1. PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. Geo graphical Position.- Italy lies in the south of Europe and is in the middle of the two other southern peninsulas-Spain and Greece, forming the extreme European extensions to ward Africa and Asia. Italy is almost in the middle of the Temperate;Zone.
The diktanee of its various portions from the imitator (latitude) is about the same as the distance from the equator of the New Eng land States of America, of New York Penn-' Sylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and its position being between 36' 38' and 46°' 40 lat. north and 6t' 30' to 18° 30' long. east of the Greenwich 'meridian.
As to its distance from the United States, between Rome and New Yotic there. are 4,172 miles. In time there is a difference of 5 hours 45 minutes, so that when' it is midnight in New York it is 5.45 A.M. in Rome.
Perimetric Configliration.-- Italy, which by reason of its characteristic form in the atlas has been compared to a boot, is divided geo graphically into three parts: (I) Continental Italy, partially bounded by the Alps to the north, by the Sigurean Sea to the west and by the Gulf of Venice to the east, is wider from east to west than from north to south; (2) Peninsular Italy, a little more extensive than the Continental portion, situated from north west to southeast, bounded on three sides by the Mediterranean. Sea, which takes the dis tinctive name of Tyrrhenian ,Sea on the west; of Ionian Sea toward the southeast and of Adriatic on the east; (3) Insular Italy, which comprises, besides numerous smaller islands, the large islands of Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica, which enclose the Tyrrhenian Sea on the south and west.
Historical On account of its situation in the midst of the Mediterranean, into which it extends from the continent of Eu rope like a natural mole, 621.4 miles long, from northwest to southeast, and flanked at an in considerable distance by two other peninsulas, it was most favorably situated to play a prom inent part in the history of human progress, and particularly until the discovery of America, i.e., during the many centuries in which, before the conquest of the Atlantic Ocean, there were concentrated in the Mediterranean the most successful efforts and the most glorious annals of human history. No country of Europe can compete with Italy in worthy historical mem ories, both in the ages of antiquity and in the Middle Ages; and from the middle of the 10th century to the present time, after the cutting of the Isthmus of Suez, the importance of the Mediterranean has again greatly increased; and as the unification of all the Italian states into one nation occurred about this time, there be gan for Italy a new historical period in which are already evidences of new progressive growth in the country.
The boundaries of Peninsu lar Italy are the three seas already mentioned; but on the continental and insular portions there are different opinions. There is no ques tion regarding the political boundaries, • since Italy is politically bounded by the confines of the kingdom, which were recognized in the last treaties, and liable to be changed by subsequent treaties. The difficulty arises in regard to what are called natural boundaries, for the reason that various authors start from different stand points some taking purely geographical lines; others ethnographical, or linguistic-, others mil itary, or historic boundaries, etc. On this point Italian writers differ not only with foreign au thorities on the subject, but they also differ among themselves. And this is not unnatural. Along the boundary line between Italy and the European Continent there have been through the ages so many historical happenings and so many different races, that the distinguishing traits of nationality and language are no longer clearly defined, but are blended in promiscuous belts, which must account for the varied opin ions of the writers. But it must be remem bered that the ethnographical, linguistic, mili tary and historical data referring to the past. present or future distribution of tongues, and political or social institutions belong properly to anthropological and sociological geography, whilst physical geography, of which alone we are treating at present, deals with nothing but the physical characteristics of a country. There fore the clearest and simplest way of treating of a peculiarly mountainous region is the oro hydrographic point of view by which we begin by tracing on the immense extent and variety of forms of the Alps the dividing line between the water-sheds of the opposite regions. This loaves well defined the principal part at least, if not all of the northern boundaries along the Alps, following the line which separates the water-sheds of the Rhone, the Rhine and the Danube, which have nothing to do with Italy, from those of the Po, the Adige and other Alpine rivers which undoubtedly belong to Italy. But even in regard to these physical boundaries there is a difference of opinion as to where should be fixed the extreme limits of the east and west boundaries of the continental portion and the exact limits of the fluviatic basins.