Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 11.djvu/46

* ITALY. 32 ITALY. tral Europe to Oriental countries. Though Italy is separated from the northern lands by the Alps, they are no longer a barrier to Italy's commerce, for several lines of railroad cross the niouutains. Kxtending from northwest to south- east about 700 miles, and with an average breadth, except in the extreme north, of 100 miles, the mainland has an area of 91,000 square miles; to this Sicily, Sardinia, l^lba, and smaller islands add 19,684 squares miles, making the total area of the Kingdom 110,084 square miles. The mainland is about twice as large as Penn- sylvania or New York, and extends from the parallel of 38= north latitude to that of 40 o 40', and between the meridians of 0° 30' and 18 = 30' cast longitude. Toi'OGB.Piiv. The coast, over 4000 miles in length (inclusive of the islands), is easily ac- cessible from every part of the country. No settlement is remote from salt water, four-fifths of the Kingdom being within 02 miles of the sea. In the north of the Adriatic the coast is low and sandy, bordered by shallow waters, and, excejjt at Venice, not easily accessible to large ship- ping. Farther south, near Kimini, spurs from the Apennines reach the shore, which becomes high and rocky. The south and west coasts are generally high, rocky, and picturesque, with many bold promontories. The middle of the west coast, however, has three stretches of low and marshy land, known as the JIaremma, the Campagna, and the Pontine marshes. The west coast is varied by bays, gulfs, and other open- ings, and is therefore most favorable for com- merce. In the northwest is the Gulf of Genoa, on which the wealthy city of Genoa stands. About the middle is the deep embayment with the fortress jiort of Gaeta. Next is the Bay of Naples, celebrated for its beauty. Beyond this is the Gulf of Salerno, at the head of which stands the port of Salerno. The southeastern end of the Peninsula is deeply indented by the Gulf of Taranto, which cuts off the so-called heel of Italy (ancient Calabria) from the 'toe' (modern Calabria). The population is dense on all coasts where fever does not prevail, about 17 per cent, of the inhabitants of Italy living within three miles of the sea. The Kingdom of Italy falls geographically into two parts, differing from each other in surface features and climate, and, as a consequence, in productions. One part to the north is continen- tal ; the other to the .south consists of a penin- sula and various islands. The northern portion contains the great plain of Lombardy, the Val- ley of the Po, bordered on the west and north by the Alps. The Alpine region in the extreme northwest of the Kingdom is known as Piedmont. The Peninsula is almost completely filled by the Apennines, which stretch through Central and Southern Italy and are continued through Sicily. The Alps, beginning at the Gulf of Genoa, ex- tend first to the west, then to the north, and finally to the east, towering in lofty summits covered with snow-fields. Their slopes are deep- ly scored by valleys, and they present a very abrupt face toward the plain of the Po. The rainfall on them is, as a result, rapidly trans- ferred to the plain, making protective works along the river-banks necessary in order to re- strain the periodical floods. The Northern Apennines, which touch the Li- gurian Alps, curve round the Gulf of Genoa and extend to the source of the Tiber. They do not rise above 7220 feet. The Central Apennines, beginning at the source of the 'liber, soon divide into several chains, forming the rugged moun- tain district of the Abruzzi, on the eastern verge of which is the Gran Sasso (9580 feet), the high- est peak of the Ajiennines. The Southern .pen- nines stretch to the southeast from the .bruzzi to the coast of the Gulf of Taranto, where they assume a southerly direction, with summits ris- ing to a height of more than 7000 feet. The rugged and unfertile Apennines form the water- shed of the Peninsula; they are bordered, espe- cially on the western side, by lower and mure productive mountain districts that are grouped under the name of the sub-Apennine region. A number of passes through the A])ennines are utilized by the highways across the Peninsula. The Italian Peninsula contains the only active volcano on the Continent of Europe, Vesuvius. The mountain regions of Italy, with, their ruins, cloisters, storied castles, towered cities, the quietude of their rural scenes, and their aspects ])icturesque or grond, are among the gi'eat cliarms tliat draw tourists to Italy. The beauty of the country is enhanced by the singular clearness of the air, which causes the lines of tower and church and castle to stand out with clear-cut perfection, and makes mountains that are miles away appear to be almost within touch. " The Italian islands are also mountainous. Sicily, nearly filled with the continuation of the Apennines, has the loftiest volcano in Europe (Mount Etna, about 10.800 feet). It has not. however, figui-ed so prominently in the history of volcanoes as Vesuvius, near Naples. The moun- tains of fertile but unhealthful and neglected Sardinia rise only a little over 5000 feet in height. The Lipari Islands are wholly volcanic in character. Oaly about one-third of the surface is made up of plains, most of it being the great Plain of Lombardy. or the Plain of the Po. This j)lain, about 37.000 square miles in area, is encircled by a steep mountain wall in the form of an arch. The largest and richest farming area, and the greatest indiistrial development of Italy, belong to this low, almost flat plain. It is watered by the rivers of the Po system, which are fed by many .lpine and Apennine streams, with which the cereal and other crops are irrigated. The plain was at one time a bay of the Adriatic Sea, and was formed of the alluvial deposits of streams from the Alps and Apennines. It is steadily encroaching on the sea. because the Po for centuries has been extending its delta into the Adriatic. During six centuries the Po Delta has increased 198 square miles in area. Recent surveys show that the increase is actively main- tained at the prese7it day. .According to the cal- culations of Professor !Marinelli. it will take over one hundred centuries at the present rate of in- crease for the Po to fill up the whole of the North- ern Adriatic above latitude 40° 45' N. The former port of Adria, which gave its name to the Adri- atic, now stands about 15 miles inland. The T^mbard Plain has a more dense population, and far more active manufacturing and business in- terests than the Peninsula. Anions; the small plains of the Peninsula arc those of Tuscany and Apulia, the fertile plain to the north of Naples (the Campania of the ancients), that bordering