ITALY
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ITALY
tance when preference came to be given to the shorter
way through Tuscany. It is a mountainous country
that was subject to petty lordships, some of which
were promoters of literature and the arts. The prin-
cipal centres of population and places of historic inter-
est are: Urbino (pop. 18,000), formerly the capital of a
duchy (1213-1631) that was made famous by its fine
arts; it was the birth-place of Raphael and of Bra-
mante; Pesaro (pop. 2,1,000) at the mouth of the
FogUa, the birth-place of the great musician Gioachino
Rossini, and of the philosopher Terenzio Mamiani;
Senigallia (pop. 23,000), the birth-place of Pius IX;
Jesi (pop. 23,000), the birth-place of the Suabian Em-
peror Frederick II; Ancona (pop. 56,000), on the in-
cline of a hill which forms an angle projecting into the
sea. After Triest and Venice it is the most impor-
tant port on the .Adriatic Sea; it is famous for its
heroic and successful defence when l)csieged in 1 144 by
Frederick Barbaro.ssa. Not far from the mouth of the
Musoue, on a pleasant height, is Loreto, vdih its
famous sanctuary-, erected from plans by Bramante,
and which according to pious tradition contains the
Holy House of Nazareth that was transported from
Dalmatia, by angels, to the place where later was
erected this beautiful temple in honour of the glories
of the Virgin. Macerata (pop. 23,000), between the
Chienti and the Potenza, containing a university;
Recanati (pop. 17,000), the birth-place of the modern
lyric poet Giacomo Leopardi; Tolentino (pop. 13,000),
famous for its sanctuary of St. Nicholas, of the Order
of Hermits of St. Augustine. It was here that the
treaty was signed between Napoleon I and Pius VI in
1797, and here, also, Murat was defeated in 181.5.
Camerino (pop. 12,000) was once the seat of a duchy,
and has still a free univensity; Fermo (pop. 21,000)
distinguished itself in the First Punic War by its firm
fidelity to the Romans, whence its name; and finally,
on the right of the Tronto, amid fertile lands, is AscoU
Piceno (pop. 29,000),avery ancient city and an enemy
of Rome.
Abruzzi and Molise. — The boundaries of Abruzzi and Molise are the Tronto River, the Adriatic Sea, the Fortore River, and an irregular line towards the Apennines. This region consists of the Altipiano or Abruzzo-Aquilano, along the seashore, which is divided into Abruzzo Teramano and Chietino; Molise, that consists of the ent ire watershed between the Sangro and the Fortore Rivers; the Marsica, which is formed of the basin of the Fucino River and of the upper vallej-s of the Liri and of the Salto. The climate is variable; severe on the uplands of Aquila and mild on the coast. The land is not very fertile, but pastoral pursuits are considerably developed: the flocks go for wintering to the Agco Romano or to Apulia, and especially to Capi- tanata, following very ancient grass-grown tracks called tratturi, which the flocks alone use. Indus- tries are not flourishing, but they are being devel- oped by the hydro-electric plants. The central part of this region may be called the Helvetia of the penin- sula; in ancient times it was the home of the intrepid Sabini, Marsi, Marrucini, Peligni, and Frentani, who for more than a centurj- checked the progress of Roman arms. They were subjugated, and then revolted under the Italic League; but Rome triumphed again, and from that time these people furnished the sinew of the Roman armies. Being a mountainous and poor countrj-, it had little importance in the Middle Ages. Abruzzians have a great love for their native region; each winter great numbers of tliem, poor, honest, and industrious, go in .search of work to Rome and to Naples, but invariably return to their homes in the spring, with their savings. This population furnishes the largest contingent of Italian cooks, scullions, stable boys, hotel servants, and policemen. The princii)al centres of population are Teramo (pop. 24,000) on the Tortlino River, formerly the capital of the Pretuzii, whence the name Aprutium, .\bruzzo; .\quila (pop.
21,000) on the Aterno River, founded in 1240 by
Frederick II, not far from the ruins of Amiterno, the
capital of the Sabines and birth-place of Sallust; it is
famous for its saffron; Solmona (pop. 18,000), a city
of the Peligni and the home of Ovid; Castel di Sangro,
a strategic point at the opening of the Aquila-Naples
road; Lanciano (pop. 18,000) has a beautiful cathe-
dral; Campobasso (pop. 15,000), having a very old
cutlery industrj-, and Tagliacozzo, at the source of the
Salto or Imele Ri\'er, an affluent of the Velino, where
Conradin was defeated by Charles of Anjou, in 1268.
Avezzano, formerly on the now drained Fucino River,
is the most important place in the Mansica.
Southern Italy. — The line drawn from the mouth of the Trigno River, on the Adriatic Sea, to that of the Garigliano, on the Tyrrhenian Sea, marks the shortest distance between those two waters and separates Southern from Central Italy. This division of the peninsula lies between three seas, the Adriatic, the Ionian, and the Tyrrhenian, and at its southern ex- tremity, bifurcates into two peninsulas, the Salentine, which follows a south-easterly direction, and the Cal- abrian, which follows a south-westerly direction; and as the coasts are much more sinuous than those of Central Italy, it has yet other smaller peninsulas; they are the peninsula of Gargano, that of Sorrento, the promontory of Monteleone, and the headland of Sila, between the Gulfs of Squillace and of Taranto. The distance between the Gulf of Salerno and that of Manfredonia is SO miles; between the Gulf of Taranto and the Tyrrhenian Sea, 30 miles. and bet ween the Gulfs of Squillace and of Santa Eufemia 18 miles. Southern Italy is divided into the following regions: Campania, Apulia, the Basilicata, and Calabria. On account of its distance from the rest of Italy, which was increa.sed by want of ways of rapid communications, Southern Italy had a civil and political life of its own; it suf- fered little from the incursions of the barbarians, but was occupied by the Greeks and by a few Normans who established there the first Kingdom of Italy. The Carlovingians and the Othonians did not succeed in binding it to the empire. Notwithstanding the fact that the peoples of the two watersheds of Southern Italy were politically united for eight centuries, and notwithstanding the undeniable a.scendancy of Naples, itscapital, the various sect ions of which this region con- sists were almost .strangers to each other until within recent years, although the Apennines offered no se- rious obstacles to communication between the different parts of the country; this was due to the want of roads, for which little provision lias been made, al- though laws have been passed to that effect. The great majority of the inhabitants are agriculturists whose homes, contrary to the custom in Northern and in Central Italy, are in the towns, of which they have all the vices, without any of the rural virtues. The coun- try is divided into vast estates whose owners live at Naples or abroad, so that the labourer gives his day's work without any interest or love for the soil he cultivates. The soil is very fertile and rewards even the poorest tillage. The prmcipal products arc maize, corn, wine, olives, almonds, figs, and vegetables. Not- withstanding its length of coast, the region contains a sparse maritime population, and therefore secures httle advantage from a sea that teems with riches for other people. Its industries are as yet lift le developed; nevertheless, there is already a naval ar.senal at Cas- tellamare, important metallurgical works at Naples and at Pozzuoli; factories for farinaceous foods, cotton mills, and others (Laws of 31 March, 1904, and 15 July, 190B, in favour of the Basilicata, of the South of Italy, Sicily and Sardinia).
Canipania comprises the provinces of Avellino or Principato Ulteriore, Benevento, Caserta or Terra di Lavoro, Naples, and Salerno or Principato Citeriore. It stretches from the Bay of Terracina to the Gidf of Policastro, except the valleys of the Tolero or Sacco and
