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.
Recommended