PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF ITALY.
§ 1. Relation of Italy to Roman History. § 2. Length of Italian Peninsula. § 3. Breadth. § 4. Extent of surface. § 5. Reasons for considering Physical Structure. § 6. Division of Italy into two portions. § 7. Physical Structure of upper portion: The Alps, or northern limits of the valley of the Po. § 8. Upper Apennines, or southern limits of this valley. § 9. Plain of the Po itself. § 10. Physical structure of lower portion of Apennine range. § 11. Its southern flank. § 12. Northern flank. § 13. Deduction of geographical features of Italy from foregoing description: Few prominent Headlands and large Gulfs. § 14. Few Islands. § 15. No large Rivers, except in the valley of the Po. § 16. No large Plains, except in same valley. § 17. No large Lakes, except in same valley. Peculiar character of Lakes in many parts of sub-Apennine districts. § 18. Marshy character of some districts. Methods of reclaiming land in modern times. § 19. Climate. § 20. Productions. § 21. Beauty of scenery.
§ 1. THE History of Rome is properly the history of a City, or rather a Civic Community, which gradually extended its imperial sway, first over all Italy, then over all the countries bordering upon the Mediterranean Sea. It was, according to the common reckoning, nearly five centuries before the citizens of Rome became lords of Lower Italy; a in little more than another century they had become the sovereign power of the civilised world. It is, difficult, therefore, in attempting a geographical sketch for the purpose of elucidating Roman History, to determine where we ought to begin and where to end. For during a long period we are hardly carried out of sight of