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Morphological Regions of Italy

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Landscapes and Landforms of Italy

Part of the book series: World Geomorphological Landscapes ((WGLC))

Abstract

This chapter presents a synthesis of the wide variety of landscapes that makes Italy a very interesting country from a geomorphological point of view. The complex and lively geological history, responsible for the peculiar tectonic arrangement of Italy, the high heterogeneity of outcropping rocks and the distinct distribution of altitudes, together with the different types of climates are the main causes of the landscape varieties. The main natural aspects of the “Morphological Regions” of Italy are described; that is to say those areas of the Italian territory marked by a dominant type of landscape—even though often strongly diversified within themselves—which resulted from both the conditioning of the geological structure and the predominance of given exogenous processes, in relation to climatic conditions.

… il bel paese

ch’Appennin parte, e ‘l mar circonda e l’Alpe

(Sonetto XCVI in vita di M.L.)

Petrarca (1304–1374)

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  1. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Sapienza Università di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Rome, Italy

    Paola Fredi & Elvidio Lupia Palmieri

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  1. Paola Fredi
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  1. Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Geologiche, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy

    Mauro Soldati

  2. Dipartimento di Educazione e Scienze Umane, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Italy

    Mauro Marchetti

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Fredi, P., Lupia Palmieri, E. (2017). Morphological Regions of Italy. In: Soldati, M., Marchetti, M. (eds) Landscapes and Landforms of Italy. World Geomorphological Landscapes. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26194-2_5

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