Name ____________________________
Period ___________
Geography of Rome
Read about the geography of the Italian peninsula, then answer the questions and label the
maps.
The Italian Peninsula has a mixture of hills, plains, and mountains, which creates the varied
climate Italy. One-fifth of Italy is made of plains (flat lands that can be good for farming), while
2/5 is hills and the other 2/5 is mountains.
Despite this, the flat land in the central region of Italy has a good Mediterranean climate – mild
in winter, hot in summer, and moderate yearly rainfall with heavy rains in winter. This
contributes to a good growing climate, especially for the olive trees that dominate the central
region. In the north, much of Italy is mountainous and often colder due to the higher elevation.
In the south, especially the “heel” of the Italian boot-shaped peninsula, much of the land is
desolate (empty or bare).
Most of Italy is mountainous. The mountains in the north, the Alps, provide an impressive
defensive barrier. In winter, the Alps are impassable and block Italy off from the rest of Europe,
though there are many mountain passes when the mountains are not covered with snow.
The Apennine Mountains run through most of Italy, creating a natural defensive barrier to
attacks from either bordering sea. These mountains also split Italy into East and West Zones:
East Zone
West Zone
- Lowlands bordering the Adriatic Sea
- Bordering the Tyrrhenian Sea
- More desolate than the West
- Fertile soil
- Weak rivers in summer, destructively
- Stable, navigable rivers
powerful in winter
- No natural harbors
- Good natural harbors
- Includes a 200+ mile stretch where the
- Large (most of the land in Italy)
distance from the mountains to the sea
never exceeds 20 miles
In addition to the physical division, or perhaps because of it, the Apennine Mountains also
create a cultural divide between East and West.
People tended to settle in Italy where they could trade, travel, and communicate. As a result,
they settled mainly near the rivers in the central and western part of Italy where they could use
the rivers as roads, such as the Po in the north and the Tiber in the center.
The Po River Valley is the most productive agricultural area in the peninsula. It was also covered
in forest, creating a supply of acorns to feed the wild swine that became an important part of
Pre-AP World I
42. Describe the impact of Rome’s geography.
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Unit: Rome
Roman Geography
the Roman diet. Part of the valley was at one time swamp and marsh, but it was drained in the
1st century BC to provide additional farm land.
Rome was founded at the heart of the Tiber Valley in central Italy. The city was founded in the
midst of seven hills, which provided natural resources as well as natural defenses for the city.
Located on the Tiber River provided access to trade with the other peoples of Italy, as well as
out to the Mediterranean Sea. On a broader geographic scale, Rome (and Italy) sits in the
middle of the Mediterranean Sea, which allowed it to trade or expand in all directions - toward
Greece in the east, Spain to the west, and the coast of Africa to the south. Eventually, the
Romans would rename the Mediterranean Mare Nostrum – in English, “our sea.”
The many natural advantages of this Tiber River Valley site were obvious; according to the
Roman author Livy, "Not without reason did gods and men choose this spot for the site of our
city – the salubrious [health-giving] hills, the river to bring us produce from the inland regions
and sea-borne commerce from abroad, the sea itself, near enough for convenience yet not so
near as to bring danger from foreign fleets, our situation in the very heart of Italy – all these
advantages make it of all places in the world the best for a city destined to grow great."
QUESTIONS
1. What was the significance of the Apennine Mountains?
2. Do you think more people lived in the East Zone or the West Zone? Why?
3. Both Greece and Italy are covered with mountains. Why did this cause the Greeks to
form city-states, while the Romans created an empire? (Hint: think about the
arrangement of mountains and plains)
4. What were the three advantages of Rome’s location?
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Unit: Rome
LABEL
Roman Geography
THE
M A P #1
Label the following features on your map, based on the description above.
Mediterranean Sea
Tyrrhenian Sea
Adriatic Sea
Tiber River
Po River
Apennine Mountains
Alps Mountains
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Unit: Rome
LABEL
Roman Geography
THE
M A P #2
Carefully follow the directions to fill in the map. Label all underlined terms in the directions.
1. Label the things you know: Italy, Greece, Mediterranean Sea, Anatolia, and Africa.
2. Italy is a peninsula in the shape of a boot kicking an island. Label the island, which is
called Sicily.
3. To the west of Italy, a peninsula of Europe nearly touches the coast of Africa, closing off
the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean. Most of the peninsula is the country of
Spain. Label the strip of water separating Spain from Africa the Strait of Gibraltar.
4. Northeast of Spain, and northwest of Italy, lies a large region that today is mostly the
country of France. Label this region by its Roman name, Gaul.
5. North-northwest of Gaul is a large island, home of today’s England. The island, in Roman
times, was known as Britain.
6. At the eastern end of the Mediterranean is a land known as Palestine or Israel. The
Romans called the northern part of this land, bordering the sea as well as Anatolia, as
Syria. They called the southern part, bordering the Mediterranean and Red Sea as well
as the Arabian Peninsula, as Judea.
7. On the tip of Africa closest to Sicily was an important city named Carthage, once
founded by the Phoenicians and later a major Roman competitor.
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