' Arso came out of the N.E. flank of Monte Epomeo in
1302; and Monte Nuovo, north-west of Pozzuoli (455 ft.), was thrown up
in three days in September 1538. Since its first historical eruption
in A.D. 79, Vesuvius or Somma, which forms the third group, has been
in constant activity. The Punta del Nasone, the highest point of
Somma, is 3714 ft. high, while the Punta del Palo, the highest point
of the brim of the crater of Vesuvius, varies materially with
successive eruptions from 3856 to 4275 ft.

4. The Apulian volcanic formation consists of the great mass of Monte
Volture, which rises at the west end of the plains of Apulia, on the
frontier of Basilicata, and is surrounded by the Apennines on its
south-west and north-west sides. Its highest peak, the Pizzuto di
Melfi, attains an elevation of 4365 ft. Within the widest crater there
are the two small lakes of Monticchio and San Michele. In connexion
with the volcanic districts we may mention _Le Mofete_, the pools of
Ampsanctus, in a wooded valley S.E. of Frigento, in the province of
Avellino, Campania (Virgil, _Aeneid_, vii. 563-571), The largest is
not more than 160 ft. in circumference, and 7 ft. deep.

The whole of the great plain of Lombardy is covered by Pleistocene and
recent deposits. It is a great depression--the continuation of the
Adriatic Sea--filled up by deposits brought down by the rivers from
the mountains. The depression was probably formed during the later
stages of the growth of the Alps.

_Climate and Vegetation._--The geographical position of Italy,
extending from about 46° to 38° N., renders it one of the hottest
countries in Europe. But the effect of its southern latitude is
tempered by its peninsular character, bounded as it is on both sides
by seas of considerable extent, as well as by the great range of the
Alps with its snows and glaciers to the north. There are thus
irregular variations of climate. Great differences also exist with
regard to climate between northern and southern Italy, due in great
part to other circumstances as well as to differences of latitude.
Thus the great plain of northern Italy is chilled by the cold winds
from the Alps, while the damp warm winds from the Mediterranean are to
a great extent intercepted by the Ligurian Apennines. Hence this part
of the country has a cold winter climate, so that while the mean
summer temperature of Milan is higher than that of Sassari, and equal
to that of Naples, and the extremes reached at Milan and Bologna are a
good deal higher than those of Naples, the mean winter temperature of
Turin is actually lower than that of Copenhagen. The lowest recorded
winter temperature at Turin is 5° Fahr. Throughout the region north of
the Apennines no plants will thrive which cannot stand occasional
severe frosts in winter, so that not only oranges and lemons but even
the olive tree cannot be grown, except in specially favoured
situations. But the strip of coast between the Apennines and the sea,
known as the Riviera of Genoa, is not only extremely favourable to the
growth of olives, but produces oranges and lemons in abundance, while
even the aloe, the cactus and the palm flourish in many places.

Central Italy also presents striking differences of climate and
temperature according to the greater or less proximity to the
mountains. Thus the greater part of Tuscany, and the provinces thence
to Rome, enjoy a mild winter climate, and are well adapted to the
growth of mulberries and olives as well as vines, but it is not till
after passing Terracina, in proceeding along the western coast towards
the south, that the vegetation of southern Italy develops in its full
luxuriance. Even in the central parts of Tuscany, however, the climate
is very much affected by the neighbouring mountains, and the
increasing elevation of the Apennines as they proceed south produces a
corresponding effect upon the temperature. But it is when we reach the
central range of the Apennines that we find the coldest districts of
Italy. In all the upland valleys of the Abruzzi snow begins to fall
early in November, and heavy storms occur often as late as May; whole
communities are shut out for months from any intercourse with their
neighbours, and some villages are so long buried in snow that regular
passages are made between the different houses for the sake of
communication among the inhabitants. The district from the south-east
of Lake Fucino to the Piano di Cinque Miglia, enclosing the upper
basin of the Sangro and the small lake of Scanno, is the coldest and
most bleak part of Italy south of the Alps. Heavy falls of snow in
June are not uncommon, and only for a short time towards the end of
July are the nights totally exempt from light frosts. Yet less than 40
m. E. of this district, and even more to the north, the olive, the
fig-tree and the orange thrive luxuriantly on the shores of the
Adriatic from Ortona to Vasto. In the same way, whilst in the plains
and hills round Naples snow is rarely seen, and never remains long,
and the thermometer seldom descends to the freezing-point, 20 m. E.
from it in the fertile valley of Avellino, of no great elevation, but
encircled by high mountains, light frosts are not uncommon as late as
June; and 18 m. farther east, in the elevated region of San Angelo dei
Lombardi and Bisaccia, the inhabitants are always warmly clad, and
vines grow with difficulty and only in sheltered places. Still farther
south-east, Potenza has almost the coldest climate in Italy, and
certainly the lowest summer temperatures. But nowhere are these
contrasts so striking as in Calabria. The shores, especially on the
Tyrrhenian Sea, present almost a continued grove of olive, orange,
lemon and citron trees, which attain a size unknown in the north of
Italy. The sugar-cane flourishes, the cotton-plant ripens to
perfection, date-trees are seen in the gardens, the rocks are clothed
with the prickly-pear or Indian fig, the enclosures of the fields are
formed by aloes and sometimes pomegranates, the liquorice-root grows
wild, and the mastic, the myrtle and many varieties of oleander and
cistus form the underwood of the natural forests of arbutus and
evergreen oak. If we turn inland but 5 or 6 m. from the shore, and
often even less, the scene changes. High districts covered with oaks
and chestnuts succeed to this almost tropical vegetation; a little
higher up and we reach the elevated regions of the Pollino and the
Sila, covered with firs and pines, and affording rich pastures even in
the midst of summer, when heavy dews and light frosts succeed each
other in July and August, and snow begins to appear at the end of
September or early in October. Along the shores of the Adriatic, which
are exposed to the north-east winds, blowing coldly from over the
Albanian mountains, delicate plants do not thrive so well in general
as under the same latitude along the shores of the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Southern Italy indeed has in general a very different climate from the
northern portion of the kingdom; and, though large tracts are still
occupied by rugged mountains of sufficient elevation to retain the
snow for a considerable part of the year, the districts adjoining the
sea enjoy a climate similar to that of Greece and the southern
provinces of Spain. Unfortunately several of these fertile tracts
suffer severely from malaria (q.v.), and especially the great plain
adjoining the Gulf of Tarentum, which in the early ages of history was
surrounded by a girdle of Greek cities--some of which attained to
almost unexampled prosperity--has for centuries past been given up to
almost complete desolation.[3]

It is remarkable that, of the vegetable productions of Italy, many
which are at the present day among the first to attract the attention
of the visitor are of comparatively late introduction, and were
unknown in ancient times. The olive indeed in all ages clothed the
hills of a large part of the country; but the orange and lemon, are a
late importation from the East, while the cactus or Indian fig and the
aloe, both of them so conspicuous on the shores of southern Italy, as
well as of the Riviera of Genoa, are of Mexican origin, and
consequently could not have been introduced earlier than the 16th
century. The same remark applies to the maize or Indian corn. Many
botanists are even of opinion that the sweet chestnut, which now
constitutes so large a part of the forests that clothe the sides both
of the Alps and the Apennines, and in some districts supplies the
chief food of the inhabitants, is not originally of Italian growth; it
is certain that it had not attained in ancient times to anything like
the extension and importance which it now possesses. The eucalyptus is
of quite modern introduction; it has been extensively planted in
malarious districts. The characteristic cypress, ilex and stone-pine,
however, are native trees, the last-named flourishing especially near
the coast. The proportion of evergreens is large, and has a marked
effect on the landscape in winter.

_Fauna._--The chamois, bouquetin and marmot are found only in the
Alps, not at all in the Apennines. In the latter the bear was found in
Roman times, and there are said to be still a few remaining. Wolves
are more numerous, though only in the mountainous districts; the
flocks are protected against them by large white sheepdogs, who have
some wolf blood in them. Wild boars are also found in mountainous and
forest districts. Foxes are common in the neighbourhood of Rome. The
sea mammals include the common dolphin (_Delphinus delphis_). The
birds are similar to those of central Europe; in the mountains
vultures, eagles, buzzards, kites, falcons and hawks are found.
Partridges, woodcock, snipe, &c., are among the game birds; but all
kinds of small birds are also shot for food, and their number is thus
kept down, while many members of the migratory species are caught by
traps in the foothills on the south side of the Alps, especially near
the Lake of Como, on their passage. Large numbers of quails are shot
in the spring. Among reptiles, the various kinds of lizard are
noticeable. There are several varieties of snakes, of which three
species (all vipers) are poisonous. Of sea-fish there are many
varieties, the tunny, the sardine and the anchovy being commercially
the most important. Some of the other edible fish, such as the
palombo, are not found in northern waters. Small cuttlefish are in
common use as an article of diet. Tortoiseshell, an important article
of commerce, is derived from the _Thalassochelys caretta_, a sea
turtle. Of freshwater fish the trout of the mountain streams and the
eels of the coast lagoons may be mentioned. The tarantula spider and
the scorpion are found in the south of Italy. The aquarium of the
zoological station at Naples contains the finest collection in the
world of marine animals, showing the wonderful variety of the
different species of fish, molluscs, crustacea, &c., found in the
Mediterranean. (E. H. B.; T. As.)

_Population._--The following table indicates the areas of the several
provinces (sixty-nine in number), and the population of each according
to the censuses of the 31st of December 1881 and the 9th of February
1901. (The larger divisions or compartments in which the provinces are
grouped are not officially recognized.)

+----------------------------------+---------+-------------------------+
| | | Population. |
| Provinces and Compartments. | Area in +------------+------------+
| | sq. m. | 1881. | 1901. |
+----------------------------------+---------+------------+------------+
| Alessandria | 1950 | 729,710 | 825,745 |
| Cuneo | 2882 | 635,400 | 670,504 |
| Novara | 2553 | 675,926 | 763,830 |
| Turin | 3955 | 1,029,214 | 1,147,414 |
| +---------+------------+------------+
| Piedmont | 11,340 | 3,070,250 | 3,407,493 |
| +---------+------------+------------+
| Genoa | 1582 | 760,122 | 931,156 |
| Porto Maurizio | 455 | 132,251 | 144,604 |
| +---------+------------+------------+
| Liguria | 2037 | 892,373 | 1,075,760 |
| +---------+------------+------------+
| Bergamo | 1098 | 390,775 | 467,549 |
| Brescia | 1845 | 471,568 | 541,765 |
| Como | 1091 | 515,050 | 594,304 |
| Cremona | 695 | 302,097 | 329,471 |
| Mantua | 912 | 295,728 | 315,448 |
| Milan | 1223 | 1,114,991 | 1,450,214 |
| Pavia | 1290 | 469,831 | 504,382 |
| Sondrio | 1232 | 120,534 | 130,966 |
| +---------+------------+------------+
| Lombardy | 9386 | 3,680,574 | 4,334,099 |
| +---------+------------+------------+
| Belluno | 1293 | 174,140 | 214,803 |
| Padua | 823 | 397,762 | 444,360 |
| Rovigo | 685 | 217,700 | 222,057 |
| Treviso | 960 | 375,704 | 416,945 |
| Udine | 2541 | 501,745 | 614,720 |
| Venice | 934 | 356,708 | 399,823 |
| Verona | 1188 | 394,065 | 427,018 |
| Vicenza | 1052 | 396,349 | 453,621 |
| +---------+------------+------------+
| Venetia | 9476 | 2,814,173 | 3,193,347 |
| +---------+------------+------------+
| Bologna | 1448 | 464,879 | 529,619 |
| Ferrara | 1012 | 230,807 | 270,558 |
| Forlì | 725 | 251,110 | 283,996 |
| Modena | 987 | 279,254 | 323,598 |
| Parma | 1250 | 267,306 | 303,694 |
| Piacenza | 954 | 226,758 | 250,491 |
| Ravenna | 715 | 218,359 | 234,656 |
| Reggio (Emilia) | 876 | 244,959 | 281,085 |
| +---------+------------+------------+
| Emilia | 7967 | 2,183,432 | 2,477,697 |
| +---------+------------+------------+
| Arezzo | 1273 | 238,744 | 275,588 |
| Florence | 2265 | 790,776 | 945,324 |
| Grosseto | 1738 | 114,295 | 137,795 |
| Leghorn | 133 | 121,612 | 121,137 |
| Lucca | 558 | 284,484 | 329,986 |
| Massa and Carrara | 687 | 169,469 | 202,749 |
| Pisa | 1179 | 283,563 | 319,854 |
| Siena | 1471 | 205,926 | 233,874 |
| +---------+------------+------------+
| Tuscany | 9304 | 2,208,869 | 2,566,307 |
| +---------+------------+------------+
| Ancona | 762 | 267,338 | 308,346 |
| Ascoli Piceno | 796 | 209,185 | 251,829 |
| Macerata | 1087 | 239,713 | 269,505 |
| Pesaro and Urbino | 1118 | 223,043 | 259,083 |
| +---------+------------+------------+
| Marches | 3763 | 939,279 | 1,088,763 |
| +---------+------------+------------+
| Perugia--Umbria | 3748 | 572,060 | 675,352 |
| +---------+------------+------------+
| Rome--Lazio | 4663 | 903,472 | 1,142,526 |
| Aquila degli Abruzzi (Abruzzo | | | |
| Ulteriore II.) | 2484 | 353,027 | 436,367 |
| Campobasso (Molise) | 1691 | 365,434 | 389,967 |
| Chieti (Abruzzo Citeriore) | 1138 | 343,948 | 387,604 |
| Teramo (Abruzzo Ulteriore I.) | 1067 | 254,806 | 312,188 |
| +---------+------------+------------+
| Abruzzi and Molise | 6380 | 1,317,215 | 1,526,135 |
| +---------+------------+------------+
| Avellino (Principato Ulteriore) | 1172 | 392,619 | 421,766 |
| Benevento | 818 | 238,425 | 265,460 |
| Caserta (Terra di Lavoro) | 2033 | 714,131 | 805,345 |
| Naples | 350 | 1,001,245 | 1,141,788 |
| Salerno (Principato Citeriore) | 1916 | 550,157 | 585,132 |
| +---------+------------+------------+
| Campania | 6289 | 2,896,577 | 3,219,491 |
| +---------+------------+------------+
| Bari delle Puglie (Terra di Bari)| 2065 | 679,499 | 837,683 |
| Foggia (Capitanata) | 2688 | 356,267 | 421,115 |
| Lecce (Terra di Otranto) | 2623 | 553,298 | 705,382 |
| +---------+------------+------------+
| Apulia | 7376 | 1,589,064 | 1,964,180 |
| +---------+------------+------------+
| Potenza (Basilicata) | 3845 | 524,504 | 491,558 |
| +---------+------------|------------+
| Catanzaro (Calabria Ulteriore | | | |
| II.) | 2030 | 433,975 | 498,791 |
| Cosenza (Calabria Citeriore) | 2568 | 451,185 | 503,329 |
| Reggio di Calabria (Calabria | | | |
| Ulteriore I.) | 1221 | 372,723 | 437,209 |
| +---------+------------+------------+
| Calabria | 5819 | 1,257,883 | 1,439,329 |
| +---------+------------+------------+
| Caltanisetta | 1263 | 266,379 | 329,449 |
| Catania | 1917 | 563,457 | 703,598 |
| Girgenti | 1172 | 312,487 | 380,666 |
| Messina | 1246 | 460,924 | 550,895 |
| Palermo | 1948 | 699,151 | 796,151 |
| Syracuse | 1442 | 341,526 | 433,796 |
| Trapani | 948 | 283,977 | 373,569 |
| +---------+------------+------------+
| Sicily | 9936 | 2,927,901 | 3,568,124 |
| +---------+------------+------------+
| Cagliari | 5204 | 420,635 | 486,767 |
| Sassari | 4090 | 261,367 | 309,026 |
| +---------+------------+------------+
| Sardinia | 9294 | 682,002 | 795,793 |
| +---------+------------+------------+
| Kingdom of Italy | 110,623 | 28,459,628 | 32,965,504 |
+----------------------------------+---------+------------+------------+

The number of foreigners in Italy in 1901 was 61,606, of whom 37,762
were domiciled within the kingdom.

The population given in the foregoing table is the resident or "legal"
population, which is also given for the individual towns. This is
490,251 higher than the actual population, 32,475,253, ascertained by
the census of the 10th of February 1901; the difference is due to
temporary absences from their residences of certain individuals on
military service, &c., who probably were counted twice, and also to
the fact that 469,020 individuals were returned as absent from Italy,
while only 61,606 foreigners were in Italy at the date of the census.
The kingdom is divided into 69 provinces, 284 regions, of which 197
are classed as _circondarii_ and 87 as districts (the latter belonging
to the province of Mantua and the 8 provinces of Venetia), 1806
administrative divisions (_mandamenti_) and 8262 communes. These were
the figures at the date of the census. In 1906 there were 1805
_mandamenti_ and 8290 communes, and 4 boroughs in Sardinia not
connected with communes. The _mandamenti_ or administrative divisions
no longer correspond to the judicial divisions (_mandamenti
giudiziarii_) which in November 1891 were reduced from 1806 to 1535 by
a law which provided that judicial reform should not modify existing
administrative and electoral divisions. The principal elective local
administrative bodies are the provincial and the communal councils.
The franchise is somewhat wider than the parliamentary. Both bodies
are elected for six years, one-half being renewed every three years.
The provincial council elects a provincial commission and the communal
council a municipal council from among its own members; these smaller
bodies carry on the business of the larger while they are not sitting.
The syndic of each commune is elected by ballot by the communal
council from among its own members.

The actual (not the resident or "legal") population of Italy since
1770 is approximately given in the following table (the first census
of the kingdom as a whole was taken in 1871):--

1770 14,689,317 | 1861 25,016,801
1800 17,237,421 | 1871 26,801,154
1825 19,726,977 | 1881 28,459,628
1848 23,617,153 | 1901 32,475,253

The average density increased from 257.21 per sq. m. in 1881 to 293.28
in 1901. In Venetia, Emilia, the Marches, Umbria and Tuscany the
proportion of concentrated population is only from 40 to 55%; in
Piedmont, Liguria and Lombardy the proportion rises to from 70 to 76%;
in southern Italy, Sicily and Sardinia it attains a maximum of from 76
to 93%.

The population of towns over 100,000 is given in the following table
according to the estimates for 1906. The population of the town itself
is distinguished from that of its commune, which often includes a
considerable portion of the surrounding country.

Town. Commune.

Bologna 105,153 160,423
Catania 135,548 159,210
Florence 201,183 226,559
Genoa 255,294 267,248
Messina 108,514 165,007
Milan 560,613 ..
Naples 491,614 585,289
Palermo 264,036 323,747
Rome 403,282 516,580
Turin 277,121 361,720
Venice 146,940 169,563