Editing Geography of Italy (section)

===Lakes===
[[File:Altstadt von Malcesine-2.jpg|thumb|[[Lake Garda]] is the largest of the [[List of lakes in Italy|Italian lakes]]]]
In Italy there are more than 1,000 lakes, mostly artificially created by the damming of river valleys.<ref name=LAGHI>{{cite book|first=Antonio|last=Londrillo|title=Alla scoperta della mia regione|publisher=Bulgarini|year=2004|isbn=88-234-2327-9|language=it|page=28}}</ref>

In the north of the country are a number of subalpine [[moraine-dammed lake|moraine-dammed]] lakes (the [[Italian Lakes]]), including the largest in Italy, the [[Lake Garda|Garda]] ({{convert|370|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on|disp=or}}).<ref name=Laghimari>{{cite book|first=Gianfranco|last=Bresich|title=Iperlibro|publisher=Deagostini|year=2005|isbn=88-418-2169-8|page=254|language=it}}</ref> Other well known of these subalpine lakes are [[Lake Maggiore]] ({{convert|212.5|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on|disp=or}}), whose most northerly section is part of Switzerland, [[Como lake|Como]] (which holds the record of depth in the Italian Republic, which amounts to {{convert|410|m|abbr=on|disp=or}})<ref>{{cite book|title=Le Garzantine|year=2006|author=Various authors|chapter=Geografia: Ita-z|publisher=Garzanti Libri|language=it|page=781}}</ref> ({{convert|146|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on|disp=or}}), [[Orta lake|Orta]], [[Lugano lake|Lugano]], [[Iseo lake|Iseo]], [[Idro lake|Idro]]. These lakes occupy wide valleys carved by ancient glaciers.

In Italy there are also coastal lakes, such as [[Lake Lesina]], separated from the sea by a narrow strip of land, and volcanic lakes ([[Lake Bolsena]], [[Lake Vico]], [[Lake Bracciano]]), which occupy the craters of extinct volcanoes. [[Lake Trasimeno]], on the other hand, formed in a hollow in the territory.<ref name=Laghimari /> Other notable lakes in the Italian peninsula are [[Lago di Varano|Varano]] and [[Lake Omodeo|Omodeo]] in [[Sardinia]].

The swamps and ponds that in the past covered vast flat areas of Italy, in recent centuries have been largely dried up;<ref name=Laghimari /> the few remaining wetlands, such as the [[Valli di Comacchio]] in Emilia-Romagna or the [[Stagno di Cagliari]] in Sardinia, are protected as very precious natural environments.<ref name=Laghimari />

Along the Italian coasts there are lagoons, among which the [[Venetian Lagoon]], that of [[Grado Lagoon]] and that of [[Marano Lagoon]] in the northern Adriatic stand out for their size and importance, and the [[Orbetello Lagoon]] on the Tuscan coast.