The Italian Peninsula or Apennine Peninsula (, "Penisola appenninica") is a large peninsula of Southern Europe. It extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Ionian and Adriatic Seas on the east and the Tyrrhenian Sea on the west. It is located in between two larger peninsulas, the Iberian Peninsula and the Balkan Peninsula. Because of the peninsula's shape, it is nicknamed "Lo Stivale" ("The Boot"). Three smaller peninsulas contribute to this characteristic shape, namely Calabria (the "toe"), Salento (the "heel") and Gargano (the "spur").