The geography of Italy includes the description of all the physical geographical elements of Italy. Italy, whose territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical region, is located in southern Europe and comprises the long, boot-shaped Italian Peninsula crossed by the Apennines, the southern side of Alps, the large plain of the Po Valley and some islands including Sicily and Sardinia. Italy is part of the Northern Hemisphere. Two of the Pelagian Islands (Lampedusa and Lampione) are located on the African continent.

The total area of Italy is , of which is land and is water. It lies between latitudes 35° and 47° N, and longitudes 6° and 19° E. Italy borders Switzerland (), France (), Austria () and Slovenia (). San Marino () and Vatican City () are enclaves. The total border length is . Including islands, Italy has a coastline of on the Adriatic Sea, Ionian Sea, Tyrrhenian Sea, Ligurian Sea, Sea of Sardinia and Strait of Sicily.

The Italian geographical region, in its traditional and most widely accepted extent, has an area of approximately , which is greater than the area of the entire Italian Republic (). The Italian geographical region also includes territories that are sovereign parts of Croatia, France, Slovenia and Switzerland, as well as the four small independent states of the Principality of Monaco, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of San Marino and the Vatican City State (the Holy See).

General features

Italy is joined to the central-western section of the European continent by the Alps. Due to its position, it constitutes a bridge between Europe and Africa. In particular, the Italian peninsula is located in the center of the Mediterranean Sea, between the Balkans and Hellenic peninsula to the east, the Iberian peninsula to the west, North Africa to the south and continental Europe to the north separated by the Alps.

Italy also separates the western basin of the Mediterranean Sea from the eastern basin — that is, the Tyrrhenian Sea from the Ionian Sea — extending towards the west with Calabria and Sicily, which together geologically form a peninsular extension. Only separate Sicily and Africa (the Tunisian peninsula), by the channel of Sicily.

To the east, Salento is from the Albanian coast, at the narrowest point of the Strait of Otranto. It is Capo d'Otranto (also called Punta Palascìa), located at 40° 7' north latitude and 18° 31' east longitude. To the north of Salento lies the long and narrow inlet of the Adriatic Sea.

The islands of Sardinia and Corsica then divide the Tyrrhenian Sea from the Sardinian Sea.

The coastal development of the Italian peninsula and islands is vast; about , which is much larger than that of the Iberian peninsula, but much less than that of the Balkans.

Italy has a prevalence of hilly areas (41.6% of the territory) compared to mountainous areas (35.2% of the territory), or flat areas (23.2%).

The Italian soil today is the result of anthropization and is partly mountainous, partly hilly, partly volcanic, partly endolagunar with bumps, polesine, islands, dried up by reclamation (Bonifiche Circeo, Ferraresi, Comacchio, Ostiense, Pisana and so on) with ever greater raising of embankments (for example the withdrawal of 1.7 billion cubic meters per year of fresh water, from 20 consortia from Veneto alone).

No inhabited center in Italy is more than from the sea and the Italian municipality farthest from the sea is Madesimo (province of Sondrio) which is from the Ligurian Sea.

Boundaries Italy borders Switzerland (), France (), Austria () and Slovenia (). San Marino () and Vatican City () are enclaves. The total border length is . Including islands, Italy has a coastline of on the Adriatic Sea, Ionian Sea, Tyrrhenian Sea, Ligurian Sea, Sea of Sardinia and Strait of Sicily.

Latitude and longitude Northernmost point — Testa Gemella Occidentale, Prettau (Predoi), South Tyrol at Southernmost point — Punta Pesce Spada, Lampedusa, Sicily at (whole territory); Capo Spartivento, Palizzi, Calabria at (mainland) Westernmost point — Rocca Bernauda, Bardonecchia, Piedmont at Easternmost point — Capo d'Otranto, Otranto, Apulia at

The distance that separates the Testa Gemella Occidentale from Punta Pesce Spada is ; the maximum distance between the eastern and western borders is about . The municipalities at the ends of Italy are:

Predoi, the northernmost municipality Lampedusa e Linosa, the southernmost municipality Otranto, the easternmost municipality Bardonecchia, the westernmost municipality

Elevation Highest point: Mont Blanc (Aosta Valley) at Lowest point: Jolanda di Savoia (province of Ferrara) at Highest settlement: Trepalle, Livigno at

Maritime claims Territorial sea: Continental shelf: or to the depth of exploitation Exclusive Economic Zone:

Geographical centre Although the Istituto Geografico Militare of Florence has repeatedly declared that it is impossible to uniquely determine the center of a non-geometric shape such as that of Italy, there are several locations that, depending on the measurement criteria adopted, compete for the primacy of the geographical centre of Italy: Monteluco (province of Perugia); Narni (province of Terni); Orvieto (province of Terni); Rieti (province of Rieti).

Land use

2006 estimates. Artificial (urban, industrial etc.): 4.9% Agricultural: 52.2% Arable land: 27.9% Permanent: 7.1% Other: 17.2% Wood: 41.4% Wetlands: 0.4% Water (lakes etc.): 1.1%

Irrigated land 39,510 km2 (2007)

Total renewable water resources 191.3 km3 (2011)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural) total: 45.41 km3/yr (24%/43%/34%) per capita: 789.8 m3/yr (2008)

Divisions

The Italian geographical region, in its traditional and most widely accepted extent, has an area of approximately , which is greater than the area of the entire Italian Republic (). The Italian geographical region also includes territories that are sovereign parts of Croatia, France, Slovenia and Switzerland, as well as the four small independent states of the Principality of Monaco, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of San Marino and the Vatican City State (the Holy See). Italy and the Italian geographical region are both divided into three parts, albeit with some differences.

Continental Italy

Continental Italy defined as the southern side of the Alps, the Po Valley, Liguria and the portion of the Apennines bounded by the conventional line that connects La Spezia to Rimini. The region of Nice (corresponding to the historic County of Nice), Italian Switzerland, part of Julian March and other less extensive portions of territory such as Valle Stretta, Gondo and Val Monastero, are not part of the Italian Republic in its continental part but they are part of the Italian geographical region. Conversely, the Val di Lei, the Val di Livigno, the San Candido basin, the Rio Sesto valley and the Tarvisio basin, although part of the Italian Republic, are not included in the Italian geographical region.

Peninsular Italy

Peninsular Italy refers to the entire southern part of the aforementioned line, up to Punta Melito in Calabria (which is the southernmost point of the peninsula) and Santa Maria di Leuca in Apulia. San Marino and the Vatican City are foreign territories, although included in the Italian geographical region.

The Italian peninsula occupies a median position between the three main peninsulas of southern Europe, emerging right in the center of the Mediterranean Sea, with large islands and some archipelagos.

Insular Italy

Insular Italy is made up of Sardinia, Sicily and numerous smaller islands, scattered or grouped into archipelagos in the seas that bathe the coasts of the peninsula. Corsica is not politically included in insular Italy since it belongs to France, however, it is included in the Italian geographical region.

The five largest islands belonging to the Italian state are, in order of size:

Sicily () Sardinia () Elba () Sant'Antioco () Pantelleria (). Other islands belonging to Italy are grouped into the following archipelagos:

Archipelago of the Gulf of La Spezia, formed by the island of Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto; Tuscan archipelago, formed by the island of Elba, the largest and most important of the group from whose bowels iron has been extracted for centuries. To the north of the island of Elba rise Capraia and Gorgona, to the south Pianosa, Montecristo, Giannutri and the island of Giglio. Minor islets are Cerboli and Palmaiola off the coast of Elba, the Islet of the Sparviero at Punta Ala, the Formiche di Grosseto, the Formica di Burano, the Formica di Montecristo (or Scoglio d'Africa) and some islets off the coast of promontory of the Argentario including Argentarola, Isola Rossa and Isolotto, in addition to the Secche della Meloria and the Secche di Vada. The Phlegraean Islands (Ischia and Procida) plus Capri, in the Gulf of Naples; sometimes the three islands are included in the Campanian Archipelago; Pontine Islands: Ponza, Palmarola, Zannone and Ventotene, in the gulf of Gaeta; Archipelago of the Aeolian Islands or Lipari, which includes Salina, Lipari, the largest of the group, Vulcano, a now almost extinct volcano; Panarea and then Stromboli, an eruptive cone still in activity which was called Stronghilo by the ancient Greeks (hence Stromboli), due to its conical shape of an inverted top on the sea; to these must be added Filicudi and Alicudi; Aegadian Islands, i.e. the islands of Favignana, Marettimo, Levanzo and Stagnone, which arise between Marsala and Trapani, west of Sicily; Pelagian Islands, including Linosa, Lampione and Lampedusa; In Sicily we still find Ustica off the Gulf of Palermo and Pantelleria in the middle of the Sicilian Channel; The group of the Tremiti Islands and the island of Pianosa, which rise in the Adriatic Sea; To the north of Sardinia the Asinara and the archipelago of La Maddalena, to the south San Pietro and Sant'Antioco. The Cheradi Islands of San Pietro and San Paolo in the Gulf of Taranto.

Orography Mountains

Almost 40% of the Italian territory is mountainous, with the Alps as the northern boundary and the Apennine Mountains forming the backbone of the peninsula and extending for . The Alpine mountain range is linked with the Apennines with the Colle di Cadibona pass in the Ligurian Alps. Nineteen Italian regions are crossed by either the Alps or the Apennines, or their offshoots. Sardinia has mountains with their own characteristics and are included in the Sardinian-Corsican relief, since it also affects Corsica.

The Alps (formed during the Mesozoic and Cenozoic) surround the Po Valley to the north, east and west, and develop along the entire northern border of Italy (about ), creating a natural border. The Alps contain the highest peak in the European Union, Mont Blanc, at above sea level, located between the Aosta Valley and France.

The Apennines (formed during the Oligocene) rise south of the Po Valley and run from north to south throughout the Italian peninsula, from Liguria to Calabria and continue in northern Sicily ending in the Madonie, acting as a watershed between the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic-Ionian coast.

The highest peaks in Italy are found in the Western Alps, where there are numerous peaks that exceed including Monte Rosa (), the Cervino () and Mont Blanc which with its . The maximum height of the Apennines is the Gran Sasso d'Italia ().

Famous mountains in Italy are Monte Cervino (Matterhorn), Monte Rosa, Gran Paradiso in the West Alps, and Bernina, Stelvio and Dolomites along the eastern side of the Alps.

Hills

The hills cover most of the Italian territory. They are mainly located in the central-southern part of the peninsula, along the sides of the Apennine ridge, but also in the pre-Alpine area, close to the Alps.

The hilly reliefs, which alternate with hollows and valleys, have slight slopes and do not exceed .