Calabria summary

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Below is the article summary. For the full article, see Calabria.

Calabria , Region (pop., 2001 prelim.: 1,993,274), southern Italy. Forming the “toe” of the Italian “boot,” it is a peninsula that separates the Tyrrhenian and Ionian seas. A mountainous area covering 5,823 sq mi (15,080 sq km), it has been subject to earthquakes. Its capital is Catanzaro. Founded as a Greek colony and known in ancient times as Bruttium, it was taken by the Romans in the 3rd century bc and gradually went into decline. It eventually passed to the Byzantines, who renamed it Calabria. Conquered by the Normans, it was united with the Kingdom of Naples in the 11th century ad. A stronghold of Italian republicanism until the Risorgimento, it became part of Italy after the 1860 expedition of Giuseppe de Garibaldi. Long a poor area dependent on farming, it underwent a land-reform system in the mid-20th century that promoted more diverse profitable crops.

Apennine Range Summary

Apennine Range, series of mountain ranges bordered by narrow coastlands that form the physical backbone of peninsular Italy. From Cadibona Pass in the northwest, close to the Maritime Alps, they form a great arc, which extends as far as the Egadi Islands to the west of Sicily. Their total length is

Italy Summary

Italy, country of south-central Europe, occupying a peninsula that juts deep into the Mediterranean Sea. Italy comprises some of the most varied and scenic landscapes on Earth and is often described as a country shaped like a boot. At its broad top stand the Alps, which are among the world’s most