The shape of Italy is determined by the course of the
Apennines. Branching off from the Alps at the gulf of Genoa, these mountains
cross the peninsula in an easterly direction, almost to the Adriatic. Here they
turn sharply to the southeast and follow the coast for a considerable distance.
The plains of central Italy, in consequence, are all on the western slope of
the Apennines. In the lower part of the peninsula the range swerves suddenly to
the southwest, so that the level land is there on the eastern side of the
mountains. Near the southern extremity of Italy the Apennines separate into two
branches, which penetrate the "heel and toe" of the peninsula.
DIVISIONS OF ITALY
Italy may be conveniently divided into a northern, a
central, and a southern section. These divisions, however, are determined by
the direction of the mountains and not, as in Greece, chiefly by inlets of the
sea. Northern Italy contains the important region known in ancient times as
Cisalpine Gaul. This is a perfectly level plain two hundred miles in length,
watered by the Po (Padus), which the Romans called the "king of
rivers," because of its length and many tributary streams. Central Italy,
lying south of the Apennines, includes seven districts, of which the three on
the western coast—Etruria, Latium, and Campania—were most conspicuous in
ancient history. Southern Italy, because of its warm climate and deeply
indented coast, early attracted many Greek colonists. Their colonies here came
to be known as Magna Graecia, or Great Greece.
