The Gallic Alps (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

: ) were an ancient

cultural region In anthropology and geography, a cultural area, cultural region, cultural sphere, or culture area refers to a geography with one relatively homogeneous human activity or complex of activities (culture). Such activities are often associa ...

located in the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

and populated mainly by

Gauls The Gauls (; , ''Galátai'') were a group of Celts, Celtic peoples of mainland Europe in the Iron Age Europe, Iron Age and the Roman Gaul, Roman period (roughly 5th century BC to 5th century AD). Their homeland was known as Gaul (''Gallia''). Th ...

. The term Celtic Alps is also found in ancient Greek texts.

Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history of ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

. ''Rhōmaïkḕ Historía'', 39:44: "Ἄλπεων τῶν Κελτικῶν"; Philippus. ''Greek Anthology'' 9:61: "Κελτῶν ... Ἄλπεις". The Romans distinguished the following chains in the Alps: (

Maritime Alps The Maritime Alps ( ; ) are a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps. They form the border between the regions of France, French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and the regions of Italy, Italian regions of Piedmont and Liguria ...

), (

Cottian Alps The Cottian Alps (; ; ) are a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps. They form the border between France (Hautes-Alpes and Savoie) and Italy (Piedmont). The Fréjus Road Tunnel and Fréjus Rail Tunnel between Modane and Susa, Ital ...

), (

Graian Alps The Graian Alps (Latin language, Latin:: ''Alpes Graiæ'' ; ; ) are a mountain range in the western part of the Alps, and the name of an Roman province, Antic Rome province. Etymology The name ''Graie'' comes from the ''Graioceli'' Celts, Celt ...

), (

Pennine Alps The Pennine Alps (, , , ), sometimes referred to as the Valais Alps (which are just the Northern Swiss part of the Pennine Alps), are a mountain range in the western part of the Alps. They are located in Italy (the Aosta Valley and Piedmont) an ...

), (

Rhaetian Alps The Rhaetian Alps (; ) are a mountain range of the Eastern Alps. The SOIUSA classification system divides them into the Western Rhaetian Alps, Western, Southern Rhaetian Alps and Eastern Rhaetian Alps, while the Alpine Club classification of the ...

), (

Noric Alps The Noric Alps () is a collective term denoting various mountain ranges of the Eastern Alps. The name derives from the ancient ''Noricum'' province of the Roman Empire on the territory of present-day Austria and the adjacent Bavarian and Slovenian ...

), (

Carnic Alps The Carnic Alps (; ; ; ) are a range of the Southern Limestone Alps in Austria and northeastern Italy. They are within Austrian East Tyrol and Carinthia, and Italian Friuli (Province of Udine) and marginally in Veneto. Etymology They are ...

), and (

Venetian Prealps The Venetian Prealps (''Prealpi Venete'' in Italian) are a mountain range in the south-eastern part of the Alps. They are located in Triveneto, in the north-eastern part of Italy. Geography Administratively the range is divided between the It ...

). They also gave the name of to the Austrian (

Austrian Central Alps The Central Eastern Alps (), also referred to as Austrian Central Alps () or just Central Alps, comprise the Main chain of the Alps, main chain of the Eastern Alps in Austria and the adjacent regions of Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Italy and Slov ...

) and Dalmatian mountains (

Dinaric Alps The Dinaric Alps (), also Dinarides, are a mountain range in Southern Europe, Southern and Southcentral Europe, separating the continental Balkan Peninsula from the Adriatic Sea. They stretch from Italy in the northwest through Slovenia, Croatia ...

History

After the Roman conquest of the

Western Alps The Western Alps are the western part of the Alps, Alpine Range including the southeastern part of France (e.g. Savoie), the whole of Monaco, the northwestern part of Italy (i.e. Piedmont and the Aosta Valley) and the southwestern part of Switzer ...

(16–15 BC), three provinces were created in the mountain range between

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and

Gallia Narbonensis Gallia Narbonensis (Latin for "Gaul of Narbonne", from its chief settlement) was a Roman province located in Occitania and Provence, in Southern France. It was also known as Provincia Nostra ("Our Province"), because it was the first ...

Alpes Cottiae The Alpes Cottiae (; English: 'Cottian Alps') was a small province of the Roman Empire founded in 63 AD by Emperor Nero. It was one of the three provinces straddling the Alps between modern France and Italy, along with the Alpes Graiae et Poenina ...

Alpes Maritimae The Alpes Maritimae (; English: 'Maritime Alps') was a small province of the Roman Empire founded in 63 AD by Nero. It was one of the three provinces straddling the Alps between modern France and Italy, along with the Alpes Graiae et Poeninae an ...

, and

Alpes Graiae et Poeninae The Alpes Graiae et Poeninae, later known as Alpes Atrectianae et Poeninae (officially Alpes Atrectianae et Vallis Poenina), was a small Alpine province of the Roman Empire created after the merging of the ''Alpes Poeninae'' (or ''Vallis Poenina'' ...

References

Cultural regions Pre-Roman Gaul {{Europe-geo-stub

History

See also

References