The Apennines are a barrowridge stretching over 600 miles from the north to the south of Italy along its eastern shore, going the whole length of the headland, and making, as it were, the backbone of the land.
The name most likely comes from a Welsh root *penn, meaning "barrow, cop", and thus is linked to the English Pennines. The word was at first given only to the northern half of the ridge.
