
These regions, along with Campania, are also where you will find remnants of Ancient Greece when southern Italy was part of Magna Grecia. The regions of Puglia, Basilicata, Calabria, and Sicily all touch the Ionian Sea. Italy shares a maritime border with Greece via the Ionian Sea. The largest port is Trieste in Friuli-Giulia Venezia. Seven Italian regions touch the Adriatic: Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, Le Marche, Abruzzo, Molise, and Puglia. The Adriatic Sea separates Italy from the Balkan countries of Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Albania. It also hugs the northern coast of Sicily and the east coast of Sardinia. The Tyrrhenian extends all along the west coast of Italy, from Tuscany to Calabria. The Ligurian Sea flows into the Tyrrhenian Sea at the Tuscan Archipelago, the island group that includes Elba. The most important city on the Ligurian Sea is Genoa, which was once a maritime power and still commands one of Italy’s largest ports. The Ligurian Sea, in the northwest, laps up against the regions of Liguria and Tuscany, as well as the east coast of the French island of Corsica. All of these seas are parts of the greater Mediterranean Sea. The Italian peninsula is surrounded by four seas: the Ligurian Sea, the Tyrrhenian Sea, the Adriatic Sea, and the Ionian Sea. San Marino is situated between the Italian regions of Emilia-Romagna and Le Marche.

Vatican City is located entirely inside the city of Rome, Italy’s capital. Italy also completely surrounds two small countries: Vatican City and San Marino. Italy shares land borders with six countries (France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, Vatican City, San Marino) and maritime borders with 10 countries (Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Greece, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Malta, Spain).įrance, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia border Italy along its north, with the foothills and mountains of the mighty Alps creating a dramatic natural border from west to east.


This map shows Italy and its neighbors to the north, east, and west.
