TheItalian peninsula (Italian:penisola italica orpenisola italiana), also known as theItalic Peninsula,Apennine Peninsula,Italian Boot, orMainland Italy, is apeninsula, within theItalian geographical region, extending from the southernAlps in the north to the centralMediterranean Sea in the south which comprises much of the country ofItaly and the enclaved microstates ofSan Marino andVatican City.
It is nicknamedlo Stivale ("the Boot"), because the shape of the peninsula resembles a high-heeledboot. Three smaller peninsulas contribute to this characteristic shape, namelyCalabria ("the Toe"),Salento ("the Heel") andGargano ("the Spur").[1] The backbone of the Italian peninsula consists of theApennine Mountains, from which it takes one of its names. The peninsula comprises much ofItaly and also includes the enclaved microstates ofSan Marino andVatican City.
Minimum extent (excludingNorthern Italy) of the Italian peninsula in dark green and maximum extent (including Northern Italy) in light green
Geographically, the minimum extent of the Italian peninsula consists of the land south of a line extending from theMagra to theRubicon rivers, north of the Tuscan–EmilianApennines. It excludes thePo Valley and the southern slopes of theAlps.[2][3] The Italian peninsula has the only active volcano oncontinental Europe,Mount Vesuvius.[4]
In general discourse, "Italy" and the "Italian peninsula" are often used as synonymous terms. However,northern Italy may be excluded from the Italian peninsula. From a political point of view, the Italian peninsula in the strict sense (therefore excludinginsular Italy and northern Italy[5]) is divided into various states listed in the following table:[6][7]
