The Geography of Ancient Italy

Italy was the most important land in the western Mediterranean area. It is very important to appreciate the the geography of this area for an appropriate understanding of its history and to know for certain that it was destined to be the home of a great civilization, just as Jerusalem, was destined to be the home of a great king.

The North

On the north , Italy is, for the most part, protected by the tremendous mountains known as the Alps, which acted as a barrier wall against the barbarians of central Europe.

The West

In the western portion of Italy are large fertile plains which extend all the way to the Sea.

The East

Along the eastern coast and running from north to south are the Apennine mountains, which make the eastern part of Italy almost innaccessible. These mountains divided the many peoples of Italy, not into many city-states as in Greece, but into two classes: the poor, mountain tribes, and the wealthy plainsmen.

The Coast

Throughout Italy's 2000 miles of coastland, there are actually very few deep bays and good harbors. If any decent ones did exist they were generally on the south or western coasts.

Facing West

Geographically Italy and Rome faced west. This may be why the Romans turned an early gaze upon Spain, Gaul, and Britain. Italy's central position was extremely helpful in dominating the whole Mediterranean area once they had become united as a single state.

The Nearby Islands

The island of Sicily was more or less a stepping stone to Africa and also served to bring Rome into contact with the Orient.

Two other close islands, Sardinia and Corsica, have always followed Italy's footsteps culturally, maybe because their rugged mountains limited economic growth.

Central Italy and Its Resources

Italy and its nearby islands contained a wealth of natural resources such as iron, copper, tin, gold, and silver. Building materials, including a variety of stones and timber, were available.

The Climate

The climate, like other Mediterranean lands, had a nice mild temperature, without extreme heat or cold weather for the most part.

All in all, Italy was endowed naturally with many of the essential ingredients required for the development of a single civilization, and at an early age it became a beautiful attraction to hordes of wanderers.