2. Abundant Resources The geography of Italy made available various natural resources.
3. Strategic Trade Location & Mediterranean Access Due to Italy’s position in the middle of the Mediterranean, Italian city-states became trading powers from very early on.
4. Defensive Geographic Features - Natural Boundaries Some geographic features allowed early settlements to easily defend themselves
5. Geographic Factors Favored Regionalism Rome’s control weakened as the western Roman empire declined in the fifth century CE. Geography, as noted, played an important role in shaping where new political systems, economies, and cultures would begin to coalesce and evolve through medieval period until unification.
