76 GEOGRAPHY. 



through Italy, first in an easterly direction, then south-east from lat. 44° to 

 il°, in a main range, whose greatest central elevation is in Mont Sasso 

 (9521 feet), and finally re-appear in Sicily ac/oss the Straits of Messina. 

 The local divisions of the Apennines are into Ligurian, Etrurian, Roman, 

 Neapolitan, and Calabrian ; the Abruzzi in Lower Italy constitute the 

 highest and roughest. Mount Vesuvius near Naples, and Mount Etna in 

 Sicily (10,874 feet), constitute isolated volcanic peaks. 



The principal rivers of Italy are : 1. The Po, which rises in Monte-Yiso, 

 flows through the whole of Upper Italy in an easterly direction, and empties 

 into the Adriatic Sea by seven arms, after receiving the Dora Balta, the Sesia, 

 the Tessin, the Adda, the Oglio, and the Mincio, on the left ; and the Tanaro, 

 the Trebbia, the Taro, and the Panaro, on the right. 2. The Adige, which 

 comes from Germany and empties into the Adriatic not far from the Po, to 

 which it is connected by branches. 3. The Arno, in Tuscany, empties 

 into the Tyrrhenian Sea not far from Pisa. 4. The Tiber, united to the 

 Arno by the channel of Chiana, empties by two arms into the Tyrrhenian 

 Sea near Ostia. The coast rivers of Upper Italy are : Brenta, Piave, 

 Tagliamento ; of Lower Italy, Garigliano, Volturno, Pescara, Osanto, &c- 

 The only Italian lakes of importance are in Upper Italy on the southern 

 slope of the Alps ; they consist of Lakes Maggiore, Como, and Garda, with 

 the Tessin, the Adda, and the Mincio, flowing through them respectively. 

 Only the second of the above-mentioned lakes belongs entirely to Italy ; the 

 two others lie with their northern extremities, the one in Switzerland, and 

 the other in the Tyrol. In the valleys of many rivers, especially on the 

 coast, there are considerable tracts of marsh land ; among them are the 

 Maremma of the Delta of the Po, those in Tuscany, and the Pontine marshes 

 in the southern part of the Papal states. 



The climate of Italy is very various. In the south may be seen the palm 

 and sugar cane, in the north the thermometer sinks sometimes to 15° F. 

 The climate of Sicily and of southern Naples bears much resemblance to 

 that of Africa, and the Sirocco or south wind is exceedingly oppressive. In 

 many parts of the country, noxious exhalations rise from the ground. 



The chief products of Italy are : 1. From the mineral kingdom, iron 

 (especially from Elba), mercury, alabaster, marble, stone coal and lignite, 

 salt, saltpetre, brimstone (Sicily), alum, sal-ammoniac, tripoli, pumice, and 

 various mineral pigments. From the vegetable kingdom : grain (especially 

 wheat and Indian corn), rice, oil, wine, southern fruits, carob beans, sugar- 

 cane, chestnuts, flax, hemp, tobacco, liquorice, and cork. From the animal 

 kingdom : horses (especially in Naples), cattle, sheep, asses, mules, buffalo, 

 goats, silkworms, bees, fish, oysters, &c. In the Alps are chamois, marmots, 

 wolves, and bears. 



The population of Italy amounts, perhaps, to twenty-four millions. 

 Lucca is most densely, and Sardinia most thinly inhabited. The Italians 

 are a mixed race, speaking a language with numerous dialects closely allied 

 to the Latin ; there are Hkewise French, Celtish, and German dialects in 

 the north, and Greek in the south. The prevailing religion is the Roman 

 Catholic, although there are about 36,000 Jews on the peninsula, and in 

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