Geography of

Ancient Italy

Cities

• Roma– Capital of Italy– Seat of government for the

Roman Empire– Nicknamed “The Mistress of

Italy” because it was the chief city

– Location: On the Tiber River, just north of the seaport of Ostia

– Built on seven (7) hills– Named after Romulus, first

king of Rome

Roma

Cities

• Brundisium– Seat of government for the

province of Calabria– The city in which the Roman

poet Vergil (Aeneid, Eclogues, Georgics) died

– Located on the eastern shore of Italy on the Adriatic Sea

– Eastern terminus (end) of the Via Appia

Brundisium

Roma

Cities

• Syracusae– Seat of government for the

province of Sicily– The city in which the Greek

scientist Archimedes lived– Located on the eastern shore

of Sicily on the Mediterranean Sea

– Defeated by Rome in 241 BC and turned into a Roman province

Brundisium

Roma

Syracusae

Cities

• Carthago– The sworn enemy of Roma– Home to Hannibal, the

greatest general to battle the Romans

– Originally a Phoenician colony

– Mythical home to Dido (from the Aeneid)

– Fought three wars against Rome and lost all three

– Located in modern Tunisia

Brundisium

Roma

SyracusaeCarthago

Cities

• Ostia– The seaport for Rome– Located at the mouth of the

Tiber River on the Tyrrhenian Sea

– Still a useful seaport today

Brundisium

Roma

SyracusaeCarthago

Ostia

Cities

• Pompeii and Herculaneum– Cities destroyed by the

eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in AD 79

– The cities are almost perfectly preserved due to the ash and lava from the eruption

– Excavating is going on there today

– Now the cities are major tourist attractions

Brundisium

Roma

SyracusaeCarthago

Ostia

Pompeii and Herculaneum

Road

• Via Appia– The Appian Way, named for

Appius Claudius, a statesman who ordered the road to be built in 312 BC

– Made from stones, pebbles, rocks, and sand

– Stretches from Roma to Brundisium

– Still in use today

Brundisium

Roma

SyracusaeCarthago

Ostia Via AppiaPompeii and Herculaneum

Mountains

• Apennines– Mountains that run down the

center of Italy– Known as the “backbone of

Italy”

• Alps– Mountain range to the north

of Italy– Hannibal crossed these with

elephants in the Second Punic War (Carthage and Rome)

Brundisium

Roma

SyracusaeCarthago

Ostia Via Appia

A l p s

A p e n n i n e s

Pompeii and Herculaneum

Mountains

• Mt. Vesuvius– Volcano that erupted in AD

79, burying the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum and killing thousands

• Mt. Etna– Active volcano on the

northeastern corner of Sicily

Brundisium

Roma

SyracusaeCarthago

Ostia Via Appia

A l p s

A p e n n i n e s

Pompeii and Herculaneum

Mt. Vesuvius

Mt. Etna

Seas

• Mediterranean Sea– Located to the south– Literally means “sea in the middle

of the land”– The Romans called it “Mare

Nostrum”—Our Sea, because Rome held the land on both sides of it at the height of the Empire

• Tyrrhenian Sea– Separates Italy from the islands

of Corsica and Sardinia

• Adriatic Sea– Separates Italy from the Balkan

Peninsula (including Greece)

Brundisium

Roma

SyracusaeCarthago

Ostia Via Appia

A l p s

A p e n n i n e s

Pompeii and Herculaneum

Mt. Vesuvius

Mt. Etna

Mediterranean Sea

Tyrrhenian Sea

Adriatic Sea

Islands

• Sicilia– Originally a Greek colony– Became a Roman province after

its conquest in 241 BC

• Sardinia– Originally a Phoenician colony– Roman province after First Punic

War ended in 238 BC

• Corsica– Originally a Greek, then a

Phoenician colony– Roman province after First Punic

War ended in 238 BC

– Now a French island

Brundisium

Roma

SyracusaeCarthago

Ostia Via Appia

A l p s

A p e n n i n e s

Pompeii and Herculaneum

Mt. Vesuvius

Mt. Etna

Mediterranean Sea

Tyrrhenian Sea

Adriatic Sea

Sicily

Sardinia

Corsica

Rivers

• Tiber– Rome’s river– Extends from Ostia into the

Apennine Mountains– Deep enough to be navigable

by ships

• Po– River in the north of Italy– Usually considered the

northern border of Italy during time of Caesar (100-44 BC)

Brundisium

Roma

SyracusaeCarthago

Ostia Via Appia

A l p s

A p e n n i n e s

Pompeii and Herculaneum

Mt. Vesuvius

Mt. Etna

Mediterranean Sea

Tyrrhenian Sea

Adriatic Sea

Sicily

Sardinia

Corsica

Po R.

Tiber R.