Italian Peninsula

Encyclopedia : I : IT : ITA : Italian Peninsula

Satellite view of the Peninsula in spring

The Italian Peninsula or Apennine Peninsula (Italian: Penisola italiana or Penisola appenninica) is one of the greatest peninsulas of Europe, spanning 1,000 km from the Alps in the north to the central Mediterranean Sea in the south. The peninsula is well-known for its boot shape, in fact it is known as Lo Stivale (the Italian for The boot)

Located in Southern Europe, it consists of three states:

Italy, the mainland
San Marino, which is an enclave of Italy in the NW
Vatican City, which is an enclave in the Italian city of Rome

The peninsula is bordered by the Ligurian Sea and the Tyrrhenian Sea on the west, the Ionian Sea on the south, and the Adriatic Sea on the east. The interior part of the Apennine Peninsula consists of the Apennine Mountains, but the northern part is largely plains and cliffs line the coasts.

One natural resource that this peninsula contains is petroleum.

This peninsula has a Mediterranean climate and its natural vegetation includes chaparral and deciduous and mixed deciduous coniferous forests.

The name Apennine comes from the Apennine Mountains.

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