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Geography of Ancient Italy

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

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Geography of Ancient Italy

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  1. Geography of Ancient Italy

  2. 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

  3. Roma

  4. 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

  5. Roma Brundisium

  6. 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 241BC and turned into a Roman province

  7. Roma Brundisium Syracusae

  8. 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

  9. Roma Brundisium Syracusae Carthago

  10. Cities • Ostia • The seaport for Rome • Located at the mouth of the Tiber River on the Tyrrhenian Sea • Still a useful seaport today

  11. Roma Ostia Brundisium Syracusae Carthago

  12. 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

  13. Roma Ostia Brundisium Pompeii and Herculaneum Syracusae Carthago

  14. 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

  15. Roma Ostia Via Appia Brundisium Pompeii and Herculaneum Syracusae Carthago

  16. 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)

  17. A l p s A p e n n i n e s Roma Ostia Via Appia Brundisium Pompeii and Herculaneum Syracusae Carthago

  18. 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

  19. A l p s A p e n n i n e s Roma Ostia Via Appia Mt. Vesuvius Brundisium Pompeii and Herculaneum Mt. Etna Syracusae Carthago

  20. 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)

  21. A l p s A p e n n i n e s Adriatic Sea Roma Ostia Via Appia Mt. Vesuvius Brundisium Pompeii and Herculaneum Tyrrhenian Sea Mt. Etna Syracusae Carthago Mediterranean Sea

  22. 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

  23. A l p s A p e n n i n e s Adriatic Sea Corsica Roma Ostia Via Appia Mt. Vesuvius Brundisium Pompeii and Herculaneum Sardinia Tyrrhenian Sea Mt. Etna Sicily Syracusae Carthago Mediterranean Sea

  24. 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)

  25. A l p s Po R. Tiber R. A p e n n i n e s Adriatic Sea Corsica Roma Ostia Via Appia Mt. Vesuvius Brundisium Pompeii and Herculaneum Sardinia Tyrrhenian Sea Mt. Etna Sicily Syracusae Carthago Mediterranean Sea

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