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Ancient Geography of Italy
Italy is divided into two parts, the
northern consisting of the great
plain drained by the River Padus, or
Po, and its tributaries, and the
southern being a long tongue of
land, with the Apennines as a
back-bone running down its whole
extent from north to south. The
extreme length of the peninsula from
the Alps to the Straits of Messina
is 700 miles. The breadth of
northern Italy is 350 miles, while
that of the southern portion is on
an average not more than 100 miles.
Ancient Geography of Italy -
The Size of Italy
Until the time of the
Empire, the Romans never included the plain of the Po in
Italy. To this country they gave the general name of GALLIA
CISALPINA, or Gaul on this (the Roman) side of the Alps,
because of its being inhabited by Gauls. The western-most
portion of the plain was peopled by Ligurian tribes, and was
therefore called LIGURIA, while its eastern extremity formed
the Roman province of VENETIA.
Ancient Geography of Italy -
Italia
The name ITALIA was originally applied to a very small tract
of country. It was at first confined to the southern portion
of Calabria, and was gradually extended northward, till
about the time of the Punic wars it indicated the whole
peninsula south of the Rivers Rubicon and Macra, the former
separating Cisalpine Gaul and Umbria, the latter Liguria and
Etruria. Italy, so called, is a very mountainous country,
being filled up more or less by the broad mass of the
Apennines, the offshoots or lateral branches of which, in
some parts, descend to the sea, but in others leave a
considerable space of level or low country.
Ancient Geography of Italy -
The Districts of Early Italy
Excluding the plain of the
Po, Italy was divided into the following districts:
Etruria *** Umbria *** Picenum
Ancient Geography of Italy -
The Districts of Early Italy -
ETRURIA
Etruria extended along the coast of the Lower Sea from the
River Macra on the north to the Tiber on the south. Inland,
the Tiber also formed its eastern boundary, dividing it
first from Umbria, afterward from the Sabines, and, lastly,
from Latium. Its inhabitants were called Etrusci, or Tusci,
the latter form being still preserved in the name of
Tuscany. Besides the Tiber it possesses only one other river
of any importance, the Arnus, or Arno, upon which the city
of Florence now stands. Of its lakes the most considerable
is the Lacus Trasimenus, about thirty-six miles in
circumference, celebrated for the great victory which
Hannibal there gained over the Romans.
Ancient Geography of Italy -
The Districts of Early Italy
- UMBRIA
Umbria is situated to the east of Etruria, and extending
from the valley of the Tiber to the shores of the Adriatic.
It was separated on the north from Gallia Cisalpina by the
Rubicon, and on the south by the AEsis from Picenum, and by
the Nar from the Sabines.
Ancient Geography of Italy -
The Districts of Early Italy -
PICENUM
Picenum extended along the Adriatic from the mouth of the
aesis to that of the Matrinus and inland as far as the
central ridge of the Apennines. It was bounded on the north
by Umbria, on the south by the Vestini, and on the west by
Umbria and the Sabini. Its inhabitants, the Picentes, were a
Sabine race.
Ancient Geography of Italy -
The Regions of Italy
The early regions of Italy
were as follows:
Campania ***
Samnium
*** Apulia
*** Calabria
*** Lucania
Ancient Geography of Italy -
Campania
Campania extended along the coast from the Liris, which
separated it from Latium, to the Silarus, which formed the
boundary of Lucania. The greater part of it is an unbroken
plain, celebrated in ancient as well as in modern times for
its extraordinary beauty and fertility. The Bay of
Naples—formerly called Sinus Cumanus and Puteolanus, from
the neighboring cities of Cumae and Puteoli is one of the
most lovely spots in the world; and the softness of its
climate, as well as the beauty of its scenery, attracted the
Roman nobles, who had numerous villas along its coasts.
Ancient Geography of Italy - Samnium
Samnium was an inland district, bounded on the north by
the Marsi and Peligni, on the east by the Frentani and
Apulia, on the west by Latium and Campania, and on the south
by Lucania. It is a mountainous country, being entirely
filled with the masses of the Apennines. Its inhabitants,
the Samnites, were of Sabine origin, as has been already
mentioned, and they settled in the country at a
comparatively late period. They were one of the most warlike
races in Italy, and carried on a long and fierce struggle
with the Romans.
Ancient Geography of Italy -
Apulia
Apulia extended along the coast of the Adriatic from the
Frentani on the north to Calabria on the south, and was
bounded on the west by the Apennines, which separated it
from Samnium and Lucania. It consists almost entirely of a
great plain, sloping down from the Apennines to the sea.
Ancient Geography of Italy -
Calabria
Calabria formed the heel of Italy, lying south of
Apulia, and surrounded on every other side by the sea. It
contains no mountains, and only hills of moderate elevation,
the Apennines running to the southwest through Lucania and
the Bruttii.
Ancient Geography of Italy -
Lucania
Lucania was bounded on the north by Campania and Samnium, on
the east by Apulia, and on the south by the Bruttii. The
Apennines run through the province in its whole extent. The
Lucanians were a branch of the Samnite nation, which
separated from the main body of that people, and pressed on
still farther to the south.
Ancient Geography of Italy
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