The Italian Peninsula or Apennine Peninsula (Italian: Penisola italiana, Penisola appenninica) extends 1,000 km (620 mi) from the Po Valley in the north to the central Mediterranean Sea in the south. The peninsula's shape gives it the nickname lo Stivale (the Boot). Three smaller peninsulas contribute to this characteristic shape, namely Calabria (the "toe"), Salento (the "heel") and Gargano (the "spur").
Geographically, the Italian peninsula consists of the land south of a line extending from the Magra to the Rubicon rivers, north of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines. It excludes the Po Valley and the southern slopes of the Alps. All of the peninsula lies within the territory of the Italian Republic except for the microstates of San Marino and Vatican City. Additionally, Sicily, Elba and other smaller islands, such as Palagru?a (Italian: Pelagosa), (which belongs to Croatia) are usually considered as islands off the peninsula and in this sense geographically grouped along with it.
The peninsula lies between the Tyrrhenian Sea on the west, the Ionian Sea on the south, and the Adriatic Sea on the east. The backbone of the Italian peninsula consists of the Apennine Mountains, from which it takes one of its names. Most of its coast is lined with cliffs.
The peninsula has mainly a Mediterranean climate, though in the mountainous parts the climate is much cooler. Its natural vegetation includes macchia along the coasts and deciduous and mixed deciduous coniferous forests in the interior.
Video Italian Peninsula
Modern countries/territories
Political divisions of the peninsula sorted by area:
Maps Italian Peninsula
See also
- Apennine Mountains
- History of Italy
- Roman Republic
- Roman Italy
- Insular Italy
References
External links
- Media related to Italian Peninsula at Wikimedia Commons
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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