BELLRINGER:. Chapter 6: WESTERN EUROPE TODAY Section 5: Southern Europe I. The Iberian Peninsula A. Spain and Portugal share the Iberian Peninsula. Tiny.

BELLRINGER:

Chapter 6: WESTERN EUROPE TODAYSection 5: Southern Europe

I. The Iberian PeninsulaA. Spain and Portugal share the Iberian Peninsula. Tiny Andorra perches high inthe Pyrenees Mountain range near Spain’s border with France.B. Portugal and most of Spain have mild winters and hot summers.

C. Since much of the soil is poor, dry farming is practiced, in which the land is left unplanted every few years so that it can store moisture.

D. Spain and Portugal both belong to the European Union, but have worked hardto catch up economically with other member nations.

E. Spain is one of the world’s leading producers of olive oil. Portugal is the world’s leading exporter of cork.

F. Spain is a constitutional monarchy, but elected officials run the government.Portugal is a parliamentary republic, with a president.

G. Portugal developed a unified culture based on the Portuguese language, whileSpain remained a “country of different countries.”

II. ItalyA. The Italian peninsula sticks out from Europe into the center of the Mediterranean Sea.

B. The Alps tower over northern Italy, while volcanoes rumble though the southern part of the peninsula and Sicily. In spring and summer, hot dry winds called siroccos blow across the country from North Africa.

C. In the past 50 years, Italy has changed from a mainly agricultural country intoone of the world’s leading industrial economies. It is a member of the EU.

D. Rivalry between the wealthy industrialized north and the poorer south has caused political tensions in Italy.

E. Many political parties exist, and no single party has been strong enough to gain control. Italy has seen many coalition governments, where two or more partieswork together.

F. About 70 percent of Italy’s people live in towns and cities, and more than 90 percent work in manufacturing and service industries. Most are Roman Catholic.

III. GreeceA. The Greek mainland sits on the southern tip of the Balkan Peninsula, which juts out from Europe into the Mediterranean Sea. Greece also includes 2,000 islands, though only about 170 have people living on them.

B. Greece belongs to the European Union but has one of the least industrialized economies in Europe. It must import food, fuels, and many manufactured goods.

C. Although it has poor stony soil, Greece has important crops of olives, used for olive oil, and grapes, used for wine.

D. Greece has one of the largest shipping fleets in the world, including oil tankers, cargo ships, fishing boats, and passenger vessels. Tourism is another key industry.

E. Greece is a parliamentary republic with about 60 percent of the people living inurban areas. More than 95 percent are Greek Orthodox Christians.

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