The Helvetian and Rhaetian Alps send forth to the south long spurs, forming the high valleys of the Ticinus, of the Adda, the Adige and the Brenta. Geographically, these valleys belong to Italy (canton of the Ticino, the Valteline, and part of the Tyrol), but they have always been inhabited by races foreign to the peninsula, which have never protected her against invasions from the north.