Italy (Italia in Italian) is situated in southern Europe, and has a total area of about 301,340 square kilometres. Mainland Italy, which occupies all of the Italian (also called Apennine) Peninsula, is bordered to the north-west by France, to the north by Switzerland and Austria and to the north-east by Slovenia. To the west is the Tyrrhenian Sea, to the south the Ionian Sea and to the east the Adriatic Sea – all parts of the Mediterranean Sea. In addition, the major Mediterranean islands of Sardinia to the west and Sicily to the south are part of the Italian Republic. There are also many smaller islands, the largest of which is Elba, off the western coast of the Italian peninsula.
For further details on the country, see the Wikipedia article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy. For information on the geography of Italy, see the Wikipedia article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Italy.
The principle mountain ranges in the country are:
· The Italian Alps. These form most of the northern border of the country, stretching in an arc from Sanremo in the west to Trieste in the east. Along the frontier ridge with France and Switzerland, Italy shares the summits of some of the highest mountains in the Alps.
· The Apennines. This mountain chain, running from the north-west to the south-east, forms the backbone of the Italian peninsula. It links with the Ligurian Alps in the north-west at the col of the Bochetta di Altare (436m). The Apennines are principally composed of sedimentary rocks (e.g. limestones), but with some volcanic extrusions. The highest mountain in the range is Corno Grande (2912m), which has 2476m of prominence.
· Sardinia, with a total area of about 24,090 square kilometres, lying in the Tyrrhenian Sea. The highest mountain on the island is Punta La Marmora (1834m).
· Sicily, with a total area of about 25,700 square kilometres, lying in the Ionian Sea. The highest mountain on the island is Mount Etna (3323m – though the height varies) which is an active volcano.
· Elba, with a total area of 224 square kilometres, lying in the Tyrrhenian Sea. The highest mountain on the island is Monte Capanne (1019m).
The highest point in Italy is Mont Blanc de Courmayeur (4748m), a southern spur of Monte Bianco (Mont Blanc) in the Graian Alps. However, this only has a prominence of about 25 metres. Some Italian sources claim that the border runs through the summit of Mont Blanc (4808m) itself. The highest mountain wholly in Italy is Gran Paradiso, also in the Graian Alps. This has a height of 4061 metres and prominence of 1888 metres. The most prominent mountain, excluding Monte Bianco/Mont Blanc, is Mount Etna, with a prominence of 3323 metres.
There are eight mountains in Italy of at least 4000 metres in height and 150 metres of prominence. All of these are in the Graian and Pennine Alps. The list is as follows:
Metres Feet Name 25k Map Co-ordinates Prominence
4527 14852 Lyskamm 1348 LdS 45:55:20 07:50:08 376
4478 14691 Monte Cervino 1347 Lds 45:58:35 07:39:31 1031
4228 13871 Castore 1348 LdS 45:55:15 07:47:36 165
4208 13806 Grandes Jorasses 3630 OT 45:52:09 06:59:18 843
4171 13684 Dent d’Hérens 1347 LdS 45:58:12 07:36:19 692
4164 13661 Breithorn 1348 LdS 46:21:24 08:08:19 433
4092 13425 Pollux 1348 LdS 45:55:40 07:47:07 247
4061 13323 Gran Paradiso 101 IGC 45:31:05 07:16:07 1888
Maps quoted are: LdS: Landeskarte der Schweiz; OT: East section in French IGN series; IGC: Italian Instituto Geografico Centrale Alpine series.There are twenty-one mountains in Italy and its islands with a prominence of at least 1500 metres (Ultras). These can be found in the table of European Ultra mountains on www.peaklist.org, which can be accessed here.
Many of the mountains on the frontier with France can be found on the French Alpine page on this website.
Lists uploaded here:
Further lists will follow in due course.