Liguria
The name Liguria predates Latin and is of obscure origin. The Latin adjectives Ligusticum (as in Mare Ligusticum) and Liguscus reveal the original root of the name, ligusc-: in the Latin name -sc- was shortened to -s-, and later turned into the -r- of Liguria, according to rhotacism. Compare λίγυς whence Ligustikḗ λιγυστική. The name derives from the ancient Ligures people, although the territory of this people was much larger than the current administrative region; it included all of North-west Italy south to the Po river, and south-eastern France.
Some scholars see a possible connection with Old European languages, as the formant -sc- (-sk-) is also present in names like Etruscan, Euskadi (the endonym of the Basques), and Gascon. Since these are all coastal regions, the shared formant may relate to a shared descent from pre-Indo-European, maritime peoples, and/or the hypothetical Tyrsenian and Vasconic language families respectively. This argument is weakened, however, by the fact that the name Etruscan is a relatively late exonym and the relevant endonym, used of the Etruscans themselves, was Rasenna or Raśna. (In Greek this mutated into Tursēnoi and Tyrrēnoi; in Latin it became Etruria and Tuscia, whence the name of the modern Tuscany or Toscana.)
Map - Liguria
Map
Country - Italy
Flag of Italy |
Italy was the native place of many civilizations such as the Italic peoples and the Etruscans, while due to its central geographic location in Southern Europe and the Mediterranean, the country has also historically been home to myriad peoples and cultures, who immigrated to the peninsula throughout history. The Latins, native of central Italy, formed the Roman Kingdom in the 8th century BC, which eventually became a republic with a government of the Senate and the People. The Roman Republic initially conquered and assimilated its neighbours on the Italian peninsula, eventually expanding and conquering a large part of Europe, North Africa and Western Asia. By the first century BC, the Roman Empire emerged as the dominant power in the Mediterranean Basin and became a leading cultural, political and religious centre, inaugurating the Pax Romana, a period of more than 200 years during which Italy's law, technology, economy, art, and literature developed.
Currency / Language
ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
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EUR | Euro | € | 2 |
ISO | Language |
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CA | Catalan language |
CO | Corsican language |
FR | French language |
DE | German language |
IT | Italian language |
SC | Sardinian language |
SL | Slovene language |