Use of Definite Article With Italian Geographical Nouns

The use of the definite article with Italian geographical nouns is somewhat rule-based, but there are several exceptions that must be learned. In Italian, the names of towns and small islands generally do not take the article, but geographical nouns that refer to mountains (le Alpi, gli Appennini, le Dolomiti), rivers (l'Arno, il Po, il Tevere), and lakes (il Garda, il Trasimeno) require the article.