The Region between the Tyrrhenian Seaand the Tiber is a hilly
district differing considerably in its formation from the Apennines. The
latter consist of long and regular chains with parallel vallcys between
them, while the former is composed of numerous isolated groups of moun-
tains and hills, which at one time, before a final upheaval of the Apen-
nines converted the whole district into dry land, formed a group of islands
like the Tuscan Archipelago off the present coast. The characteristic feat-
ures of its N. portion are the valleys of Chiana, Elsa, and Era, which stretch
from N.W. to S.E., while the S. portion is marked by the mighty volcanoes
that dominate the entire district to the W. of the lower course of the Tiber.
These volcanoes, beginning with Monte Amiata on the N., form a continuous
shain, characterized by numerous large lakes, and prolonged on the other
cide of the Tiber by the Alban Mountains. — Southern Tuscany offers
considerable variety of scenery, with its isolated limestone mountains
abounding in minerals, and its eruptive cones rising from the midst of
gentle slopes of marl and clay. As a whole it is a very fertile district
though the presence of gypsum makes the neighbourbood of Volterra and
some other points unproductive. The Montagnola Senese and other iso-
lated limestone ridges are covered with forests of beech; elsewhere the
chief products are grain, wine, oil, and (near the sea) hay. — The 'green'
land of Umbria abounds in trees, though these are generally too scattered
to form woods or forests proper. — The so-called Marches (p. 119), or
frontier districts of the Apennines, are naturally more rugged, being
seamed with deep and narrow lateral ravines, as well as with broader
and more fertile longitudinal valleys. Many of the latter, now filled
with debris, were formerly lakes or morasses. On the E. side extends
a very productive hilly district which, from Ancona southwards, abuts
directly on the Adriatic Sea and is intersected by numerous small rivers.
The chief artery on the W. side is the Tiber, which rises in the Bolognese
Apennines (see p. 62) and flows to the S. through valleys connected by
short transverse valleys. On one side it receives the streams descending
from the Apennines, while its tributaries on the other flow through dis-
tricts of clay and tufa. Its bed is thus largely filled with debris, its water
turbid; and in times of flood huge masses of alluvium are washed down to
the sea. Where its tributary streams run through the softer kinds of rock
they have worn sharply-cut channels, and wherever two river-valleys meet
have formed triangular and bastion-like promontaries (S. Etruria).
1. From Pisa to Rome.
by the Maremme.
207 M. Railway. Express in 6 ½-7 ½ hrs., ordinary train in 10 hrs.;
fares 36 fr. 65, 25 fr. 40, 16 fr. 45 c. From Dec. to May there is a train
de luxe ( Paris-Rome express) on Tues., Frid., & Sun, which makes the
journey in 6 hrs. 40 min. (1st class only, with extra charge of 14 fr: 95 c.).
Dining-cars are attached to the day express trains (B. 1 ½, déj. 3 ½,
D. 4½ fr., wine extra) and several of the night trains have sleeping-
carriages (11 fr. extra).
The Maremme Railway coincides with the ancient Via Aurelia. It
runs inland as far as Cecina, where it approaches the coast, commanding
fine views on the right of the sea with its promontories and islands.
Many places on this route are subject to malaria in summer (comp. p. 4).
Pisa, see Baedeker's Northern Italy. — 9½ M. Colle Sal-
vetti (junction of a branch-line from Leghorn: 9½ M., in 20-30
min.). — 13 M. Fauglia.