Geography of Italy

The geography of Italy includes the description of all the physical geographical elements of Italy. Italy, whose territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical region, is located in southern Europe and comprises the long, boot-shaped Italian Peninsula crossed by the Apennines, the southern side of Alps, the large plain of the Po Valley and some islands including Sicily and Sardinia. Italy is part of the Northern Hemisphere. Two of the Pelagian Islands (Lampedusa and Lampione) are located on the African continent.

The total area of Italy is , of which is land and is water. It lies between latitudes 35° and 47° N, and longitudes 6° and 19° E. Italy borders Switzerland (), France (), Austria () and Slovenia (). San Marino () and Vatican City () are enclaves. The total border length is . Including islands, Italy has a coastline of on the Adriatic Sea, Ionian Sea, Tyrrhenian Sea, Ligurian Sea, Sea of Sardinia and Strait of Sicily.

The Italian geographical region, in its traditional and most widely accepted extent, has an area of approximately ,

General features

thumb|left|[[Satellite imagery|Satellite image of Italy.]]

Italy is joined to the central-western section of the European continent by the Alps. Due to its position, it constitutes a bridge between Europe and Africa. In particular, the Italian peninsula is located in the center of the Mediterranean Sea, between the Balkans and Hellenic peninsula to the east, the Iberian peninsula to the west, North Africa to the south and continental Europe to the north separated by the Alps.

Italy also separates the western basin of the Mediterranean Sea from the eastern basin — that is, the Tyrrhenian Sea from the Ionian Sea — extending towards the west with Calabria and Sicily, which together geologically form a peninsular extension. Only separate Sicily and Africa (the Tunisian peninsula), by the channel of Sicily.

To the east, Salento is from the Albanian coast, at the narrowest point of the Strait of Otranto. It is Capo d'Otranto (also called Punta Palascìa), located at 40° 7' north latitude and 18° 31' east longitude. To the north of Salento lies the long and narrow inlet of the Adriatic Sea.

thumb|Map of the [[climate of Italy]]

The islands of Sardinia and Corsica then divide the Tyrrhenian Sea from the Sardinian Sea.

thumb|[[Vetta d'Italia, until 1997 considered the northernmost point of Italy, is now located 400 m further north in the Testa Gemella Occidentale]]

thumb|[[Punta Pesce Spada in Lampedusa, the southernmost point]]

thumb|The lighthouse of Punta Palascìa, better known as [[Capo d'Otranto, the easternmost point of the Italian territory]]

thumb|[[Rocca Bernauda, the westernmost point of the Italian territory]]

The coastal development of the Italian peninsula and islands is vast; about , which is much larger than that of the Iberian peninsula, but much less than that of the Balkans.

Italy has a prevalence of hilly areas (41.6% of the territory) compared to mountainous areas (35.2% of the territory), or flat areas (23.2%).

The Italian soil today is the result of anthropization and is partly mountainous, partly hilly, partly volcanic, partly endolagunar with bumps, polesine, islands, dried up by reclamation (Bonifiche Circeo, Ferraresi, Comacchio, Ostiense, Pisana and so on) with ever greater raising of embankments (for example the withdrawal of 1.7 billion cubic meters per year of fresh water, from 20 consortia from Veneto alone).

No inhabited center in Italy is more than from the sea and the Italian municipality farthest from the sea is Madesimo (province of Sondrio) which is from the Ligurian Sea.

Boundaries

Italy borders Switzerland (), France (), Austria () and Slovenia (). San Marino () and Vatican City () are enclaves. The total border length is . Including islands, Italy has a coastline of on the Adriatic Sea, Ionian Sea, Tyrrhenian Sea, Ligurian Sea, Sea of Sardinia and Strait of Sicily.

Latitude and longitude

Northernmost point — Testa Gemella Occidentale, Prettau (Predoi), South Tyrol at
Southernmost point — Punta Pesce Spada, Lampedusa, Sicily at (whole territory); Capo Spartivento, Palizzi, Calabria at (mainland)
Westernmost point — Rocca Bernauda, Bardonecchia, Piedmont at
Easternmost point — Capo d'Otranto, Otranto, Apulia at

The distance that separates the Testa Gemella Occidentale from Punta Pesce Spada is ; the maximum distance between the eastern and western borders is about . The municipalities at the ends of Italy are:

Predoi, the northernmost municipality
Lampedusa e Linosa, the southernmost municipality
Otranto, the easternmost municipality
Bardonecchia, the westernmost municipality

Elevation

Highest point: Mont Blanc (Aosta Valley) at
Lowest point: Jolanda di Savoia (province of Ferrara) at
Highest settlement: Trepalle, Livigno at

Maritime claims

Territorial sea:
Continental shelf: or to the depth of exploitation
Exclusive Economic Zone:

Geographical centre

Although the Istituto Geografico Militare of Florence has repeatedly declared that it is impossible to uniquely determine the center of a non-geometric shape such as that of Italy, there are several locations that, depending on the measurement criteria adopted, compete for the primacy of the geographical centre of Italy:

Monteluco (province of Perugia);
Narni (province of Terni);
Orvieto (province of Terni);
Rieti (province of Rieti).
Artificial (urban, industrial etc.): 4.9%
Agricultural: 52.2%
Arable land: 27.9%
Permanent: 7.1%
Other: 17.2%
Wood: 41.4%
Wetlands: 0.4%
Water (lakes etc.): 1.1%

Irrigated land

39,510 km2 (2007)

Total renewable water resources

191.3 km3 (2011)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)

total: 45.41 km3/yr (24%/43%/34%)
per capita: 789.8 m3/yr (2008)

Divisions

thumb|In black, the borders of the [[Italy|Italian Republic, in red the borders of the Italian geographical region.]]

The Italian geographical region, The region of Nice (corresponding to the historic County of Nice), Italian Switzerland, part of Julian March and other less extensive portions of territory such as Valle Stretta, Gondo and Val Monastero, are not part of the Italian Republic in its continental part but they are part of the Italian geographical region. Conversely, the Val di Lei, the Val di Livigno, the San Candido basin, the Rio Sesto valley and the Tarvisio basin, although part of the Italian Republic, are not included in the Italian geographical region.

Peninsular Italy

Peninsular Italy refers to the entire southern part of the aforementioned line, up to Punta Melito in Calabria (which is the southernmost point of the peninsula) and Santa Maria di Leuca in Apulia. San Marino and the Vatican City are foreign territories, although included in the Italian geographical region.

The Italian peninsula occupies a median position between the three main peninsulas of southern Europe, emerging right in the center of the Mediterranean Sea, with large islands and some archipelagos.

Insular Italy

thumb|Map of [[List of islands of Italy|Italian islands.]]

Insular Italy is made up of Sardinia, Sicily and numerous smaller islands, scattered or grouped into archipelagos in the seas that bathe the coasts of the peninsula. Corsica is not politically included in insular Italy since it belongs to France, however, it is included in the Italian geographical region.

The five largest islands belonging to the Italian state are, in order of size:

Sicily ()
Sardinia ()
Elba ()
Sant'Antioco ()
Pantelleria ().

Other islands belonging to Italy are grouped into the following archipelagos:

Archipelago of the Gulf of La Spezia, formed by the island of Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto;
Tuscan archipelago, formed by the island of Elba, the largest and most important of the group from whose bowels iron has been extracted for centuries. To the north of the island of Elba rise Capraia and Gorgona, to the south Pianosa, Montecristo, Giannutri and the island of Giglio. Minor islets are Cerboli and Palmaiola off the coast of Elba, the Islet of the Sparviero at Punta Ala, the Formiche di Grosseto, the Formica di Burano, the Formica di Montecristo (or Scoglio d'Africa) and some islets off the coast of promontory of the Argentario including Argentarola, Isola Rossa and Isolotto, in addition to the Secche della Meloria and the Secche di Vada.
The Phlegraean Islands (Ischia and Procida) plus Capri, in the Gulf of Naples; sometimes the three islands are included in the Campanian Archipelago;
Pontine Islands: Ponza, Palmarola, Zannone and Ventotene, in the gulf of Gaeta;
Archipelago of the Aeolian Islands or Lipari, which includes Salina, Lipari, the largest of the group, Vulcano, a now almost extinct volcano; Panarea and then Stromboli, an eruptive cone still in activity which was called Stronghilo by the ancient Greeks (hence Stromboli), due to its conical shape of an inverted top on the sea; to these must be added Filicudi and Alicudi;
Aegadian Islands, i.e. the islands of Favignana, Marettimo, Levanzo and Stagnone, which arise between Marsala and Trapani, west of Sicily;
Pelagian Islands, including Linosa, Lampione and Lampedusa;
In Sicily we still find Ustica off the Gulf of Palermo and Pantelleria in the middle of the Sicilian Channel;
The group of the Tremiti Islands and the island of Pianosa, which rise in the Adriatic Sea;
To the north of Sardinia the Asinara and the archipelago of La Maddalena, to the south San Pietro and Sant'Antioco.
The Cheradi Islands of San Pietro and San Paolo in the Gulf of Taranto.

Orography

Mountains

thumb|[[Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco) in Aosta Valley, the highest point in the European Union]]

Almost 40% of the Italian territory is mountainous, with the Alps as the northern boundary and the Apennine Mountains forming the backbone of the peninsula and extending for . Nineteen Italian regions are crossed by either the Alps or the Apennines, or their offshoots. Sardinia has mountains with their own characteristics and are included in the Sardinian-Corsican relief, since it also affects Corsica.

The Alps (formed during the Mesozoic and Cenozoic) surround the Po Valley to the north, east and west, and develop along the entire northern border of Italy (about ), creating a natural border. The Alps contain the highest peak in the European Union, Mont Blanc, at above sea level, located between the Aosta Valley and France.

The Apennines (formed during the Oligocene) rise south of the Po Valley and run from north to south throughout the Italian peninsula, from Liguria to Calabria and continue in northern Sicily ending in the Madonie, acting as a watershed between the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic-Ionian coast.

The highest peaks in Italy are found in the Western Alps, where there are numerous peaks that exceed including Monte Rosa (), the Cervino () and Mont Blanc which with its . The maximum height of the Apennines is the Gran Sasso d'Italia ().

Famous mountains in Italy are Monte Cervino (Matterhorn), Monte Rosa, Gran Paradiso in the West Alps, and Bernina, Stelvio and Dolomites along the eastern side of the Alps.

Hills

thumb|[[Euganean Hills]]

The hills cover most of the Italian territory. They are mainly located in the central-southern part of the peninsula, along the sides of the Apennine ridge, but also in the pre-Alpine area, close to the Alps. The subalpine hills widen more in the western part of the Po Valley, where they form the hills of the Langhe and Montferrat.

The second largest Italian plain is the Tavoliere delle Puglie, Italian rivers are categorized into two main groups: the Alpine-Po river rivers and the Apennine-island rivers.

In the north of the country are a number of subalpine moraine-dammed lakes (the Italian Lakes), including the largest in Italy, the Garda (). Other well known of these subalpine lakes are Lake Maggiore (), whose most northerly section is part of Switzerland, Como (which holds the record of depth in the Italian Republic, which amounts to ) (), Orta, Lugano, Iseo, Idro. These lakes occupy wide valleys carved by ancient glaciers.

In Italy there are also coastal lakes, such as Lake Lesina, separated from the sea by a narrow strip of land, and volcanic lakes (Lake Bolsena, Lake Vico, Lake Bracciano), which occupy the craters of extinct volcanoes. Lake Trasimeno, on the other hand, formed in a hollow in the territory.

Italy has a coastline of approximately , with a great variety of shapes that depends both on the nature of the mainland and on the action of the sea.

The Adriatic coasts are quite straight, characterized to the north by the gulfs of Trieste and Venice, in the center by the Conero promontory, to the south by that of the Gargano, which forms the Gulf of Manfredonia. The Adriatic coasts are low and sandy, In particular, the areas at greatest seismic risk are the north and south-west of Sicily, the whole Apennines (but in particular the central-southern area), northern Apulia, almost all of Friuli-Venezia Giulia and finally the north-west of Veneto. On the contrary, the areas with little or no seismic risk are the Alps (excluding the extreme western and eastern area), most of the Po Valley, the Tyrrhenian coasts up to Lazio, central-southern Apulia, Sardinia and central Sicily.

Volcanoes

Italy is also known for the presence of numerous volcanoes, the most well-known being Vesuvius near Naples, Etna near Catania (which with its is the highest volcano in Europe), Stromboli and Vulcano, in the Aeolian Islands in the province of Messina, in addition to the large caldera formed by the Campi Flegrei in Campania.

The peninsula also has many extinct volcanoes, that is, which have ceased their eruptive activity, such as the Euganean Hills in the province of Padua, Mount Amiata in Tuscany, the Berici Hills in the province of Vicenza and the Castelli Romani area, where there are several lakes that occupy the craters of ancient volcanoes. The lakes of Bracciano, Vico and Bolsena in northern Lazio also had a similar origin.

In recent years, numerous studies have also been conducted to better understand the structure and destructive potential of the submarine volcano Marsili, located about north of Sicily and about west of Calabria. With its of length and of width (equal to of surface) the Marsili is one of the largest volcanoes in Europe.

Many elements of the Italian territory are of volcanic origin. Most of the small islands and archipelagos in the south, like Capraia, Ponza, Ischia, Eolie, Ustica and Pantelleria are volcanic islands.

Gallery

File:Southern Italian Peninsula at Night.JPG|Astronaut photograph highlighting the night-time appearance of southern Italy.

File:ItalySouth1849.jpg|Southern Italy and Sicily on the 1849 map.

File:EtnaAvió.JPG|Etna, the highest active volcano in Europe.

File:Torre della pelosa + isola piana + asinara da capo falcone.jpg|Asinara island with the Aragonese Torre della Pelosa (16th century), Sardinia.

File:Vernazza.JPG|The coastal areas of Liguria have a Mediterranean climate.

File:San Quirico d'Orcia - Chiesetta Val d'Orcia.jpg|Landscape of Tuscany.

File:RisaieVercellesi_Panorama2.jpg|Rice paddies in the Po Valley near Vercelli.

File:Cascatemarmore.jpg|Marmore waterfall, the world's tallest man-made waterfall, was created by the ancient Romans.

File:Vesuvius_from_Pompeii_%28hires_version_2_scaled%29.png|Mount Vesuvius looms over the ruins of Pompeii.

File:Venice_as_seen_from_the_air_with_bridge_to_mainland.jpg|Panorama of Venice and its lagoon.

File:Rilke_05.jpg|The Karst Plateau drops vertically into the Adriatic Sea near Trieste.

File:Corno grande da campo imperatore.jpg|Gran Sasso d'Italia, the highest peak of the Apennines.

File:Monviso_from_San_Marzano_Oliveto.jpg|Vineyards in the Montferrat hills, with the Monviso in the background.

File:Panoramic_Livigno.jpg|Livigno, the highest comune in Italy, during winter.

File:Reggio_calabria_panorama_dal_fortino.jpg|The Strait of Messina as seen from the mainland.

File:Filicudi_%288_of_28%29.jpg|La Canna rock off the coast of Filicudi.

File:Chia beach, Sardinia, Italy.jpg|Southern coast of Sardinia.

File:Cremona_Po_Bridge.jpg|The Po river as seen in Cremona, on a foggy winter day.

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