lower part of this plain is nearly a perfect level, and the most richly cultivated and populous portion of Italy. The other great plains are those of Piedmont, the Venetian plains, the plain of the Campo Felice, on which stands Vesuvius, the Apulian plain, and the long narrow Neapolitan plain of the Basilicata, stretching along the Gulf of Tarento. A volcanic zone traverses the peninsula from the centre to the south, of which the most remarkable active summits are Vesuvius near Naples, Etna in Sicily, and Stromboli in the Lipari islands. The principal rivers of Italy are the Po, the Adige, the Arno, and the Tiber. The mountain lakes of Italy are famed for their beauty. The principal are Maggiore, Lugano, Como, Iseo, and Garda. The climate is generally healthy and dry. In the northern provinces it is temperate, salubrious, and occasionally severe in winter; in the centre it assumes a more genial character, while the heat of the southern extremity is of almost tropical intensity. The olive, the orange and the lemon flourish luxuriantly, and the sugar-cane, tobacco-plant, the Indian fig, the papyrus and the date-palm are abundant on the low and warm plains. The rains are less dispersed throughout the year than in more northern latitudes, but fall with great violence at particular seasons and swell the mountain torrents with almost inconceivable rapidity. The drawbacks of the climate are the tramontana or mountain winds, and the malaria which issues from the Maremma of Tuscany, the Pontine Marshes, and the Venetian lagoons. The mean annual temperature at Milan is 53.6°, at Florence 59.4°, at Rome 60°, at Naples 62.2°. The kingdom of Italy is divided into fifteen territories and sixtynine provinces. At the last census, December 1882, it had a population of 26,459,450. The mineral productions are varied and of great value. Gold and silver occur in the valleys of Sesia and Aosta, and between Reggio and Scilla. Tuscany possesses valuable mines of copper, lead, quicksilver, and a great number of minerals. There are rich iron mines in Sessera, Susa, Tuscany, Vermenagna and Abruzzo-Ultra, and in the island of Elba. Beautiful marbles of various hues are found in the Genoese and Tuscan territories. The staple manufactures are silks, velvets, damasks, ribbons, &c. Corn, olives, hemp, flax, and cotton are largely grown, and the sugar-cane is successfully cultivated in the two Sicilies. The wines of Italy are numerous, but, owing to the defective mode of their manufacture, are unfit for exportation. The most superior oil and olives are furnished by Tuscany, Lucca, and Naples; the oil of Florence and that of Gallipoli and Puglia being unequalled for purity and sweetness. The fruits of the two Sicilies are exquisite in flavour, and embrace several tropical species. MONEY. The currency of Italy is the same as that of France, Belgium and Switzerland: 100 centimes equal 1 lira (equal to the French franc). The lira equals 9 pence English, or say 20 cents in United States money. The most convenient coins for use in any part of Italy are Napoleons, which are everywhere current. |