Apennins () was a department of the

First French Empire The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...

of 1805-1814 in present-day

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 ...

. Named after the

Apennine Mountains The Apennines or Apennine Mountains ( ; or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; or – a singular with plural meaning; )Latin ''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which would be segmented ''Apenn-inus'', often used with nouns s ...

, it originated on 6 June 1805, after France had directly annexed the Ligurian Republic (formerly the

Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( ; ; ) was a medieval and early modern Maritime republics, maritime republic from the years 1099 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italy, Italian coast. During the Late Middle Ages, it was a major commercial power in ...

) on 4 June 1805. Its capital was

Chiavari Chiavari (; ) is a seaside comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa, in Italy. It has about 28,000 inhabitants. It has a beachside promenade and a marina and is situated near the river Entella (river), Entella. History Pre-Rom ...

. Disbanded after the defeat of Napoleon in 1814, the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...

awarded the old territory of Genoa to the Kingdom of Sardinia (December 1814). The area of the former département forms parts of the Italian provinces of

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

, La Spezia, Massa-Carrara and

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

Subdivisions

file:Blason ville fr Chiavari-Empire.svg, 100px, Coat of arms of

under the French Empire The department was subdivided into the following Arrondissements of France, arrondissements and Cantons_of_France, cantons (situation in 1812):Almanach Impérial an bissextil MDCCCXII
p. 368-369, accessed in Gallica 24 July 2013 *

, cantons:

, Borzonasca,

Lavagna Lavagna is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa, in the Italian region of Liguria. History and culture The village, unlike nearby Chiavari which has pre-Ancient Rome, Roman evidence, seems to have developed in Ancient ...

, Moconesi,

Rapallo Rapallo ( , , ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa, in the Italy, Italian region of Liguria. As of 2017 it had 29,778 inhabitants. It lies on the Ligurian Sea coast, on the Tigullio Gulf, between Portofino and ...

, Santo Stefano d'Aveto, Sestri Levante and Varese Ligure. * Pontremoli, cantons: Pontremoli, Bagnone, Berceto, Borgo Val di Taro, Compiano, Filattiera, Groppoli and Terrarossa. * Sarzana, cantons: Sarzana, Albiano, Calice al Cornoviglio, Fivizzano, Sesta Godano, La Spezia, Lerici, Levanto and Vezzano Ligure. Its population in 1812 was 213,465, and its area was 416,000 hectares.

References

{{coord, 44.32, 9.32, display=title Former departments of France in Italy 1805 establishments in the First French Empire