Geography of Italy
*Looks like a highhigh-heeled boot.
*Mountain range running across the top of Italy is the
Alps.
*Apennines Mts. run from north to south the length of
the boot.
*Compared to Greece, Italy's mountains were smaller and
they had better farmland.
farmland.
Location of Rome
*Rome was founded on the Tiber River about 15 miles
from the Mediterranean Sea.
*Being 15 miles up the Tiber River had advantages for
Rome: 1: source of water 2: protection from pirate
raids
3: access to the rest of the
the Mediterranean world
*Rome was also built on 7 hills to provide protection
from attacks.
*It was also located at a point in the Tiber River where it
was easily crossed and this made it a common stopping
point.
Beginnings of Rome
*Romulus and Remus
Remus Story
*The Aeneid epic poem.
Early Influences of Rome:
* Greeks: Between 750 B.C. and 550 B.C many Greeks landed in Italy
during the Greek colonization. Romans learned to grow olives and
architecture,
ure,
grapes, adopted the Greek alphabet, and modeled their architect
sculpture and literature after them.
*Etruscans: mainly lived north of Rome until 650 B.C. when they
began to move south and took control of Rome. They were
metalworkers and became rich mining and through trade. Changed
Rome from a straw hut village
village to a city of wood and brick buildings.
They ruled Rome for over 100 years.