estern shores. Thus the character of the Mediterranean
coast of Italy, with its fertile lowlands, its rivers, its harbors, and
its general southerly aspect, rendered it more inviting and accessible to
approach from the sea than the eastern coast, and determined its
leadership in the cultural and material advancement of the peninsula.

*Climate.* The climate of Italy as a whole, like that of other
Mediterranean lands, is characterized by a high average temperature, and
an absence of extremes of heat or cold. Nevertheless, it varies greatly in
different localities, according to their northern or southern situation,
their elevation, and their proximity to the sea. In the Po valley there is
a close approach to the continental climate of central Europe, with a
marked difference between summer and winter temperatures and clearly
marked transitional periods of spring and autumn. On the other hand, in
the south of the peninsula the climate becomes more tropical, with its
periods of winter rain and summer drought, and a rapid transition between
the moist and the dry seasons.

*Malaria.* Both in antiquity and in modern times the disease from which
Italy has suffered most has been the dreaded malaria. The explanation is
to be found in the presence of extensive marshy areas in the river valleys
and along the coast. The ravages of this disease have varied according as
the progress of civilization has brought about the cultivation and
drainage of the affected areas or its decline has wrought the undoing of
this beneficial work.

*Forests.* In striking contrast to their present baldness, the slopes of
the Apennines were once heavily wooded, and the well-tilled fields of the
Po valley were also covered with tall forests. Timber for houses and ships
was to be had in abundance, and as late as the time of Augustus Italy was
held to be a well-forested country.

*Minerals.* The mineral wealth of Italy has never been very great at any
time. In antiquity the most important deposits were the iron ores of the
island of Elba, and the copper mines of Etruria and Liguria. For a time,
the gold washings in the valleys of the Graian Alps were worked with
profit.

*Agriculture.* The true wealth of Italy lay in the richness of her soil,
which generously repaid the labor of agriculturist or horticulturist. The
lowland areas yielded large crops of grain of all sorts--millet, maize,
wheat, oats and barley--while legumes were raised in abundance everyw