Northern Italy
Encyclopedia
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, also referred as Settentrione or Alta Italia. It coincides with two areas belonging to Italian first level NUTS of the European Union
First level NUTS of the European Union
The Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics, , is a geocode standard for referencing the administrative divisions of countries for statistical purposes. The standard was developed by the European Union.There are three levels of NUTS defined, with two levels of local administrative units ...
:
- North-West (Nord-Ovest) that includes the regionsRegions of ItalyThe regions of Italy are the first-level administrative divisions of the state, constituting its first NUTS administrative level. There are twenty regions, of which five are constitutionally given a broader amount of autonomy granted by special statutes....
of: Aosta Valley, LiguriaLiguriaLiguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. Its capital is Genoa. It is a popular region with tourists for its beautiful beaches, picturesque little towns, and good food.-Geography:...
, LombardyLombardyLombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
and PiedmontPiedmontPiedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
- North-East (Nord-Est) that includes the regionsRegions of ItalyThe regions of Italy are the first-level administrative divisions of the state, constituting its first NUTS administrative level. There are twenty regions, of which five are constitutionally given a broader amount of autonomy granted by special statutes....
of: Emilia-RomagnaEmilia-RomagnaEmilia–Romagna is an administrative region of Northern Italy comprising the two historic regions of Emilia and Romagna. The capital is Bologna; it has an area of and about 4.4 million inhabitants....
, Friuli-Venezia GiuliaFriuli-Venezia GiuliaFriuli–Venezia Giulia is one of the twenty regions of Italy, and one of five autonomous regions with special statute. The capital is Trieste. It has an area of 7,858 km² and about 1.2 million inhabitants. A natural opening to the sea for many Central European countries, the region is...
, Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol and VenetoVenetoVeneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...
Geography
By far the larger portion of Northern Italy is occupied by the basin of the Po riverPo River
The Po |Ligurian]]: Bodincus or Bodencus) is a river that flows either or – considering the length of the Maira, a right bank tributary – eastward across northern Italy, from a spring seeping from a stony hillside at Pian del Re, a flat place at the head of the Val Po under the northwest face...
, which comprises the whole of the broad plain extending from the foot of the Apennines to that of the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
, together with the valleys and slopes on both sides of it. Throughout its whole course indeed, from its source in Monte Viso
Monte Viso
Monte Viso or Monviso , is a mountain in the Cottian Alps in Italy close to the French border. Monte Viso is well known for its pyramid-like shape, and because it is higher than all its neighbouring peaks by about 500 m it can be seen from some distance, from the Piedmontese plateau and the...
to its outflow into the Adriatic Sea
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...
—a distance of more than 5 degrees of longitude, or 220 miles in a direct line—the Po receives all the waters that flow from the Apennines northwards, and all those that descend from the Alps towards the south, till one comes to the Adige
Adige
The Adige is a river with its source in the Alpine province of South Tyrol near the Italian border with Austria and Switzerland. At in length, it is the second longest river in Italy, after the River Po with ....
, which, after pursuing a parallel course with the Po for a considerable distance, enters the Adriatic by a separate mouth.
Economy
Northern Italy is the most developed and productive area of the country, and the first part of Italy to be industrialized in the last half of the 19th century, the so called industrial triangle formed by the manufacturing centres of MilanMilan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
and Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
and the seaport of Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
. With a 2008 nominal GDP estimated in €860.6 billion, Northern Italy accounts for almost 55% of the national economy.
Pollution in Northern Italy
In 2005 the BBC and Meteorologists across Europe revealed that Northern Italy was one of Europe's most polluted areas due to smog, and air pollution. Today, the air quality in Northern Italy still continues to be a major factor that the area has to face.Farming
Farming in North Italy has many advantages, including the following:- It is easy to borrow money.
- Local colleges can show modern farming methods.
- Fertile soil
- Rain falls throughout the year, so there is no summer drought.
- Close to urban markets
- Farmers have their own land
See also
- Italian NUTS level 1 regions
- Northwest ItalyNorthwest ItalyNorthwest Italy is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics , a first level NUTS region and a European Parliament constituency...
- Northeast ItalyNortheast ItalyNortheast Italy is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics , a first level NUTS region and a European Parliament constituency...
- Central ItalyCentral ItalyCentral Italy is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics , a first level NUTS region and a European Parliament constituency...
- South ItalySouth ItalySouth Italy is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics , a first level NUTS region and a European Parliament constituency. South Italy encompasses six of the country's 20 regions:*Abruzzo...
- Insular ItalyInsular ItalyInsular Italy is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics , a first level NUTS region and a European Parliament constituency. Insular Italy encompasses two of the country's 20 regions:...
- Northwest Italy
- PadaniaPadaniaPadania is an alternative name for the Po Valley in Italy. The term was sparingly used until the early 1990s, when Lega Nord, a political party in Italy, proposed Padania as a possible denomination for an autonomous Northern Italy...