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Emilia Romagna, Italy

Date: Current

Notes: Emilia-Romagna
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Location
Map of Italy, location of Emilia-Romagna highlighted
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Administration
Country Italy
NUTS Region ITD
Capital Bologna
President Vasco Errani (Democratic Party)
Basic statistics
Area 22,124 km? (8,542 sq mi)
(Ranked 5th, 7.3 %)
Population 4,323,830 (09/2008)
(Ranked 6th, 7.2 %)
- Density 195 /km? (506 /sq mi)
Other information
GDP/ Nominal ? 128.8 billion (2006)
Website www.regione.emilia-romagna.it

Emilia-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 20,124 km? and about 4.3 million inhabitants.
Geography
Landscape of the Po Valley.
The region of Emilia-Romagna consists of nine provinces and covers an area of 22,124 km?. Nearly half of the region (50%) consists of plains while 25% is hilly and 25% mountainous. The Emilia-Romagna section of the Apennines is marked by areas of flisch, badland erosion (calanques) and caves. The mountains stretch for more than 300 km from the north to the south-east, with only three peaks above 2,000 m - Monte Cimone (2,165 m), Monte Cusna (2,121 m) and Alpe di Succiso (2,017 m).

About a half of the region is constituted by Padan Plain, an extremely fertile alluvial plain crossed by the river Po. The plain was formed by the gradual retreat of the sea from the Po basin and by the detritus deposited by the rivers. Almost entirely marshland in ancient times, its history is characterised by the hard work of its people to reclaim and reshape the land in order to achieve a better standard of living. The geology varies, with lagoons and saline areas in the north and many thermal springs throughout the rest of the region as a result of groundwater rising towards the surface at different periods of history. All the rivers rise locally in the Apennines with the exception of the Po, which has its source in the Alps in Piedmont and follows the northern border of Emilia-Romagna for 263 km.

Vegetation in the region may be divided into belts: the common oak belt which is now covered (apart from the mes?la forest) with fruit orchards and fields of wheat and sugar beet, the pubescent and Adriatic oak belts on the lower slopes up to 900 m, the beech belt between 1,000 and 1,500 m and the final mountain heath belt.

History
The name Emilia-Romagna has roots in the Ancient Rome legacy in these lands. Emilia refers to via ?milia, an important Roman way connecting Rome to the northern part of Italy. Romagna is a corruption of Rom?nia; when Ravenna was the capital of the Italian portion of the Byzantine Empire, the Lombards extended the official name of the Empire to the lands around Ravenna. Emilia-Romagna was part of the Etruscan world and in following was passed on to the Gauls and then the Romans, who built the Aemilian Way, for which the region was named. The coastal area of Emilia, which was ruled under the Byzantines from 540 to 751, became known as the separate region of Romagna.

During the Middle Ages trading activities, culture and religion flourished thanks to the region's monasteries and the University of Bologna - the oldest university in Europe - its bustling towns, and its politics - embodied in the historic figure of Matilda of Canossa. In the Renaissance it became the seat for refined seigniories such as the House of Este of Ferrara and the Malatesta of Rimini. In the centuries that followed the region was divided between the rule of the Papal State, the Farnese Duchy of Parma and Piacenza and the Duchy of Modena and Reggio. In the 16th century, most of these were included into the Papal States, but the territory of Parma, Piacenza, and Modena remained independent until Emilia-Romagna was included into the Italian kingdom in 1859?1861.

Economy
Emilia Romagna today is considered as one of the richest European regions and the third Italian region by GDP per capita [1]. These results were achieved developing a very well balanced economy based on the biggest agricultural sector in Italy, and on a secular tradition in automobile, motor and mechanic productions.

In spite of the depth and variety of industrial activities in the region, agriculture has not been eclipsed. Emilia-Romagna is among the leading regions in the country, with farming contributing 5.8% of the regional agricultural product. The agricultural sector has aimed for increased competitiveness by means of structural reorganisation and high-quality products, and this has led to the success of marketed brands. Cereals, potatoes, maize, tomatoes and onions are the most important products, along with fruit and grapes for the production of wine (of which the most famous are perhaps Lambrusco, Sangiovese, Pignoletto and Albana). Cattle and hog breeding are also highly developed. Farm cooperatives have been working along these lines in recent years. With their long tradition in the region there are now about 8,100 cooperatives, generally in the agricultural sector and mainly located in the provinces of Bologna (2,160) and Forli (1,300)[2].

Industry in the region presents a varied and complex picture and is located along the Via Emilia. The food industry (e.g. Barilla Group) is particularly concentrated in Parma, Modena and Bologna as well as the mechanical and automotive (e.g., Ferrari, Ducati, Lamborghini, Maserati Pagani). The ceramic sector is concentrated in Faenza and Sassuolo). Tourism is increasingly important, especially along the Adriatic coastline and the cities of art. The regional economy is more geared to export markets than other regions in the country: the main exports are from mechanical engineering (53%), the extraction of non-metallic minerals (13%) and the clothing industry (10%)[2].

The region of Emilia-Romagna benefits of a very good system of transport, with 574 km of motorways, 1053 km of railways and airports in Bologna, Forli and Rimini. The main motorway crosses the region from north-west (Piacenza) to the south-east (Adriatic coast), connecting the main cities of Parma, Modena, Bologna, and from here further to Ravenna and to Rimini [2].

Demographics
Historical populations
Year Pop. %?
1861 2,083,000 ?
1871 2,228,000 7.0%
1881 2,289,000 2.7%
1901 2,547,000 11.3%
1911 2,813,000 10.4%
1921 3,077,000 9.4%
1931 3,267,000 6.2%
1936 3,339,000 2.2%
1951 3,544,000 6.1%
1961 3,667,000 3.5%
1971 3,847,000 4.9%
1981 3,958,000 2.9%
1991 3,910,000 −1.2%
2001 3,983,000 1.9%
2008 (Est.) 4,324,000 8.6%
Source: ISTAT 2001

The population density, which was equal to 195 inhabitants per km2 in 2008 is just below the national average. The population of this region is traditionally well distributed, so there is not a dominant metropolis but an axis of medium size cities along the Via Emilia, where the majority of regional industrial production is concentrated. Also the coast of Romagna is densely populated thanks to the huge boom of the seaside tourism in the last decades. In the peripherical areas of the Appennine Mountains and the agricultural plains around Ferrara and Piacenza the population is less dense.

Emilia-Romagna has thirteen cities above 50,000 (based on 2006 estimates): Bologna (pop. 374,425), Modena (pop. 180,638), Parma (pop. 177,069), Reggio Emilia (pop. 167,013), Ravenna (pop. 149,084), Rimini (pop. 138,060), Ferrara (pop. 131,907), Forl? (pop. 112,477), Piacenza (pop. 99,340), Cesena (pop. 93,857), Imola (pop. 66,340), Carpi (pop. 64,517) and Faenza (pop. 54,749).

As of 2008, the Italian national institute of statistics (ISTAT) estimated that 365,687 foreign-born immigrants lived in Emilia-Romagna, equal to 8.5% of the total regional population.

Government and politics
Main article: Politics of Emilia-Romagna

The Regional Government (Giunta Regionale) is presided by the President of the Region (Presidente della Regione), who is elected for a five-year term, and is composed by the President, the Ministers (Assessori), who are currently 12, including a Vice President and one Under-Secretary for in President's office.[3]

Emilia-Romagna, except the province of Piacenza, was historically a stronghold of the Italian Communist Party, and now is a stronghold of center-left coalitions, forming with Tuscany, Umbria and Marche the famous Italian political "Red Quadrilateral". Probably this is because of a strong tradition of anti-clericalism dating from the 19th century, when part of Emilia-Romagna belonged of the Papal States (mostly Romagna and Bologna, in Emilia there were two independent states). At the April 2006 elections, Emilia-Romagna gave about 60% of its votes to Romano Prodi.

Administrative divisions
Emilia-Romagna is divided into nine provinces:
Province Area (km?) Population Density (inh./km?)
Province of Bologna 3,702 973,295 262.9
Province of Ferrara 2,632 357,471 135.8
Province of Forl?-Cesena 2,377 387,200 162.9
Province of Modena 2,689 686,104 255.1
Province of Parma 3,449 431,419 125.1
Province of Piacenza 2,589 284,885 110.0
Province of Ravenna 1,858 383,945 206.6
Province of Reggio Emilia 2,293 517,374 225.6
Province of Rimini 534 302,137 565.8

For original text see Wikipedia, Emilia Romagna

Contributed by: Courtesy of Wikipedia

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Ravenna, Emilia Romangna, Italy

Date: 2003

Notes: Photo: Andrew Giambarba. Source: http://the2ndhalf.typepad.com

Contributed by: Andrew Giambarba

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Ravenna, Emilia Romangna, Italy

Date: 2003

Notes: Photo: Andrew Giambarba. Source: http://the2ndhalf.typepad.com

Contributed by: Andrew Giambarba

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San Remo, Italy

Date: ca. 1920 - 1930

Notes: "San Remo/ Alicandri Roma.... Poster showing the coastline of San Remo from a terrace." Digital ID: 3g12501.

Contributed by: Courtesy of the Library of Congress

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Florence, Tuscany, Italy

Date: 1938

Notes: "Poster showing a historic street in Florence." Digital ID:3g12497.

Contributed by: Courtesy of the Library of Congress

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Tuscany, Italy

Date: Current

Notes: Tuscany
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Location
Map of Italy, location of Tuscany highlighted
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Administration
Country Italy
NUTS Region ITC
Capital Florence
President Claudio Martini (Democratic Party)
Basic statistics
Area 22,990 km? (8,876 sq mi)
(Ranked 5th, 7.6 %)
Population 3,701,243 (09/2008)
(Ranked 9th, 6.2 %)
- Density 161 /km? (417 /sq mi)
Other information
GDP/ Nominal ? 99.1 billion (2006)
Website www.regione.toscana.it

Tuscany (Italian: Toscana) is a region in Italy. It has an area of 22,990 square kilometres (8,880 sq mi) and a population of about 3.6 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence.

Tuscany is known for its landscapes and its artistic legacy. Six Tuscan localities have been UNESCO protected sites: the historical center of Florence (1982), the historical center of Siena (1995), the square of the Cathedral of Pisa (1987), the historical center of San Gimignano (1990), the historical center of Pienza (1996) and the Val d'Orcia (2004).
Geography
Roughly triangular in shape and situated between the northern part of the Tyrrhenian Sea and the central Apennines, Tuscany has an area of approximately 22,993 km2. Surrounded and crossed by major mountain chains, and with few plains, the region has a relief that is dominated by hilly country; whereas mountains cover 5,770 km2 (25% of the total area) and plains a mere 1,930 km2 (8.4% of the total area, almost all coinciding with the valley of the Arno River), hills make up two-thirds (66.5%) of the region's total area, covering 15,292 km2. The climate, which is fairly mild in the coastal areas, is harsher and rainy in the inland, with considerable fluctuations in temperature between winter and summer[1].

History
Main article: History of Tuscany
Apennine and Villanovan cultures.
Main articles: Apennine culture and Villanovan culture

The pre-Etruscan history of the area in the late Bronze and Iron Ages parallels that of the early Greeks.[2] The Tuscan area was inhabited by peoples of the so-called Apennine culture in the late second millennium BC (roughly 1350?1150 BC) who had trading relationships with the Minoan and Mycenaean civilisations in the Aegean Sea.[2] Following this, the Villanovan culture (1100?700 BC) saw Tuscany, and the rest of Etruria, taken over by chiefdoms.[2] City-states developed in the late Villanovan (paralleling Greece and the Aegean) before "Orientalization" occurred and the Etruscan civilisation rose.[2]

Etruscans
Main article: Etruscan civilization
The Chimera of Arezzo, Etruscan bronze, 400 BC.

The Etruscans were the first major civilization in this region; large enough to lay down a transport infrastructure, implement agriculture and mining, and produce vivid art.[3] The Etruscans lived in Etruria well into prehistory.[2] The civilisation grew to fill the area between the Arno River and Tiber River from the eighth century, reaching their peak during the seventh century BC and sixth century BC, finally succumbing to the Romans by the first century.[4] Throughout their existence, they lost territory to Magna Graecia, Carthage and Gaul.[3] Despite being seen as distinct in its manners and customs by contemporary Greeks,[5] the cultures of Greece, and later Rome, influenced the civilisation to a great extent. One reason for its eventual demise[4] was this increasing absorption by surrounding cultures, including the adoption of the Etruscan upper class by the Romans.[3]

Romans
Soon after absorbing Etruria, Rome established the cities of Lucca, Pisa, Siena, and Florence, endowed the area with new technologies and development, and ensured peace.[3] These developments included extensions of existing roads, introduction of aqueducts and sewers, and the construction of many buildings, both public and private.[3] The Roman civilization in the West collapsed in the fifth century and the region was left to the Goths, and others. In the sixth century, the Longobards arrived and designated Lucca the capital of their Duchy of Tuscia.[3]

The medieval period
Palazzo Vecchio in Florence.
See also: March of Tuscany

Pilgrims travelling along the Via Francigena between Rome and France brought wealth and development during the medi?val period.[3] The food and shelter required by these travellers fuelled the growth of communities around churches and taverns.[3] The conflict between the Guelphs and Ghibellines, factions supporting the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire in central and northern Italy during the 12th and 13th centuries, split the Tuscan people.[3] These two factors gave rise to several powerful and rich medieval communes in Tuscany: Arezzo, Florence, Lucca, Pisa, and Siena.[3] Balance between these communes were ensured by the assets they held; Pisa, a port; Siena, banking; and Lucca, banking and silk.[6] By the renaissance, however, Florence had become the cultural capital of Tuscany.[6]

The Renaissance
Tuscany is considered the birthplace of the Renaissance movement, and its artistic heritage includes architecture, painting and sculpture, collected in dozens of museums in towns and cities across the region. Perhaps the best-known are the Uffizi, the Accademia and the Bargello in Florence. Tuscany was the birthplace of Dante Alighieri ("the father of the Italian language"), Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Galileo Galilei and Botticelli.

Modern Era
In the 1400s, the Medicis, who ruled Florence, annexed surrounding land to create modern Tuscany. The War of Polish Succession in the 1730s meant the transfer of Tuscany from the Medicis to Francis, Duke of Lorraine and Holy Roman Emperor. With the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire by Napoleon, Tuscany was inherited by the Austrian Empire as successor to the Holy Roman Empire. In the Italian Wars of Independence in the 1850s, Tuscany was transferred from Austria to the newly unified nation of Italy.

Economy
The subsoil in Tuscany is relatively rich in mineral resources, with iron ore, copper, mercury and lignite mines, the famous soffioni (fumarole) at Larderello and the vast marble mines in Versilia. Although its share is falling all the time, agriculture still contributes to the region's value-added. In the region's inland areas cereals, potatoes, olives and grapes (for the world-famous Chianti wines) are grown. The swamplands, which used to be marshy, now produce vegetables, rice, tobacco, beet and sunflowers[7].

The industrial sector is dominated by mining, given the abundance of underground resources. Also of some note are the textiles, chemicals/pharmaceuticals, metalworking and steel, glass and ceramics, clothing and printing/publishing sectors. Smaller areas specialising in manufacturing and craft industries are found in the hinterland: the leather and footwear area in the south-west part of the province of Florence, the hot-house plant area in Pistoia, the ceramics and textile industries in the Prato area, scooters and motorcycles in Pontedera, and the processing of timber for the manufacture of wooden furniture in the Cascina area. The heavy industries (mining, steel and mechanical engineering) are concentrated along the coastal strip (Livorno and Pistoia areas), where there are also important chemical industries. Also of note are the marble (Carrara area) and paper industries (Lucca area)[8].

Almost without exception, every town and city in Tuscany has considerable natural and architectural beauty. There is a continuous stream of visitors throughout the year. As a result, the services and distributive activities that are so important to the region's economy are particularly wide-ranging and highly organised[9].

Demographics
Historical populations
Year Pop. %?
1861 1,920,000 ?
1871 2,124,000 10.6%
1881 2,187,000 3.0%
1901 2,503,000 14.4%
1911 2,670,000 6.7%
1921 2,810,000 5.2%
1931 2,914,000 3.7%
1936 2,978,000 2.2%
1951 3,159,000 6.1%
1961 3,286,000 4.0%
1971 3,473,000 5.7%
1981 3,581,000 3.1%
1991 3,530,000 −1.4%
2001 3,498,000 −0.9%
2008 (Est.) 3,701,000 5.8%
Source: ISTAT 2001

The population density of Tuscany, with 161 inhabitants per km2 in 2008, is below the national average (198.8 inhabitants per km2). This is due mainly to the low population density of the provinces of Arezzo, Siena and, above all, Grosseto (50 inhabitants per km2). The highest density is found in the province of Prato (675 inhabitants per km2) followed by the provinces of Pistoia, Livorno, Florence and Lucca, peaking in the cities of Florence (more than 3,500 per km2), Livorno, Prato, Viareggio, Forte dei Marmi and Montecatini Terme (all with a population density of more than 1,000 inhabitants per km2). The territorial distribution of the population is closely linked to the socio-cultural and, more recently, economic and industrial development of Tuscany[10].

Accordingly, the least densely populated areas are those where the main activity is agriculture, unlike the others where, despite the presence of a number of large industrial complexes, the main activities are connected with tourism and associated services, alongside a plethora of small firms in the leather, glass, paper and clothing sectors[11].

Starting from the 1980s, the region attracted an intense flux of immigrants, in particular from China. There is also a significant community of British and Americans residents. As of 2008, the Italian national institute of statistics ISTAT estimated that 275,149 foreign-born immigrants live in Tuscany, equal to 7.4% of the total regional population.

Government and politics
Main article: Politics of Tuscany

Tuscany is a stronghold of the center-left Democratic Party, forming with Emilia-Romagna, Umbria and Marche the famous Italian political "Red Quadrilateral". At the April 2008 elections, Tuscany gave more than 50% of its votes to Walter Veltroni, and only 33.6% to Silvio Berlusconi.[citation needed]

Administrative divisions
Tuscany is divided into ten provinces:
Firenze
Arezzo
Grosseto
Siena
Livorno
Pisa
Lucca
PT
PO
Massa
Carrara
Province Area (km?) Population Density (inh./km?)
Province of Arezzo 3,232 345,547 106.9
Province of Florence 3,514 983,073 279.8
Province of Grosseto 4,504 225,142 50.0
Province of Livorno 1,218 340.387 279.5
Province of Lucca 1,773 389,495 219.7
Province of Massa-Carrara 1,157 203.449 175.8
Province of Pisa 2,448 409,251 167.2
Province of Pistoia 965 289,886 300.4
Province of Prato 365 246,307 674.8
Province of Siena 3,281 268,706 81.9

For original text see Wikipedia, "Tuscany."

Contributed by: Courtesy of Wikipedia

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