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The Isthmus of Catanzaro (or Isthmus of Marcellinara , also called Saddle of Catanzaro or Saddle of Marcellinara due to its morphology) is a narrow strip of land separating the Ionian Sea from the Tyrrhenian Sea, in Calabria. It is the narrowest section of the Italian Peninsula.
The Isthmus is approximately 30 kilometres long and is situated in the lowlands between the south end of the Sila mountainous plateau and the northern part of the Calabrian Serre. The valley between the two mountain ranges is approximately 2 kilometres wide in its narrowest point, and it opens wide to form the Piana di Sant'Eufemia on the west side, and the valley of Corace to the east, reaching the seas at both sides. South of Marcellinara is the Sella di Marcellinara (Saddle of Marcellinara), the lowest and narrowest point of the Calabrian Apennine, at a height of about 250 metres. From the high grounds of the Calabrian Apennine, in the towns of Tiriolo, Marcellinara and Catanzaro, it is possible to have a panoramic view of the Ionian and Tyrrhenian Seas at the same time. The isthmus is crossed by two seasonal rivers: the Amato and the Corace. Both have their springs from the Plateau of Sila and, after running parallel, separated by about two kilometres, they separate near the hills of Gimigliano. The Amato descends the valley westwards, ending its run in Tyrrhenian Sea, whereas the Corace goes eastwards to the Ionian Sea.
According to classical accounts, during the slave rebellion led by Spartacus, general Marcus Licinius Crassus decided to fortify the Isthmus by mean of a wall, in order to block their offensive and cut supplies.
During the Fascist era of the early 20th century, the construction of a channel to connect the Ionian to the Tyrrhenian has been advanced several times.
The geography of Italy includes the description of all the physical geographical elements of Italy. Italy, whose territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical region, is located in southern Europe and comprises the long, boot-shaped Italian Peninsula crossed by the Apennines, the southern side of Alps, the large plain of the Po Valley and some islands including Sicily and Sardinia. Italy is part of the Northern Hemisphere. Two of the Pelagie Islands are located on the African continent.
Calabria is a region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west. It has almost 2 million residents across a total area of 15,222 km2 (5,877 sq mi). Catanzaro is the region's capital.
The Apennines or Apennine Mountains are a mountain range consisting of parallel smaller chains extending c. 1,200 km (750 mi) 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. Since 2000 the Environment Ministry of Italy, following the recommendations of the Apennines Park of Europe Project, has been defining the Apennines System to include the mountains of north Sicily, for a total distance of 1,500 kilometres (930 mi). The system forms an arc enclosing the east side of the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian seas.
The province of Catanzaro is a province of the Calabria region of Italy. The city Catanzaro is both capital of the province and capital of the region of Calabria. The province contains 80 comuni. Its provincial president is Sergio Abramo.
The province of Reggio Calabria was a province in the Calabria region of Italy. It was the southernmost province in mainland Italy and is separated from the island of Sicily by the Strait of Messina. The capital was the city of Reggio.
Fabrizia is a small mountain town in Calabria, Italy, part of the Province of Vibo Valentia.
Gizzeria is an Arbëreshë comune and town in the province of Catanzaro in the Calabria region of Italy.
Feroleto Antico is a comune and town in the province of Catanzaro in the Calabria region of Italy.
Marcellinara is a comune and town in the province of Catanzaro in the Calabria region of southern Italy. It is a small village located in the middle of the narrowest strip (isthmus) of Italy and one of the narrowest of Europe as well, between the Ionian (East) and the Tyhrennian (West) seas; the distance between them is only 40 km.
Sant'Andrea Apostolo dello lonio, locally referred to as simply Sant'Andrea, is a comune and town in the province of Catanzaro in the region of Calabria, Italy.
Soveria Simeri is a comune and town in the province of Catanzaro in the Calabria region of southern Italy. The village is 16 kilometres (10 mi) from Catanzaro, 12 kilometres (7 mi) from the Ionian Sea coast and 20 kilometres (12 mi) from La Sila plateau.
Delianuova is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Reggio Calabria in the Italian region Calabria, located about 90 kilometres (56 mi) southwest of Catanzaro and about 25 kilometres (16 mi) northeast of Reggio Calabria. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 3,542 and an area of 21.0 square kilometres (8.1 sq mi). Delianuova borders the following municipalities: Cosoleto, San Luca, Scido.
Roghudi is a comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria in the Italian region Calabria, located about 130 kilometres (81 mi) southwest of Catanzaro and about 20 kilometres (12 mi) southeast of Reggio Calabria.
Polia is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Vibo Valentia in the Italian region of Calabria. It is located about 30 kilometres (19 mi) southwest of Catanzaro and about 20 kilometres (12 mi) northeast of Vibo Valentia. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,224 and an area of 31.8 square kilometres (12.3 sq mi).
Calabrian wine is Italian wine from the Calabria region of southern Italy. Over 90% of the region's wine production is red wine, with a large portion made from the Gaglioppo grape. Calabria has 12 denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) regions, but only 4% of the yearly production is classified as DOC wine. The region is one of Italy's most rural and least industrialized with per capita income less than half of the national average. Following World War II, many of Calabria's inhabitants emigrated to Northern Italy, the United States, Australia and Argentina. Those left behind have been slow to develop a vibrant wine industry with only the red wines of Cirò garnering much international attention. Today Calabrian wines are mostly produced to high alcohol levels and sold to co-operatives who transfer the wines to the northern Italian wine regions to use as blending component. Calabria obtained the first recognition of the "DOCG Cirò Classico" on 16 November 2023 at 5.00 pm in Cirò Marina at the "Borgo Saverona" hall. Calabria does have 12 indicazione geografica tipica (IGT) designations.
The Serre Calabresi or Calabrian Serre are a mountain and hill area of Calabria, southern Italy, characterized by large extents of woods.
The Salerno–Reggio Calabria railway is the most important north–south railway connection between Sicily, Calabria and the rest of the Italian peninsula. It forms the southern section of Corridor 1 of the European Union's Trans-European high-speed rail network, which connects Berlin and Palermo. Its southern part, between Rosarno and San Lucido is also used as an RFI freight route between the Port of Gioia Tauro and the Adriatic railway.
The geology of Sicily records the collision of the Eurasian and the African plates during westward-dipping subduction of the African slab since late Oligocene. Major tectonic units are the Hyblean foreland, the Gela foredeep, the Apenninic-Maghrebian orogen, and the Calabrian Arc. The orogen represents a fold-thrust belt that folds Mesozoic carbonates, while a major volcanic unit is found in an eastern portion of the island. The collision of Africa and Eurasia is a retreating subduction system, such that the descending Africa is falling away from Eurasia, and Eurasia extends and fills the space as the African plate falls into the mantle, resulting in volcanic activity in Sicily and the formation of Tyrrhenian slab to the north.
Reventino is a massif in the southern Apennines, in Calabria, southern Italy. It has a maximum elevation of 1,417 metres (4,649 ft). It marks the narrowest point of the Italian peninsula, being at the top of the Isthmus of Catanzaro that separates the Ionian and Tyrrhenian Seas.
The Italian geographic region, Italian physical region or Italian region is a geographical region of Southern Europe delimited to the north by the mountain chains of the Alps. This subregion is composed of a peninsular and continental part and an insular part. Located between the Balkan Peninsula and the Iberian Peninsula, it protrudes into the centre of the Mediterranean Sea and overlooks the Adriatic Sea, the Ionian Sea, the Ligurian Sea, the Sardinian Channel, the Sea of Corsica, the Sea of Sardinia, the Strait of Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian Sea.