The House of the Tesserae was fortuitously preserved after an earthquake struck the Jordanian city of Jerash in the 8th century AD. John Dryden) The Internet Classics Archive . Corno Grande, located in central Italy, is the tallest mountain in the Apennines. Smith, Webster. https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Apennine+Mountains, According to public safety chief Guido Bertolaso, The earthquake will claim "many victims." Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. ( Provincia di Firenze ). xvi. Andes (ăn´dēz), mountain system, more than 5,000 mi (8,000 km) long, W South America. No one knows why Iron Age people created them. Alps, great mountain system of S central Europe, c.500 mi (800 km) long and c.100 mi (160 km) wide, curving in a great arc from the Riviera coas…, Rocky Mountains, major mountain system of W North America and easternmost belt of the North American cordillera, extending more than 3,000 mi (4,800…, Andes New scientific findings suggest that images and hieroglyphics on the wooden statue were carved with the jaw of a beaver, its teeth intact. Two active volcanoes, Vesuvius and Etna, are in the Apennines Mountain range. "Apennines Please select which sections you would like to print: Corrections? In the northwest they join with the Ligurian Alps at Altare. Encyclopedia.com. Natural steam from underground layers (Larderello in Tuscany) is also used. The importance of corn (maize) diminished with the depopulation of hill farms. "… great father Apennine, lifting elate to heaven his snow-crowned head…". The Northern Apennines are composed of flysch deposits. The Apennines conserve some intact ecosystems that have survived human intervention. (October 17, 2020). This was an incredible feat especially when you consider it involved thousands of soldiers and tons of equipment and supplies. In these are some of the best preserved forests and montane grasslands in Europe, now protected by national parks and, within them, a high diversity of flora and fauna. Originally, the sculpture was crafted by Giambologna, an artist who straddled Renaissance and Mannerist art in his works. The Italian Alps offers visitors great skiing, hiking, and natural beauty. Apennine Range, also called the Apennines, Italian Appennino, series of mountain ranges bordered by narrow coastlands that form the physical backbone of peninsular Italy. Below we list facts about the Italian Alps followed by facts about the Apennines Mountain range. (Valerio Orlandini/ CC BY SA 2.5 ). In the Southern Apennines the limestone zone narrows, forming the Neapolitan Apennines and the flysch zone forms the low ranges of the Lucanian Apennines. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. It was mostly limestone rock that was involved in the formation of the Central Apennines. From 800–900 m in the north and 1,000–1,200 m in the south beech forests predominate; higher than that, coniferous forests predominate on podzolic soils (firs and pines). The Italian Alps are classified into three main sections; the Western Alps, Central Alps, and Eastern Alps. While in the Western world it is synonymous with fascism, being the centerpiece of the Nazi flag, in ancient times it was used as a positive symbol representing well being and good fortune. The Apennines stretch 1,200 km from the northwest to the southeast, from the border with the Alps (the Cadibona Pass) to the Strait of Messina. 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. Apennines (Appennino) Mountain range extending the length of Italy, a continuation of the Pennine Alps. Dating back 11,000 years - with a coded message left by ancient man from the Mesolithic Age - the Shigir Idol is almost three times as old as the Egyptian pyramids. The granitic intrusions and metamorphic units of the Calabrian and Sicilian ranges are also Paleozoic (Hercynian orogeny), but they are believed to be Alpine in origin and only became part of the Apennine chain through subsequent major tectonic movements. The Apennine Colossus. The geologic youth of the Apennines and a great variety of rock types are responsible for the rugged appearance of the range today. Appennino) 830 miles (1,350km) in length, form the backbone of the country, and run the entire length of the Italian Peninsula, ending on the island of Sicily. In Molise, Basilicata, and Sicily, extensive argillaceous (clayey) rock types occur. Ancient Origins © 2013 - 2020Disclaimer - Terms of Publication - Privacy Policy & Cookies - Advertising Policy - Submissions - We Give Back - Contact us. One popular winter sports area is the Via Lattea (Milky Way) which is in the Alps along the French-Italian border. Within the statue there are "countless caves, water cascades and ravaged by time mechanical, hydraulic and acoustic devices intended to amuse and impress any visitor of the park. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Sparitis, Ojars. During the Neocene, the ranges were eroded and subjected to faulting and uplifting, but in the Anthropogenic there were major arched uplifts with the appearance of vol-canism along the western faults. . Get exclusive access to content from our 1768 First Edition with your subscription. Hadley Rille/Apennine Mountains 26.13222° N latitude, 3.63386° E longitude. There are small corrie and volcanic lakes as well as karst springs. The basins abound in springs, and they have been cultivated and populated. https://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/apennines, "Apennines Here, the landscape has a thirsty and desolate appearance, with frequent erosion of the calanchi, or badlands, type. The mineral resources of the Apennines include building and finishing stone, mercury, deposits of brown coal and lignite (the Central Apennines), oil shales and bauxites (Abruzzi), and natural gas and oil (in the western foothills). As Father Apennine is not depicted in ancient artworks (at least none that have been found), and the description by Virgil is limited to "father" and "snow-crowned head", Giambologna is believed to have drawn on the titan Atlas when giving a face to the mountains. the Apennine Mountains (Appennino; from Celtic pen, “mountain top”), a mountain system on the Apennine peninsula in Italy. This mountain range stretches from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea on the east to the Bay of Biscay on the Atlantic Ocean on the west.. For the most part, the main crest forms a divide between Spain and France, with the microstate of Andorra sandwiched in between.. World Encyclopedia. The Aeneid . Their total length is approximately 870 miles (1,400 kilometres), and their width ranges from 25 to 125 miles. The Vikings’ next step out into the Atlantic – the discovery and settlement of Iceland – is one of the best documented events of the Viking Age. The character of the physical geography depends on the varying nature of the rocks in each region and their resistance to water action. Drier areas are covered with gangues. Just as Apeninne, Hercules defends and protects his country, enduring as long as the mountains themselves. It is believed that Giambologna's initial plan was to give the nearby Apennines a persona, forging a man as imposing as the Apennine mountains out of nature. 1961. The two principal rivers are the Tiber (252 miles long), which follows a southerly course along the western base of the Umbrian-Marchigian range before flowing through Rome to the Tyrrhenian Sea, and the Arno (155 miles), which flows westerly from the Tuscan-Emilian range through Florence to the Ligurian Sea. Nearby Sardinia and Corsica, on the other hand, are dissimilar to the Apennines, their granitic rock masses being linked to outcroppings along the Spanish and French coast, from which they parted some 20 million years ago. The titan who holds the world on his shoulders as punishment for his crimes against the Olympians (before they were the Olympians, of course), Atlas has been described as a wise fatherly figure who knows as much as he holds on his shoulders. Rural depopulation, resulting from the lack of development of the Italian south and the attraction of industrial areas in northern Italy and elsewhere in Europe, has reached major proportions. Features of a continental climate are also inherent to the intramontane basins. ." We’re the only Pop Archaeology site combining scientific research with out-of-the-box perspectives. Mammals are represented by the wolf, chamois, roe deer, marten, weasel, squirrel, hare, and polecat. There are numerous roads providing access to the range, although the rugged terrain makes for difficulties. Seismic activity is common along the entire length of the chain (including Sicily), with more than 40,000 recorded events since ad 1000. In terms of geological structure and topography the Apennines are divided into the Northern, Central, and Southern Apennines. The mountains in Sicily are considered a continuation of this mountain range. In the foothills of the Apennines, manufacturing industries are widespread, while extraction industries have been developed in the adjacent coastal plain, often in association with important discoveries of natural gas. More than a dozen tunnels have been found in Cornwall, England, that are unique in the British Isles.