Geography of Italy, Rome

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Some Geography of Italy and Rome and its interior aspects - Map

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Chester G. Starr, Jr. in his book The Emergence of Rome as Ruler of the Western World takes more the approach of the Geographer in describing the region, its limitations, its advantages, the climate and its influences, and its position in the Mediterranean Edited June 13, 2008 by Faustus

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(The Emergence of Rome as Ruler of the Western World) Chester G. Starr, Jr.

"The Dominance of Agriculture - Italian terrain and climate alike tend to favor agriculture over industry and commerce. The limestone mountains covering much of Italy are almost devoid of minerals, which appear chiefly in the older crystalline layers of Etruria. Here early settlers mined copper and lead, and offshore in the island of Elba they found the chief source of Italian iron. These deposits probably were enough to satisfy the simpler economy of the ancient world, but tin and the precious metals in any quantity seem always to have been lacking. The general absence of navigable rivers and the regularity of the Italian coastline, which is particularly pronounced along the Adriatic, did not favor commerce. Some ports, however, were available on the southern and western shores by which trade with the more civilized eastern Mediterranean could be conducted.

 

Although Italy thus had some trade and some basis for industry, it was celebrated in antiquity chiefly for its forests, pastures, and fields. The Apennines seem to have been heavily timbered at the dawn of history; the Tiber, for instance, was long a logging stream, down which floated the cuttings of the central mountains. Since the ancients were as prodigal with their forests as modern man, the wooded areas of Italy constantly shrank, and by the time of Christ the more accessible slopes had been cleared. The devastation had been assisted by the ubiquitous goats, who ate off the seedlings. Once rue rocky slopes lost their cover entirely, the soil washed quickly away, and today the slopes in heavily settled areas are bare or support only bushy growth.

 

The chief animals raised on Italian pastures were sheep and goats, because they were small, easily moved, and tolerant in diet. Since lowland pastures tended to dry up in the summer drought, grazing involved an annual cycle of movement, especially after the Romans had conquered all peninsular Italy. During the winter the animals lived in the lowlands, chiefly of Apulia; then, as summer came on, they were driven up into the mountains of central Italy along regular paths which are still in use today. Large herds of cattle and horses were to be found only where good pastures could be assured the year around, as along the coast or in the Po Valley; still they were more common in Italy than in the eastern Mediterranean. The term Italia itself means

Edited June 14, 2008 by Faustus

[Faustus]

"THE largest river on the western coast of Italy is the Tiber, which in antiquity was a natural artery of trade both for foreign goods and for the salt obtained at its mouth. The key position along the stream lay at a point 15 miles inland. Here an island in the Tiber marked the end of navigation for ancient seagoing vessels and also afforded an easy crossing for the north-south trade route along the coast. The low land of the coast yields at this point to hillocks, some rising in isolation close to the river, others running out from the plateau toward the stream. This strategic position was the site of Rome.