imparted to Italy a distinct individuality. All its countries, from
the plains of Lombardy to the shores of Sicily, resemble each other in
certain respects. There is a sort of family likeness about them; but
still what delightful contrasts, what {184} picturesque variety, do we
not meet with ! Most of these contrasts are due to the Apennines, which
branch off from the southern extremity of the French Alps. At first
they run close to the seashore, like a huge wall supported at intervals
by powerful buttresses; subsequently they traverse the whole of the
peninsula. At times they are reduced to a narrow ridge, at others they
spread out into vast masses, rising in plateaux or ramifying into
chains and promontories. River valleys and plains intersect them in
all directions; lakes and filled-up lake basins are spread out at the
foot of their cliffs; and numerous volcanoes, rising above the general
level, contrast, by their regular form, with the rugged declivities of
the Apennines. The sea, following these sinuosities in the relief of
the ground, forms a series of bays, arranged with a certain degree of
symmetry. In the north these bays do not much encroach upon the land,
but in the south they penetrate deeply, and almost form veritable
gulfs. There once existed an Italy of granitic rocks, but it exists no
longer, for the rocks of the Apennines and of the plains teach us that
the Italy of the present is of recent origin, and that the many islands
of which it consisted formerly were united into a single peninsula as
recently as the Eocene epoch.
Italy, compared with Greece, exhibits much sobriety in its
configuration. Its mountains are arranged in more regular ridges, its
coasts are less indented, its small archipelagos bear no comparison
with the Cyclades, and its three great dependent islands, Sicily,
Sardinia, and Corsica, are regular in their contours. Indeed, its
contours mark its intermediate position between joyous Greece and
severe Iberia. Thus there exists a correspondence between geographical
position and contours.
Italy, as a whole, contrasts in a remarkable manner with the Balkan
peninsula. The former faces the Ægean, and looks towards the east,
whilst in the truly peninsular portion of Italy, to the south of
the plains of Lombardy, the westerly slopes offer most life. Secure
harbours are most numerous on the shores of the Tyrrhenian, and the
largest and most fertile plains slope down towards that sea. It results
from this that the western slopes of the Apennines have given birth to
the most enterprising and intelligent populations, who have taken the
lead in the political history of their country. The west represents the
light, whilst the east, bounded as it is by the Adriatic, an inland
sea almost, a simple gulf, represents the night. True, the plains of
Apulia, though on the east, are wealthier and more populous than the
mountain regions of Calabria, but the vicinity of Sicily, nevertheless,
even there insures the preponderance of the western littoral. Whilst
Greece was in the height of her glory, whilst every initiative went
forth from Athens, the cities of Asia Minor, and the islands of the
Ægean, those republics which looked towards the east, such as Tarentum,
Locri, Sybaris, Syracuse, and Catania, enjoyed a pre-eminence over the
cities on the western littoral. The physical configuration of Italy
thus facilitated the march of civilisation from the south-east to the
north-west, from Ionia to Gaul. The Gulf of Taranto and the eastern
coasts of Greater Greece and Sicily were freely exposed to Hellenic
influences, whilst further north the peninsula faces about to {185}
the west as it were. There can be no doubt that these features greatly
facilitated the expansion of ideas in the direction of Western Europe,
and that if it had been otherwise civilisation would have taken another
direction.
For nearly two thousand years, from the fall of Carthage to the
discovery of America, Italy remained the centre of the civilised world.
It maintained its hegemony either by conquest and organization, as in
the case of the “Eternal City,” or by the power of its genius, the
relative liberty of its institutions, its sciences, arts, and commerce,
as in the times of Florence, Genoa, and Venice. Two of the greatest
events in history, the political unification of the Mediterranean world
under the laws of Rome, and at a later epoch the regeneration of the
human mind, so appropriately termed “Renaissance,” originated in Italy.
It behoves us, therefore, to inquire into the geographical conditions
which may account for this preponderance during these two ages in the
life of mankind.
Mommsen and others have pointed out the favourable position of Rome as
an emporium. From the very first that city became the commercial centre
of the neighbouring populations. Built in the centre of a circus of
hills, and on the banks of a navigable river, not far from the sea, it
likewise possessed the advantage of lying on the frontiers of three
nations—Latins, Sabines, and Etruscans. When Rome had conquered the
neighbouring territories it undoubtedly rose into importance as a place
of commerce. This local traffic, however, would never have converted
Rome into a great city. Its position is not to be compared with that
of places like Alexandria, Constantinople, or Bombay, upon which the
world’s commerce converges as a matter of course. On the contrary,
its situation hardly favours commerce. The Apennines, which environ
the territory of Rome in a huge semicircle, constituted a formidable
obstacle until quite recently, and were avoided by merchants; the sea
near Rome is treacherous, and even the small galleys of the ancients
could not enter the inefficient harbour at Ostia without risk.
The power of Rome, therefore, depended but in a small measure upon
commercial advantages resulting from geographical position. It is
its central position to which that city is mainly indebted for its
greatness, and which enabled it to weld the whole of the ancient world
into a political whole. Three concentric circles drawn around the city
correspond with as many phases in its development. During their first
struggles for existence the Romans enjoyed the advantage of occupying
a basin of limited extent, shielded on all sides by mountains. When
Rome had exterminated the inhabitants of these mountains the remainder
of Italy naturally gravitated towards her. The plains of Cis-and
Transpadana in the north presented no obstacles, whilst the resistance
of the uncivilised tribes of the mountain regions of the south was soon
broken, for they found no support amongst the Greek colonies scattered
along an extensive coast. Nor were the populations of Sicily, Sardinia,
and Corsica sufficiently united to offer an effective resistance to
the organized forces of the Romans, who were thus able to extend their
power over all the countries comprehended within the second concentric
circle referred to. {186}
It happened that the plains of Northern Italy and Sicily were both rich
granaries, which enabled the Romans to push forward their conquests.
The whole world of the Mediterranean gravitated towards Rome and Italy:
Illyria, Greece, and Egypt in the east, Libya and Mauritania in the
south, Iberia in the west, Gaul in the north-west, and the transalpine
countries in the north.
[Illustration: Fig. 50.—ROME AND THE ROMAN EMPIRE.]
Rome maintained her power and influence as long as the Mediterranean
constituted the world; but, in proportion as the borders of the
known world were enlarged, so did Rome lose the advantages which
a central position had conferred upon her. Even during the latter
days of the Roman empire Milan and Ravenna usurped the position once
held by Rome, and the latter became the capital of the Ostrogothic
kingdom, and subsequently the seat of the Byzantine exarchs. Rome,
the city of the Cæsars, had fallen for evermore ! True, the emperors
were succeeded by the popes, but the real masters of the “Holy Roman
Empire” resided beyond the Alps, and only came to Italy to have their
power consecrated. Even in Italy itself Rome ceased to be the leading
town, its place being taken by Pavia, Florence, Genoa, Milan, Venice,
Bologna, and even Turin.
The unity of Italy has been realised in the course of this century,
and, excepting a few Alpine valleys, its political boundaries coincide
with its natural ones. It may surprise us that this unity should not
have been established long ago, but the geographical configuration of
Italy readily lends itself to the {187} establishment of small states.
Its islands, its mountain-bound plains, and coast districts, shut off
from the interior of the country by abrupt mountains, formed as many
centres where populations of diverse origin were able to lead a life
independently of their neighbours. Now and then the whole of Italy
acknowledged a single master, but it only did so on compulsion. That
spirit of nationality which has given birth to a united Italy only
animated very few citizens of the mediæval republics. They might unite
to resist a common danger, but no sooner was it past than they went
their separate ways, or, still worse, fought amongst themselves about
some trifle.
Cola di Rienzi, the tribune of Rome, appealed to the cities of Italy
in the middle of the fourteenth century; he adjured them to “throw
off the yoke of the tyrant, and to form a holy national brotherhood,
whose object should be the liberation of Rome and the whole of Italy.”
His messengers, carrying a silver wand, went to every city with
greetings of amity, and asked that deputies should be sent to the
future parliament of the Eternal City. Rienzi, full of the memories
of the past, declared that Rome had not ceased to be the “mistress of
the world,” and had a natural right to govern all nations. It was his
aim to resuscitate the past, not to evoke a new life, and his work
disappeared like a dream. Florence and Venice, the most active cities
of that period, looked upon him as a visionary. “Siamo Veneziani, poi
Cristiani,” said the proud citizens of Venice in the fifteenth century.
They, whose sons fought so valiantly for Italian independence, never
thought of calling themselves Italians. At the same time we must bear
in mind that the impulse which has made Italy one did not originate
with the masses, for there are still millions of Sicilians, Sardinians,
Calabrians, and even Lombards who do not appreciate the vast changes
which have taken place.
If Italy no longer remains a “geographical expression,” it is owing in
a large measure to frequent foreign invasions. Spaniards, French, and
Germans in turn have seized the fertile plains of Italy, and their hard
oppression has taught the Italians to look upon each other as brothers.
The Alps might be supposed to offer an effective protection against
such invasions, but they do not. They are steepest on the Italian side,
whilst their exterior slopes, towards France, Switzerland, and German
Austria, are comparatively gentle. Invaders, tempted by the delightful
climate and the wealth of Italy, were able to reach easily the Alpine
passes, whence they rushed down upon the plains; and thus the “barrier
of the Alps” is a barrier only to the Italians, and has always been
respected by them, excepting during the Roman empire. Nor is there any
reason why they should cross it, for there is no country beyond equal
to their own. French, Swiss, and Germans, on the other hand, have
always looked upon Italy as a sort of paradise. It was the country of
their dreams; they yielded frequently to their desire to possess it,
and dyed its coveted plains with blood.
Italy, exposed as it is to attacks from beyond, and no longer situated
in the centre of the known world, has definitively lost its _primato_,
or foremost place amongst nations, which some of its sons, carried away
by an exclusive patriotism, {188} would restore to it. But though no
longer the most powerful nation, and eclipsed in industry, commerce,
and even literature and science, it still remains unrivalled in its
treasures of art. There is no other country in the world which can
boast of an equal number of cities remarkable on account of their
buildings, statues, paintings, and decorations of every kind. There are
provinces where every village, every group of houses even, delights the
eye either by a fresco painting or a work of the sculptor’s chisel, a
bold staircase or picturesque balcony. The instinct for art has passed
into the blood of the people, and we need not wonder if an Italian
peasant builds his house and plants his trees so as to bring them into
harmony with the surrounding landscape. This constitutes the greatest
charm of Italy; everywhere art goes hand in hand with nature. How many
artists are there not in Lombardy, Venetia, or Tuscany who would have
become famous in any other country, but whose names will never be
remembered, in consequence of their overwhelming numbers, or because
their lot was cast in some remote village !
Italy owes the rank it has held for more than two thousand years not
merely to its monuments and works of art, which attract students from
the extremities of the earth, but also to its historical associations.
In a country which has been inhabited for centuries by a civilised
people there cannot be a town the origin of which is not lost in the
darkness of tradition. The modern cities have replaced the Roman towns,
and these latter rose upon the ruins of some Greek, Etruscan, or Gallic
settlement. Every fortress, every country house, marks the site of
some ancient citadel, or of the villa of a Roman patrician; churches
have replaced the ancient temples, and though the religious rites
have changed, the altars of gods and saints arise anew in the spots
consecrated of old. An examination of these relics of all ages is full
of interest, and only the most obtuse can resist the influence of the
historical reminiscences which surround him.
Italy, after a long period of decay and foreign domination, has again
taken its place amongst the foremost modern nations. The aspect of
the peninsula has undergone many changes since it received the name
of Vitalia, or Italia, from the herds of cattle which roamed over
it. Its well-cultivated plains, carefully tended gardens, and busy
cities entitle it now to some other appellation. The passes of the
Alps and its central position give Italy the command of all the routes
which converge from France, Germany, and Austria upon the Gulfs of
Genoa and Venice. Its quarries, sulphur and iron mines, its wines and
agricultural produce of every description, and its industry afford
ever-growing resources. Its men of learning and inventors may fairly
claim to be on a level with those of other countries. The population
increases rapidly. It is not only more dense than in France, but also
sends a considerable contingent of emigrants to the solitudes of
Southern America.[60] {189}
II.—THE BASIN OF THE PO.
PIEMONT,[61] LOMBARDY, VENETIA, AND EMILIA.
[Illustration: Fig. 51.—MONTE VISO AS IT APPEARS FROM CHIAFFREDO.]
The valley of the Po is frequently spoken of as Upper Italy, because
it occupies the northern portion of the peninsula, but might more
appropriately be termed the Italian Netherlands, for its elevation is
less than that of any other group of provinces. It is a river valley
now, but during the Pliocene epoch it still formed a gulf of the sea.
This gulf was gradually filled up by the alluvium brought down by the
rivers, and upheaved by subterranean forces above the surface of the
waters, the erosive action of the mountain torrents continuing all the
while; and thus, in the course of ages, the basin of the Po assumed
its gentle and regular slope towards the sea. As long as the waters of
the Adriatic penetrated the valleys between Monte Rosa and Monte Viso,
Italy was attached to the Alps {190} of continental Europe only by a
narrow neck of land formed by the Ligurian Apennines.
No other region of Europe can rival the valley of the Po as regards
the magnificence of its distant prospects. The Apennines in the south
raise their heads above the region of forests, their rocks, woods,
and pasturages contrasting with the uniform plain spread out along
their foot; whilst the snow-clad Alps rise in all their sublimity from
the Col di Tenda in the west to the passes of Istria in the east.
The isolated pyramid of Monte Viso (thus called from the beautiful
prospect which may be obtained from its summit) looks down upon the
fields of Saluzzo, and the small lakes in its pasturing region feed a
roaring rivulet which subsequently assumes the name of Po. Enormous
buttresses to the north-west of Turin support the ice-clad Grand
Paradis, near which peeps out the Grivola, perhaps the most charming,
the most gracefully chiselled of all Alpine peaks. Right in the bend
of the Alpine chain rises the dome of Mont Blanc, like an island above
a sea of mountains. Monte Rosa, crowned with a seven-pointed diadem,
pushes its spurs far into Italy. Then come the Splügen, the Ortler, the
Adamello, the Marmolade, and many another summit distinguished for some
special beauty. When from the top of the dome of Milan we behold spread
out around us this magnificent amphitheatre of mountains rising above
the verdant plain, we may well rejoice that we should have lived to
contemplate so grand a scene.
Geographically the Alps belong to the countries which surround Italy.
From the south we seize at a glance the entire slope of the mountains,
from the vineyards and plantations of mulberry-trees to the forests of
beech and larch, the pastures, the naked rocks, and the dazzling fields
of ice. But the cultivator only ventured into this difficult region
when forced by poverty. The features of the northern slope are quite
different. There the land rises gradually, and the valleys are less
fertile, but the inhabitants can easily reach the heads of the passes,
whence they look down upon the inviting plains of Italy. It is this
structure of the Alps which explains the preponderance of the Germanic
and Gallic elements throughout their extent, and whilst Italian is
spoken only in a few isolated localities beyond this mountain barrier,
the French and German elements are largely represented on their inner
slopes.
Italy can only claim a few Alpine mountain masses within the basin
of the Po, the Adige, and the rivers of Venetia. The most important
of these, alike on account of its height, its glaciers, and springs,
is the Grand Paradis, which rears its head to the south of the Dora
Baltea, between the masses of Mont Blanc and the plains of Piemont.
An Englishman, Mr. Mathews, may claim to be the first discoverer of
this mountain giant, which even on the Sardinian staff map, published
only recently, is confounded with Mont Iseran, a far less noble summit
twenty-five miles to the west of it.
None of the other Alpine summits on Italian territory can compare in
height with the Grand Paradis, for though the Italian language extends
in numerous instances to the central chain of the Alps, the political
boundaries of Italy do not. {191} Switzerland holds possession of
the valley of the Upper Ticino, whilst Austria still possesses the
Upper Adige. The only rivers rising on the southern slope of the Alps,
and belonging in their entirety, or nearly so, to Italy, are the
Tagliamento and the Piave. In consequence of this violation of the
natural frontiers there are many snow-clad Alpine summits which, though
geographically belonging to Italy, are situated on the frontiers of the
present kingdom, or even within Swiss or Austrian territory. Amongst
these are the giant summits of the Ortler, the Marmolade, and the
precipitous Cimon della Pala. The Monte della Disgrazia, however, to
the south of the Bernina, is an Italian mountain; such is also, for the
greater part, the mountain mass of the Camonica, bounded on the north
by the Pass of Tonale, which plays so prominent a part in legendary
history, and is commanded by the Adamo, or Adamello, whose glacier
streams creep down to the Upper Adige. Farther to the east, in the
valley of the Piave, the obelisk surmounting the huge pyramid of the
Antelao pierces the line of perennial snow, and there are other peaks
scarcely inferior to it in height.
[Illustration: Fig. 52.—GRAND PARADIS.
From the Map of the French Alpine Club. Scale 1 : 228,000.]
Most of the Alpine groups lying within Italy and between the main
chain and {192} the plains do not exceed the Apennines in height,
and only a few amongst them are covered with perennial snow. But the
prospects which may be enjoyed from them are all the more charming for
this reason, for we find ourselves between two zones, with cultivated
valleys, towns, and villages at our feet, and a panorama of bare
and snowy summits bounding the view to the north. Several of these
mountains deservedly attract large numbers of tourists. Favourites
amongst them are the hills rising above the blue lakes of Lombardy,
such as the Motterone on Lago Maggiore, the pyramidal Generoso rising
in the midst of verdant fields on the Lake of Lugano, the superb hills
between the two arms of the Lake of Como and the fertile plains of the
Brianza, and Monte Baldo, advancing its buttresses like lions’ claws
into the waters of the Lake of Garda. The mountains of the Val Tellina,
or the Orobia range, to the south of the valley of the Upper Adda,
being remote from towns and customary highways, are less frequently
visited than they deserve. Standing at their foot, we may almost fancy
being in the Pyrenees. As to the dolomites, on the frontiers of Venetia
and the Tyrol, they are unique. Their fantastically shaped rocks,
delicately tinted with pink and other colours, contrast marvellously
with the green of beeches and firs, or the blue waters of the lakes.
Richthofen and others look upon these isolated mountain masses as
ancient coral islands, or _atolls_, upheaved to a height varying
between 6,500 and 10,400 feet; and, whatever their geological origin
may be, they certainly contribute much towards the beauty of the Alpine
regions.
[Illustration: Fig. 53.—THE PLAIN OF DÉBRIS BETWEEN THE ALPS AND THE
APENNINES.
According to Zollikofer.]
If we descend the Italian slope of the Alps, we pass gradually from the
more ancient to the most recent geological formation, until we finally
reach the alluvial plain. Metamorphic rocks, _verrucano_, dolomites,
and other rocks overlie the granites, the gneiss, and the schists of
the more elevated mountain masses. These are succeeded by beds of
Triassic and Jurassic age. Lower still we meet with {193} terraces
and hills composed of tertiary marls, clays, and conglomerates. Monte
Bolca, so famous amongst geologists on account of its fossils, belongs
to this formation.[62] The whole of the plain of Lombardy and Piemont,
with the exception of the isolated hillocks rising in it, and a few
marine deposits near its margin, consists of débris brought down by the
rivers. The depth of this accumulation is not yet known, for hitherto
no borings have pierced it; but if we suppose the slopes of the Alps
and the Apennines to continue uniformly, it would amount to no less
than 4,130 feet. The two diagrams (Fig. 53) are intended to illustrate
this feature. In the upper of these the heights are exaggerated
tenfold; in the lower both the horizontal and the vertical scales are
the same. A glance at this diagram reveals the astounding fact that
the volume of this débris almost equals that of the existing mountain
systems.
[Illustration: Fig. 54.—SLOPE OF THE VALLEY OF THE PO.
The vertical scale is ten times larger than the horizontal.]
The vast plain stretching from the Adriatic to the foot of the Monte
Rosa and the Viso may boast of its peninsulas, its islands, and even
its archipelagos, as if it were a sea. The tertiary hills of Northern
Monferrato, to the east of Turin, attain a height of 1,600 to 2,000
feet, and the valley of the Tanaro completely separates them from the
Ligurian Alps and the Apennines. Even at the very foot of the Alps, as
at Cavour and elsewhere, isolated granitic or porphyritic pyramids and
domes rise in the midst of the plain sloping down towards the Po.[63]
The hump-backed Bosco Montello, to the south of the Piave, is another
isolated hill; and on the banks of the Po may be seen a hillock of
pebbles and marine sands, abounding in fossils, which bears the village
of San Colombano and its vineyards. Several volcanic peaks, surrounded
by cretaceous formations, rise in the midst of the plains to the east
of the Lake of Garda. The craters of the Berici, near Vicenza, and of
the Euganean Hills, near Padua, have not vomited {194} flames within
the historical epoch, but the hot and the gas springs which issue
from clefts in the trachytic and basaltic rocks prove sufficiently
that volcanic forces are not yet quite extinct in that part of Italy.
Earthquakes occur frequently in the neighbouring Alps, and particularly
near Belluno and Bassano.
[Illustration: Fig. 55.—MUD VOLCANOES AND HOT SPRINGS OF THE NORTHERN
APENNINES.
Scale 1 : 1,160,000.]