Geography of Ancient Italy | Fast Facts About Italy
The following information provides background for reading ancient Roman history.
Name of Italy
The name Italy comes from the Latin word Italia that referred to a territory owned by Rome, but was later applied to the Italic peninsula. It is possible that etymologically the name comes from Oscan Viteliu, referring to cattle. [See Etymology of Italia (Italy).]
Location of Italy
42 50 N, 12 50 E
Italy is a peninsula extending from southern Europe into the Mediterranean Sea. The Ligurian Sea, the Sardinian Sea, and the Tyrrhenian Sea surround Italy on the west, the Sicilian Sea and the Ionian Sea in the south, and the Adriatic Sea in the east.
Divisions of Italy
During the Augustan Age, Italy was divided into the following regions:- Regio I Latium et Campania
- Regio II Apulia et Calabria
- Regio III Lucania et Brutii
- Regio IV Samnium
- Regio V Picenum
- Regio VI Umbria et Ager Gallicus
- Regio VII Etruria
- Regio VIII Aemilia
- Regio IX Liguria
- Regio X Venetia et Histria
- Regio XI Transpadana
- Piedmont - Turin
- Aosta Valley - Aosta
- Lombardy - Milan
- Trentino Alto Adige - Trento Bolzano
- Veneto - Venice
- Friuli-Venezia Giulia - Trieste
- Liguria - Genoa
- Emilia-Romagna - Bologna
- Tuscany - Florence
- Umbria - Perugia
- Marches - Ancona
- Latium - Rome
- Abruzzo - L'Aquila
- Molise - Campobasso
- Campania - Naples
- Apulia - Bari
- Basilicata - Potenza
- Calabria - Catanzaro
- Sicily - Palermo
- Sardinia - Cagliari
Rivers
- Po - the largest river running from west to east across Italy, from the Alps to the Adriatic Sea. 405 mi (652 km) and 1,650 ft (503 m) at its widest.
- Tiber River - runs for 252 mi (406 km), from Mount Fumaiolo through Rome and into the Tyrrhenian Sea at Ostia.
Lakes
- Lake Garda
- Northern Italy
- Lake Como
- Lake Iseo
- Lake Maggiore
- Central Italy
- Lake Bolsena
- Lake Bracciano
- Lake Trasimeno
Mountains of Italy
There are two main chains of mountains in Italy, the Alps, running east-west, and the Apennines. The Apennines form an arc running down Italy. Highest mountain: Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco) de Courmayeur 4,748 m., in the Alps.
Volcanoes
- Mount Vesuvius (1,281 m) (near Naples)
- Mount Etna or Aetna (3,326 m) (Sicily
Land Boundaries:
Total: 1,899.2 km
Coastline: 7,600 km
Border countries:
- Austria 430 km
- France 488 km
- Holy See (Vatican City) 3.2 km
- San Marino 39 km
- Slovenia 199 km
- Switzerland 740 km
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