The Vulnerability of a Long Peninsula

The history of Italy is tied up inseparably with its geographical position. For centuries the peninsula formed the crossroads of Europe. To the north, the Alps were always much less of a barrier than their height suggested: of the twenty-three main passes, seventeen were already in regular use under the Romans. The relatively low Julian and Carnic Alps to the north-east offered an easy crossing point for invading armies. It was over them that the Visigoths, the Huns, the Lombards, and other central European tribes marched in the centuries after the fall of Rome. During the Middle Ages the dense flow of commercial traffic over the Simplon, the St Gotthard, and Brenner passes was crucial to the prosperity of Genoa, Milan, Venice, and many smaller cities in the Po valley. The accessibility of the Brenner to heavy German carts was particularly important for the Venetian economy.

Of no less importance than this close link with the continental land mass of Europe was Italy’s position in the centre of the Mediterranean. With its long coastline, gently sloping beaches, and many natural harbours, the peninsula was highly attractive to overseas settlers. Greeks from Corinth, Euboea, and elsewhere, travelling west on the prevailing currents, landed in Sicily and on the southern mainland from the eighth century bc. Their settlements flourished: during the fourth century Syracuse was the most powerful city-state in the Mediterranean. The short distance between Sicily and North Africa (about 160 km at the narrowest point) made it particularly prone to attacks from the south: the Carthaginians invaded on many occasions between the fifth and third centuries bc; and in the ninth century ad the Arabs conquered the island. In July 1943 Sicily was the first Axis territory to fall to the Allies following victory in the Desert Campaign.