Itinerary

From CREDO Encyclopedia... "Italia, officially Italian Republic, republic (2015 est. pop. 59,504,000), 116,303 sq mi (301,225 sq km), S Europe. It borders on France in the northwest, the Ligurian Sea and the Tyrrhenian Sea in the west, the Ionian Sea in the south, the Adriatic Sea in the east, Slovenia in the northeast, and Austria and Switzerland in the north. The country includes the large Mediterranean islands of Sicily and Sardinia and several small islands, notably Elba, Capri, Ischia, and the Lipari Islands. Vatican City and San Marino are two independent enclaves on the Italian mainland. Rome is Italy's capital and largest city" [1]

From Wikipedia... "The country's total area is 301,230 square kilometres (116,306 sq mi), of which 294,020 km² (113,522 sq mi) is land and 7,210 km² (2,784 sq mi) is water. Including the islands, Italy has a coastline and border of 7,600 kilometres (4,722 miles) on the Adriatic, Ionian, Tyrrhenian seas (740 km (460 mi)), and borders shared with France (488 km (303 mi)), Austria (430 km (267 mi)), Slovenia (232 km (144 mi)) and Switzerland (740 km (460 mi)). San Marino (39 km (24 mi)) and Vatican City (3.2 km (2.0 mi)), both enclaves, account for the remainder. " [2]

"The great divide between North and South is just one of many geographical factors that have shaped Italian history and culture"..."The Alps, as formidable as they appear, have provided a barrier more apparent than real to invaders from northern Europe. "..."Rather than the Alps, it is the Apennine range that has imposed the greater influence on Italian history. Not only have the Apennines divided Italy internally, but the mountains and their foothills have severely limited the acreage of plains essential for growing grains and grazing livestock. " [3]