Best Answer: Basically the Alps to the north protected Rome from major invasion. Then with Rome being located on the Tiber river it gave the Romans access to the Mediterranean for trade and was far enough inland that the Romans would have advanced warning if enemies tried to come by sea.
utilmately the geography is what did the roman empire in. Fresh water was brought to rome via aquducts. The invading barbarians destroyed the aquaducts that provided the city water which automatically put them at a disadvantage.
Bit for some of the other aspects. Italy is in the center of the mediterranean sea. The had acces to the middle east, africa, spain, greece all by sea.
The Mediterranean,which became like a private pond or lake for their empire at its height, helped in trade a lot but that very same size and very long frontiers (from the deserts in the east to the forests of Germany and Britain) also made the empire difficult to defend.. eventually the legions were forced into a defensive role protecting the frontiers instead of expanding it. Also the empire was doomed after it was split into East and West
