and at the foot of Mount Parnassus, is the village of Kastri, the ancient Delphi, the oracle of Apollo, and the fabled haunt of the Muses. Nearly due north of Kastri, near the shore of the strait which separates the island of Negropont from the mainland, is the memorable Pass of Thermopyla. Nauplia and Patras, both situated upon the coast of the Morea, are, next to the capital, the most important seats of Greek commerce. Nauplia is at the head of a gulf upon the eastern side of the peninsula, in the vicinity of the ancient Argos. Patras lies near the entrance of the Gulf of Corinth. At Misso'onghi, on the northern shore of the Gulf of Patras, Lord Byron died in 1824. Corinth, near the isthmus to which its name is given, was the greatest trading city of ancient Greece. The ship canal across the isthmus will doubtless increase the staple trade of Corinth-the exporting of currants, which take their name from the town. It is now small and unimportant; so also is Sparta, a place of even greater note in the ancient history of Greece, in the southerly portion of the Morea. Syra or Hermoupolis, on the island of Syra, is commercially the most important among the towns of insular Greece. The little island of Delos, the fabled birthplace of Apollo and Artemis, is only a few miles east of Syra, between the two large islands of Rhenea and Mykoni. Corfu is the capital of the Ionian Islands. ITALY. ITALY' is a large country of southern Europe. The main portion of it forms a peninsula which advances far into the Mediterranean. Two large islands, the one, Sicily, lying to the south, and the other, Sardinia, to the west of the mainland, and a considerable number of smaller islands, are included in the Kingdom of Italy. BOUNDARIES: Italy is bounded on the north by Austria and Switzerland; on the north-west by France; on the south-west and south by the Mediterranean Sea; and on the east by the Adriatic Sea. Italy is divided from France, Switzerland, and the Tyrol by the magnificent ranges of the Alps, and from the maritime provinces of Austria, Turkey, and Greece by the Adriatic Sea. In shape, Italy has been likened to a boot, the two smaller peninsulas into which it divides in the south forming respectively the toe and the heel. EXTENT: The total area of Italy, including the islands, is estimated at 110,660 square miles, or nearly twice that of England and Wales. The greatest length, from north-west to south-east, is about 700 miles. The breadth varies from 350 miles in the north to between 80 and 140 miles in the centre, and less than 20 miles near its southern extremity. COASTS: Although regular and unbroken, except on the south, the coast-line of Italy is very extensive, and includes a great 1. Italy, the country of the Itali, an ancient tribe who occupied the southern parts of the Peninsula. number of good harbours. Several parts of the Italian coast, such as the Bay of Naples and the Gulf of Genoa, are famous for their scenery. The coast-line of the mainland measures about 2,000 miles, and that of the islands, also about 2,000, or 4,000 miles in all, equal to an average of 1 mile of coast to every 27 square miles of surface. No part of the country, except in the extreme north, is more than about 70 miles from the sea, and the country is therefore admirably situated with regard to maritime commerce. Capes.-The principal are Spartivento and Di Leuca. Cape Spartivento is the most southerly point of the Italian mainland; Cape Di Leuca is the extreme south-eastern point. Cape Passaro is the southern point of Sicily, and Cape Corso the northern point of Corsica. Inlets. The Adriatic Sea (the northerly part of which forms the Gulf of Venice), the Gulf of Taranto, the Gulf of Squillace, the Bay of Naples, the Gulf of Gaeta, and the Gulf of Genoa, are all of them arms of the Mediterranean. Straits. The Strait of Otranto, at the entrance of the Adriatic; the Strait of Messina, between Italy and the island of Sicily; and the Strait of Bonifacio, between the islands of Sardinia and Corsica. In the Strait of Messina are the once dreaded whirlpool Charybdis and the rock Scylla. ISLANDS: The three largest Italian islands are Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica-the last named of which belongs politically to France. The smaller islands are Malta, Gozo, Comino, Pantellaria, the Lipari Islands, Elba, Caprera, Ischia, Capri, and several others of less note lying near the western coasts of the peninsula. The Maltese Islands-Malta, Gozo, and Comino-belong to Great Britain. SICILY, the largest island in the Mediterranean, is about 180 miles long and 120 miles broad, and has an area of 9,935 square miles. Its shape is triangular, and its surface is extremely uneven. The principal mountain range runs across the northern part of the island, and gives off a lateral ridge which terminates in Cape Passaro. The famous volcano, Mount Etna, is a detached mass rising from the north east corner of the plain of Catania to the height of 10,874 feet above the sea. The climate of Sicily is warm and delightful; and the soil in the lower plains and valleys is very fertile, producing abundance of fruits and grain. Various minerals and metals are also found, and sulphur, marble, &c, are largely exported. Relatively to its size, it has a dense populationabout 31⁄2 millions, or 355 per square mile. SARDINIA, the second largest island in the Mediterranean, has an area of 9.300 square miles. Its surface is mountainous; the highest point is the Monte del Gennargentu, which reaches the height of about 6,oco feet. Its extremely fertile plains and valleys are well watered by numerous rivers, and its natural productions are varied and valuable. The population is sparse, scarcely exceeding three-quar.ers of a million in number. The capital, Cagliari (54), is an important port on the south coast, and Sassari (38), is the chief town in the northern part of the island. MALTA, with the two adjacent smaller islands of Gozo and Comino, has belonged to England since the year 1800. The capital is Valletta, a busy seat of trade, and an important naval station. The Lipari Isles, off the northern coast of Sicily, are of volcanic origin, and still contain two active volcanoes-Stromboli and Vulcano. Ischia, a small island at the entrance of the Gulf of Naples, was in 1881, and again in 1883, the scene of most destructive earthquakes. In the former over 200, and in the latter 2,450, lives were lost, and hundreds of houses and other buildings were destroyed. Capri is famous as being the place where the Roman emperor Tiberius passed the last ten years of his life, and also as being the favourite retreat of Augustus; Elba, as the place of Napoleon's exile; and Caprera, as the home of Garibaldi, the liberator of Italy. MOUNTAINS: A large portion of Italy is mountainous. The principal mountains are the Alps, which encircle the north of Italy, forming its frontier on the side of France, Switzerland, and Germany, and the Apennines, which branch off from the Alps near the head of the Gulf of Genoa, and run through the entire length of the peninsula. Insular Italy is also mountainous, and there are several lofty elevations in both Sicily and Sardinia. The Alps have been already described. All the higher portions of these great mountains are covered with perpetual snow; but the glacier-region is chiefly upon their northern declivities, beyond the Italian limits. Mont Blanc, 15.781 feet, the highest elevation in the Alps, and also the loftiest mountain in Europe, is on the border-line of Italy and France; Monte Rosa, 15,158 feet, is on that of Italy and Switzerland. The Apennines, which are much less elevated than the Alps, extend over twothirds of peninsular Italy. The highest points are Monte Cimone, 6,975 feet, in the Northern Apennines; Monte Corno or Gran Sasso d'Italia, "the Great Rock of Italy," 9,521 feet, in the Central Apennines; and Monte Amara, in the Southern Apennines, 9,000 feet. VOLCANOES: Mount Vesuvius (3,932 feet), the only active volcano on the mainland of Europe, is on the west side of Italy, near the shores of the Bay of Naples. Mount Etna, on the island of Sicily, also an active volcano, is of much more considerable height, reaching 10,874 feet above the sea. Stromboli, one of the Lipari Islands, is a volcano in constant activity. In the first known eruption of Vesuvius (A. D. 69) the cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii were so completely covered by lava and ashes that their very site long remained unknown. Mount Etna is the largest and loftiest volcano in Europe, and, since the year 476, has been in eruption about 60 times. The whole of the south of Italy is especially subject to volcanic disturbances. In the earth. quake of 1783, over 300 towns and villages were destroyed, and in that of 1857 over 10,000 persons perished. The earthquakes of 1881 and 1883, in the island of Ischia, were most destructive. PLAINS: The largest is the Plain of Lombardy, which includes the north-western part of Italy between the Alps and the Apennines. It is watered by the rivers Po and Adige, with their numerous tributaries, and is one of the most fertile regions in Europe. Less extensive plains border the eastern and western coasts of the Italian peninsula between the Apennines and the sea. RIVERS: With a few exceptions, the rivers of Italy are of comparatively little importance in a merely geographical sense, though of great historical fame. In Italy, as in Greece and other lands, many localities, which, in themselves, claim little regard, acquire interest from their association with the great events of former ages. ' The chief rivers of Italy are the Po and Adige, flowing into the Adriatic; and the Arno and Tiber, flowing into the Mediterranean. The PO rises in Mont Viso, on the border between France and Italy, and has a total length of nearly 450 miles, of which 280 miles are navigable. Its chief tributaries are the Ticino, from Lake Maggiore; the Adda, from Lake Como; the Oglio, from Lake Iseo; and the Mincio, from Lake Garda. The immense quantities of debris brought down from the mountains by the Po and its tributaries have added much land to its delta, and have raised its bed so much that its surface is actually higher than the general level of the surrounding districts, which are protected from inundation by vast embankments. The Adige rises in the Rhætian Alps, and flows into the Gulf of Venice after a course of 250 miles. The Arno rises in the Apennines, and falls into the Ligurian Sea, after a course of 150 miles through one of the loveliest and most renowned parts of Italy. The upper Arno is connected by a canal with the Tiber, which is, historically, the most famous river in Europe. It flows by Rome, once the "mistress of the world, and has a total course of 210 miles. LAKES: The principal Italian lakes are Maggiore, Lugano, Como and Garda, situated among the southern valleys of the Alps; with Trasimeno (Perugia), Bolsena, and Bracciano, in the middle portion of the peninsula. Albano and Nemi are smaller lakes, a few miles south of Rome. Lake Maggiore (152 square miles) is one of the prettiest of the Alpine lakes. Off its western shores are the beautiful Borromean Islands. Lake Como (66 square miles) lies at an elevation of 684 feet above the sea, and is by far the most picturesque and sublime of the Alpine lakes. The scenery of Lake Garda (183 square miles) and Lake Lugano is fine, but inferior to that of Como and Maggiore. The lakes of central Italy generally occupy the craters of old volcanoes, and consequently are circular or oval in shape. They are smaller than the Alpine lakes, but two of them, Bolsena and Albano, are hardly less beautiful. Lake Maggiore is drained by the River Ticino; Lake Lugano, by the Tresa; Lake Como, by the Adda; and Lake Garda, by the Mincio. Lakes Perugia and Albano are drained by artificial canals. CLIMATE: The climate of Italy is warm, as is the case with all the countries that border upon the Mediterranean, but it is also, for the most part, dry and healthy. In particular parts of Italy, however, the air is very unhealthy, especially at certain seasons of the year. This is the case in the low coast district of Tuscany, and in certain parts of the Roman territory, to the south and west of the city of Rome. The malaria, emanating from these pestilential marshes, the chilly winds known as the tramontana and the bora, which lower the temperature to the freezing point, and the sirocco, a hot, stifling wind from Africa, are the great drawbacks to the climate of Italy. PRODUCTIONS: The vegetable, aniinal, and mineral productions of Italy are important, and sustain flourishing industries and a large commerce. The vegetation of Italy is rich and luxuriant, in a degree which greatly surpasses that of countries that lie beneath a more northern sky. A rich evergreen foliage clothes the sides of the hills, while the plains are covered with the vine, the olive, the fig, and the mulberry, besides yielding abundant crops of the finest wheat and other corn. In mineral produce, Italy is chiefly distinguished for the sulphur supplied by Sicily, and the iron worked in the island of Elba. Marbles and building-stones of the finest quality abound throughout the country. 1 The finest marble is found near Carrara in the Apennines. Some gold is found in the Alps, and some silver in Sardinia. Salt and tobacco are government monopolies. The annual production of minerals is valued a13 millions sterling, of which sulphur alone amounts to 1 millions. Among the wild animals, the lynx, chamois, and wolf are still found in the Alps, and the crested porcupine and the wild boar in the south. The fisheries around the coast are valuable. INHABITANTS: Italy, one of the most densely-peopled countries of Europe, contains upwards of 321⁄2 million inhabitants, equivalent to about 293 to the square mile, or about half the density in England. Race and Language: Although the modern inhabitants of Italy are, in appearance, manners, and language, a distinct nation, yet they are descended from numerous and widely-different races, such as the Ligurians, Umbrians, Etruscans, Greeks, Romans, Goths, Franks, Longobards, &c. The Italian language is derived from the Latin. Of the various dialects, the Tuscan only is pure. 2 Education and Religion: Until recent years the lower classes of Italy were entirely illiterate, and even now a considerable proportion of the adult population is unable to read or write.3 Elementary education, however, is being rapidly extended, and public Government Schools are now found in all parts of the kingdom. Higher education is well provided for. There are no less thin 21 universities, eleven of which were in existence previous to 1450; and seventeen of these are State Universities. There are, besides, a large number of practical Schools of Agriculture and Mining, as well as Industrial and Commercial Schools. The upper classes of Italy are, and always have been, highly educated, and, in the Middle Ages, the arts and literature were especially cultivated. Among the great men whom Italy has produced we may note Raphael, Michael Angelo, Dante, and Canova. The Fine Arts are still highly esteemed, and there are important Schools of Music, Painting, Sculpture, &c., at Rome, Fiorence, Bologna, and other towns. 1. The marble and other quarries of Italy employ about 60,oco men; the annual output being valued at 1 millions sterling. 2 Dante and Boccaccio were Tuscans. been made is shown by the fact that illiterates entering the army have filen from 64 per cent, in 1896, to 31 per cent, in 1903. In Germany, the proportion of literate recruits is less than i per cent. |