Morphological regions of Italy

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.