The outline of Italy presents a geographical unity and completeness which naturally would lead us to believe that it was regarded as a whole and named as a single country from the earliest ages. This opinion would however be erroneous while the country was possessed by various independent tribes of varied origin and different customs the districts inhabited by each were reckoned separate states and it was not until these several nations had fallen under the power of one predominant people that the physical unity which the peninsula possesses was expressed by a single name.
