Adriatic SeaThe Adriatic Sea (ˌeɪdriˈætᵻk) is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to the northwest and the Po Valley. The countries with coasts on the Adriatic are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Italy, Montenegro, and Slovenia. The Adriatic contains more than 1,300 islands, mostly located along the Croatian part of its eastern coast.
Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western civilization. The church consists of 24 sui iuris churches, including the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, which comprise almost 3,500 dioceses and eparchies located around the world.
Apennine MountainsThe Apennines or Apennine Mountains (ˈæpənaɪn; Ἀπέννινα ὄρη or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; Appenninus or Apenninus Mons – a singular with plural meaning; Appennini appenˈniːni) are a mountain range consisting of parallel smaller chains extending along the length of peninsular Italy. In the northwest they join with the Ligurian Alps at Altare. In the southwest they end at Reggio di Calabria, the coastal city at the tip of the peninsula.
Northern ItalyNorthern Italy (Italia settentrionale, Nord Italia, Alta Italia or just Nord) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions: Aosta Valley, Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Piedmont, Liguria, Lombardy, Veneto and Trentino-Alto Adige. As of 2014, its population was 27,801,460. Rhaeto-Romance and Gallo-Italic languages are spoken in the region, as opposed to the Italo-Dalmatian languages spoken in the rest of Italy.
Southern EuropeSouthern Europe is the southern region of Europe. It is also known as Mediterranean Europe, as its geography is marked by the Mediterranean Sea. Definitions of Southern Europe include some or all of these countries and regions: Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Turkey (East Thrace), Gibraltar, Greece, Italy, Kosovo, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Portugal, San Marino, Serbia, Slovenia, Southern France, Spain, and Vatican City.
Po ValleyThe Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain (Pianura Padana pjaˈnuːra paˈdaːna, or Val Padana) is a major geographical feature of Northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetic extension not actually related to the Po river basin; it runs from the Western Alps to the Adriatic Sea. The flatlands of Veneto and Friuli are often considered apart since they do not drain into the Po, but they effectively combine into an unbroken plain, making it the largest in Southern Europe.
Tyrrhenian SeaThe Tyrrhenian Sea (tɪˈriːniːən,_-ˈreɪ-, ; Mar Tirreno mar tirˈrɛːno or -ˈreː-, Mer Tyrrhénienne mɛʁ tiʁenjɛn) is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenian people identified with the Etruscans of Italy. The sea is bounded by the islands of Corsica and Sardinia (to the west), the Italian Peninsula (regions of Tuscany, Lazio, Campania, Basilicata, and Calabria) to the north and east, and the island of Sicily (to the south).
CorsicaCorsica (ˈkɔrsɪkə , Upper ˈkorsiɡa, Southern ˈkɔrsika, ˈkɔrsika; Corse kɔʁs; Còrsega) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the French mainland, west of the Italian Peninsula and immediately north of the Italian island of Sardinia, which is the land mass nearest to it. A single chain of mountains makes up two-thirds of the island. , it had a population of 351,255. The island is a territorial collectivity of France.
San MarinoSan Marino (ˌsæn_məˈriːnoʊ , sam maˈriːno; San Maréin or San Maroin), officially the Republic of San Marino (Repubblica di San Marino) and also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino (Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino), is a European microstate and country enclaved by Italy. Located on the northeastern side of the Apennine Mountains, San Marino is the fifth-smallest country in the world and covers a land area of just over , with a population of 33,562.
RubiconThe Rubicon (Rubico; Rubicone rubiˈkoːne; Rubicôn rubiˈkoːŋ) is a shallow river in northeastern Italy, just north of Rimini. It was known as Fiumicino until 1933, when it was identified with the ancient river Rubicon, famously crossed by Julius Caesar in 49 BC. The river flows for around from the Apennine Mountains to the Adriatic Sea through the south of the Emilia-Romagna region, between the towns of Rimini and Cesena. The Latin word Rubico comes from the adjective rubeus, meaning "red".
