Industry
The structure of industrial production and the service industries is characterized by the
prevalence of smarkforce, 30% beingll and medium-sized companies (94% and 5.6% according
to 100 workers) thoug981 data), employing, however, only 70% of the workforce, 30% being
monopolized by large c ompanies (more than 100 workers) though these comprise only 0.4%
of the total. This means that companies are widely dispersed over the whole country,
obviously with significant location and concentration of industry, and more than half the
industrial comp anies operate at little more than workshop level, as is seen by the small
workforce in each production unit.
On the other hand, the small number of large companies is explained by increased
concentration, at that level also indicated by the high number of employees.
There is only a limited number of cooperative companies (food sector and the
transformation of agricultural products), while large companies tend to become
multinational. The presence of companies with foreign capital monopolizing specific
commodity secto rs (pharmaceuticals, photographic materials, electronics, cosmetics etc.)
is far from rare.
One particular kind of development regards medium-sized companies, frequently derivations
of small family-run businesses with a specialized production, which as a result of
management flexibility have succeeded in reconverting production and using technol ogical
innovations which, with increased competitivity, enable them to penetrate international
markets, in this way contributing to the consolidation of the Italian image and presence
throughout the world.
The Industrial Sectors
The steel and metalworking industries
The country's economic revival in the immediate postwar period was essentially sustained
by development and expansion of the basic industries, particularly the steel industry,
itself conditioned by the importation of raw materials such as ores, scrap iron and
coal.
Membership of ECSC enabled the Italian steel industry, which had installed the integral
processing cycle, to attain extremely high levels of production thus satisfying
increasingly greater domestic demand, such as that of the engineering industry, as well
as the export market. Following plant reconversion steel and metal production is now
stagnating due to the international economic situation dominated by strong competition
from Japanese industries and plastics, leading to overproduction in the principal
European countries.
The engineering industries
Mechanical engineering production is extremely varied and includes companies such as
shipbuilding, aerospace, carbuilding etc. with complex work cycles, together with the
manufacturers of simple tools. Component manufacturing is also well developed and cl
osely allied to companies producing durable goods not easily classified in any one sector
(for example, non-metallic materials used in the car industry: rubber, glass, plastics
etc).
In practice, mechanical engineering with its diversification and multiple relationships
with other industries is considered the mainstay of the national productive system also
in terms of the large workforce employed (over 2,2 million according to the 198 1 census,
including small workshops). Apart from cars and other vehicles, the most highly developed
industries are tools, household appliances, electronic equipment, precision instruments
etc. The industrial machinery sector is particularly active with ex tensive overseas
markets, and includes components for complete process cycles.
The chemical industry
The chemical industry is closely linked to mining and quarrying and uses prevalently
liquid (oil) and gaseous hydrocarbons (methane) from which an immense range of materials
is produced (rubber, plastics, synthetic resins, synthetic fibres, fertilizers et c.),
apart from traditional utilization as heating fuel, engine fuel etc.).
Like the steel industry, the chemical industry has been going through a critical period
due to over-production and problems related to modernization of plant. One serious
additional condition is the need to resort to large-scale importation of raw materia ls
for transformation, and consequent submission to fluctuating conditions on the
international market.
The textile industry
Textiles are the oldest Italian industry, widespread throughout the former States on the
peninsula and frequently linked to the rural community which provided plentiful low cost
labour. In the postwar period, this sector faced a period of crisis caused pr imarily by
the use of old machinery and inefficient working methods, though also by competition by
foreign producers, particularly in developing countries which were already raw material
suppliers (cotton, wool, jute etc.).
In actual fact, the crisis in the textile industry has deeper roots in the progressive
decay of some traditional related activities, such as silkworm breeding and the
cultivation of hemp and flax. The utilization of artificial fibres derived from cellulos
e, and later of synthetics derived from hydrocarbons, together with renewal of production
plant (mainly automated) and job reorganization, has enabled far higher levels of
productivity to be reached, offset by a considerable decrease in the workforce and
concentration of companies.
For its raw material supplies (synthetic fibres) and the utilization of the fabrics
produced, the textile sector is closely allied (also by vertical mergering of companies)
to the chemical and garment manufacturing industries. The latter, in particular, i s
still scattered over the country, in the form of small firms.
The food industry
Development of the food industry is a direct consequence of the expansion of large urban
centres and progressive industrialization. Strictly allied to the primary sector
(agriculture and livestock) it makes considerable use nevertheless of imports, the re
sult of insufficient national agricultural and livestock
production.Ascatteringofsmallartisan-typefirmsgenerallyoriented towards meeting local
demand is now flanked by numbers of medium-sized companies operating at a national level,
using advanced systems of processing, conservation and packaging, themselves flanking the
pasta, wine and oil producers, and other traditional companies. The food conservation
industry is in a special position, connected with agriculture, livestock and fisheries.
Certain sectors of the economy such as wines, bakery products and confectionery, are
particularly renowned abroad. A number of big multinationals monopolize supplies and are
thus in a position to influence market conditions, while mass distribution (super
markets) is interdependent with certain food manufacturers, while frozen and vacuum
packed foodstuffs have helped to extend seasonal consumption, particularly of fresh
fruit, vegetables and perishables.
Here is a chart showing the dramatic changes in Industry.
The Geological Substratum
Even if it is not very extensive,theItalian territory is distinguished by the
considerable variety of its substratum rocks. The Alps are largely formed from
crystalline rocks (granites, gneisses, mica-schists, porphyries, etc.) but there are also
sedimentary rocks (limestones, dolomites and sandstones) that are widespread in the
eastern sector and the pre-Alpine belt. Sedimentary rocks are also prevalent throughout
the Apennines (limestones, dolomites, sandstones, clays, marls, etc.), including Sicily,
and are found in Sardinia too, where crystalline and volcanic rocks predominate. There
latter (formed from ancient and recent lava and tufa) also appear in Sicily and along the
peninsula's Tyrrhenian margin (where there is a considerable concentration of volcanic
phenomena, in part still active) as well as in the Alps. Finally, the flat areas,
including the great Po-Venetian Plain, are basically formed of mixed deposits that are
mainly fluvial in origin (conglomerates, gravels, sands, clays). The great variety of
rock types characterizing the Italian framework is mainly the result of a complex
geological past, distinguished by marked environmental alternations - now marine, now
continental - as well as frequent changes in climatic conditions. Furthermore, even if
present mountain forms are considered to be rather recent, Italy does contain extremely
old rock formations. Some of the metamorphic outcrops in the Alpine arc and in the
Sardinian-Corsican and Calabrian-Peloritan massifs were formed before the Palaeozoic era,
that is more than 600 million years ago, and therefore do not contain significant traces
of organisms. During the Palaeozic era (lasting from circa 570 to 230 million years ago)
the area now occupied by Italy was largely covered by a tropical sea (called Tethys by
geologists) from which must have emerged some mountain folds, as those of the Caledonian
period, begun some 500 million years ago and whose traces remain in southwestern Sardinia
(Iglesiente and Sulcis). The next mountain building period, the Hercynian, occurred
during the last 100 million years of the Palaeozoic era and was accompanied by
considerable volcanic activity. This provoked the formation of the original nucleus of
the Alpine chain together with the emergence of the Calabrian-Peloritan mountains
(Aspromonte and Sila in Calabria and Peloritan in Sicily) and the Sardinian-Corsican
massif. The volcanic activity of this period also affected the Alpine arc (porphyry
effusions in the Adige Valley), as well as in the northern Apennines (Garfagnana and
Apuan Alps) and Sardinia and Corsica. Following the Hercynian orogenesis, the mountains
formed by it were subject to intense erosion. Thus at the end of the Palaeozoic era there
emerged from the waters of the Tethys (the extensive oceanic basin separating the
Euro-Asiatic continental plate from the African) the remains of the palaeo-Alpine chain,
part of the northern section of the peninsula - probably connected with the
Sardinian-Corsican massif, and, further south, the other great island fold of the
Calabrian-Peloritan massif. During the course of the succeeding Mesozoic era, lasting for
over 160 million years, almost all the present area of Italy remained covered by a large
marine basin on whose bottom (which varied considerably in depth) was deposited on
different occasions material of various types. This was to produce, following a process
of compaction and orogenesis, disparate rock formations: limestones, dolomites,
sandstones, marls, etc. In particular, in the northeastern area there formed extensive
coralline reefs from which the present Dolomites are derived. Towards the end ot the
Mesozoic era the progressive moving together of the African and European continental
plates reduced their common marine space and caused a folding of their respective margins
and part of the bed of the Tethys. This was to produce the Alpine and Apennine chains
whose curvature reflects the anticlockwise movement of the contact line between Europe
and Africa produced by the particular forces of their respective plates. Their collision
took place some 40 million years ago (between the Eocene and Oligocene periods) in the
first-half of the Cenozoic era, which is considered to have lasted from circa 65 million
to 2 million years ago. lc>The formation of the Alps and the Apennines continued
throughout the Cenozoic, slackening in the succeeding Miocene and Pliocene periods in
which however some uplifting continued. This was accompanied by intense volcanic activity
that has left traces in the Lessini Mts. (Venetian pre-Alps), Euganean Hills, Sardinia,
Tuscany and Sicily (Iblei Mts.). Already, however, during the Miocene period erosion had
considerably increased on the Alpine and Apennine peaks and this also continued in the
Pliocene period, resulting in the depositing at the feet of the chains of huge deposits
of sand, gravel and clay. There then followed a phase of general increased marine
predominance, lasting a good part of the Miocene and all the Pliocene. At the end of this
latter period, circa 1.8-2 million years ago, with the withdrawal of the sea and the
filling up of the great Po depression the shape of the present-day Italian region and
particularly the peninsula and islands began to gradually appear. The Neozoic era, which
is still in progress, was characterized in its early part (corresponding to the
Pleistocene period) by alternating warm and cold climatic phases, which resulted on
several occasions in the expansion and retraction of the Alpine and Apennine glaciers
with a consequent alteration in sea level. The last glaciation ended circa 10-12 thousand
years ago, giving way to the current Holocene period characterized in Italy by temperate
climatic conditions. During the Neozoic era, usually called the Quaternary, volcanic
activity has re-occurred very intensely especially on the Tyrrhenian side. Surface
erosion followed the relief modelling, filling in with detritus the internal Apennine
depressions previously occupied by lakes (Val d'Arno, Val Tiberina, etc.) and also
forming the plains at the edges of the peninsula and islands. At the same time, while our
present flora and fauna were evolving, there appeared the first known representatives of
the human species in Italy, whose traces have recently been found near Isernia (La
Pineta) and date to some 730,000 years ago.
Landforms
The complexity of its geological history combined with the wide variety of its substratum
rock types, often dislocated by numerous fault-lines and folding of the rocky strata by
orogenic forces, have contributed to Italy's extremely diverse morphology. Less than a
quarter (23%) of its total territory is formed by plains, while mountainous areas occupy
over a third of its surface (35%). Finally, over two-fifths (42%) consists of hill zones.
Italy's maximum height above sea level corresponds with the summit of Mt. Bianco, 4,810
m., on the border with France. The far eastern section of the Po Plain has in contrast
some zones slightly below sea level, which are generally subject to subsidence phenomena.
However, physically, the Italian territory can be considered to consist of the following
regional units, characterized by a certain morphological similarity and at times also
climatic: the Alpine system and Po-Venetian Plain in the continental section; the
Apennine system and anti-Apennine reliefs in the peninsula section; and the large islands
of Sicily and Sardinia.
The Alps
Almost the whole southern side of this great mountainous system belongs to Italy,
covering as it does a length of circa 110 km from the mouth of the Rhone to the
mid-Danube plains and varying in width from circa 150 to 250 km. This southern side
contains many longitudinal (Valle d'Aosta, Valtellina, Val Venosta and Val Pusteria) and
transversal valleys (Val di Susa, Val d'Ossola, Val Camonica and Valle dell'Adige). It
can be divided in three sectors: western, central and eastern Alps. The first two of
mainly crystalline rocks and the third of sedimentary rocks. Their traditional groupings
are still in use: western sector of Ligurian, Maritime, Cottian and Graian Alps; central
sector of Pennine, Lepontine and Rhaetian Alps; and eastern sector of Adige, Carnic and
Julian Alps. The first two groups contain the highest peaks, often exceeding 4,000 m.
(Gran Paradiso, Mont Blanc, Cervino, Rosa and Bernina). The pre-Alpine belt is mainly
formed of sedimentary rocks. It stretches from the mouth of the Valle d'Aosta to the
Valle dell'Isonzo and is particularly disjointed, especially in two zones: the Lombard
pre-Alps, where the landscape of valleys is enlivened by large glacially excavated lakes
(Orta, Maggiore, Lugano, Como, Iseo and Garda); and the Venetian pre-Alps, which contain
numerous plateaux (Lessini, Sette Comuni and Cansiglio).
The Po-Venetian Plain
This is the principal Italian plain, extending for circa 42 sq km to the south of the
Alpine arc and having its other border with the northern Apennines and the Adriatic where
it merges into a coast that is low and sandy on the Romagna shore and ringed by lagoons
on the Venetian shore. The Po River cuts across the centre of the plain and, over the
past two thousand years, has created a huge delta on the edge of the Adriatic Sea. In
this it has been assisted by many Alpine and Apennine tributaries, as well as by other
watercourses descending directly to the sea from the Venetian pre-Alps (Adige, Brenta,
Piave, Tagliamento and Isonzo) and the northern Apennines (Reno, Lamone and Marecchia).
The Po-Venetian Plain has a mean altitude of circa 50 m, while in the marginal belt at
the foot of the pre-Alps and the Alps it exceeds 200 m. This is the point at which it is
possible to distinguish a high (gravel and sand) from a low (mainly mud and clay) plain,
separated by a row of springs that have had an important influence in the development of
the plain's agricultural economy (cultivation of the rice fields, water etc.). This plain
also has an extremely important economic and social role. Though it forms only a seventh
part of the national territory it contains about a third of the Italian population.
The Apennines
The Apennine range extends for over 1,200 km from the Colle di Cadibona (touching on the
Ligurian Alps) to the extreme south of Calabria and then includes all the north Sicilian
mountains. It forms the mountain backbone of the Italian peninsula, unfolding in an
extensive concave chain that opens towards the Tyrrhenian Sea. Sometimes its mountains
run parallel and sometimes they seem detached in isolated groups, usually separated by
wide valley and basins (Valdarno, Val Tiberina, Valle del Volturno, Vallo di Diano, Piana
del Fucino, etc.). Furthermore, these alternate with numerous transversal valleys that
often narrow into gorges. As with the Alps so with the Apennines, three sectors can be
distinguished: a northern one of largely sandstones, marls and clays, covering Liguria,
Tuscany and Emilia; a central one essentially of limestones, covering Umbria-Marches and
Latium-Abruzzo; and, finally, a southern one of mixed rock types, covering Campania,
Basilicata and Calabria. Along both edges of the peninsula extensive depressions separate
the Apennine chains from isolated reliefs. These are usually given the name Antiapennine:
Tuscan Antiapennine, with the Monti del Chianti, Amiata and Colline Metallifere;
Latio-Campania Antiapennine, with its volcanic belt running from Cimini Mounts to
Roccamonfina and Vesuvio; and Puglia">Apulian Antiapennine, with the Gargano, Murge and
Salentina Peninsula. In Sicily, the Iblei Mounts can be considered to fulfil an
Antiapennine position. Adjacent to the Antiapennine reliefs and generally opening on to
the sea there are fairly extensive river plains. On the Tyrrhenian side of the Italian
peninsula these consist mainly of the lower Valdarno, the Ombrone section of the Maremma,
the Pontine Marshes and the Campanian plains of the Garigliano, Volturno and Sele. On the
Adriatic side, the largest river plains are those of the Tavoliere in Puglia and the
Piana di Sibari in Calabria. On the islands there are the plain of Catania in Sicily and
that of the Campidano in Sardinia.
The islands
Besides the reliefs already mentioned, Sicily also has Etna, Italy's major active
volcano, and a large and undulating inland plateau. The latter is mainly formed of chalk
rocks and rich sulphur deposits that with the heights of the Monti Erei connect the Iblei
to the northern chains (Madonie, Nebrodi, etc.). Sardinia in its turn is characterized by
reliefs of no great height, mainly formed from crystalline (granites) and volcanic
(trachytes and basalts) rocks. On the western side extend large flat areas like the
previously mentioned Campidano, limited by the gulfs of Cagliari and Oristano. The minor
island groups are mainly present in the Tyrrhenian Sea, such as: the Tuscan archipelago
(290 sq km), dividing the Ligurian and north Tyrrhenian seas; the Campanian archipelago
(71 sq km) with the Pontine Isles; Ustica (8.6 sq km); Aeolian Isles (115 sq km); Egadi
Isles (38 sq km); Pantelleria (83 sq km) and the Pelagian Isles (25.5 sq km) in the
Channel of Sicily. In the Adriatic, besides the various low and sandy islands of the Po
delta and Venetian lagoon, there emerges the Tremiti archipelago (3 sq km) to the north
of the Gargano. Finally, there are numerous islands along the coasts of Sardinia
(Asinara, La Maddalena, Caprera, San Pietro, Sant'Antioco, etc.,), mainly due to the
sinking and subsequent submersion of the margins of this major Tyrrhenian island.
The coastline
The complexity of the peninsula's relief is echoed in the diversity of its coastal
profile. Along the low and sandy Adriatic shores this is generally rectilinear, with the
exceptions of the bulge of the Po delta and of the two rocky promontories of the Conero
and Gargano. The Ionian and Tyrrhenian shores are very different, their extensive sandy
curves, corresponding to the edges of the coastal plains, alternating with high rocky
coasts or steep promontories like those of Piombino, Argentario, Circeo, the Sorrento
Peninsula, etc. The coasts of Sicily and Sardinia present a similar morphological
picture, the latter having frequent rias or deep inlets resulting from the sinking of
long stretches of the eastern coast.
Climatic Conditions
Despite its geographical position at the centre of the temperate zone, Italy has rather
variable climatic characteristics. This is due to the presence of the Mediterranean,
whose warm waters mitigate thermal extremes, and the Alpine arc, which forms a barrier
against the cold north winds. Furthermore, Italy is subject to both wet and moderate
atmospheric currents from the Atlantic Ocean and dry and cold ones from eastern Europe.
The Apennine chain too, confronting the wet winds from the Tyrrhenian, causes
considerable climatic differences between the opposite sides of the peninsula. The
differences in temperature between the winter and summer months are more marked in the
northern regions than in the south and along the coasts. The mean temperatures for the
month of January in the Po Plain fluctuate around zero, while in the Alpine valleys the
thermometer can drop to -20? and snow can remain on the ground for many weeks. In the
southern regions, instead, the mean temperatures for January remain around 10?, with the
exception of the inland mountainous zones. Mean summer temperatures throughout all Italy
rise to 24?-25? for July, only being lower in the highest zones. Rainfall distribution
also varies considerably, due to the influence of both mountains and prevailing winds.
The highest quantities are registered in the Alpine arc (over 3,000 mm pa in the
Lepontine and Julian Alps) and on the Apennines (over 3,000 mm pa in the Apuan Alps). The
plains, however, including that of the Po, receive scarce precipitation. Generally it is
less than 800-900 mm pa but in the southern regions (Tavoliere and southern Sicily) it
falls below 600 mm pa. The great internal Alpine valleys and the coastal plains of the
Tyrrhenian (Maremma) and Sardinia also receive little rain. Altogether, six large
climatic regions can be distinguished, mainly characterized by mountain influence. 1) An
Alpine region, strongly influenced by altitude, with long cold winters and short cool
summers having an elevated day-time temperature range; precipitation is more intense in
the summer months, especially in the pre-Alpine belt. 2) A Po region, with continental
conditions, consisting of cold and often snowy winters and warm and sultry summers;
precipitation is greatest in the spring and autumn months; the climate becomes milder,
however, around the pre-Alpine lakes; fog is frequent, due to the wetness of the land. 3)
An Adriatic region, whose sea has lit tle influence due to the inability of its shallow
waters to trap the summer heat; consequently the climate has a continental character,
with its winters being dominated by cold north-east winds (bora). 4) An Apennine region,
also with continental tendencies and cold snowy winters; precipitation is more intense on
the Tyrrhenian slopes and is abundant in all seasons apart from the summer. 5) A
Ligurian-Tyrrhenian region, with a maritime climate and heavy and frequent precipitation,
which is less in the summer and distributed irregularly; the winters are cool and the
annual temperature range narrow. 6) A Mediterranean region, also with a limited annual
temperature range; precipitation is frequent, especially in winter, and the summers are
hot and dry. The interior and mountain zones of the islands and Calabria also have an
Apennine type climate due to the altitude.
Inland Waters
The characteristics of the Italian water network are closely associated with
morphological and climatic conditions. There are only a few tens of watercourses longer
than 100 km, though the Po, which is also the longest of them all (652 km) has a
rainwater basin almost equal to a fourth of the national territory (74,970 sq km). Other
important rivers are the Adige and Piave, descending from the Alps and flowing from the
north into the Po, and the Arno and Tiber, flowing through central Italy into the
Tyrrhenian. The other main tributaries of the Po are the Ticino, Adda and Oglio, arising
in the Alps, the Tanaro, from the Apennines, and the Reno too, though it has its mouth to
the south of the Po delta. The rivers running down the Tyrrhenian slopes of the peninsula
are usually longe than those of the Adriatic, because of the Apennine watershed being
further to the east. The Italian waterways are little used for transport due to their
rather limited and variable flow. In fact the Alpine rivers have a cycle conditioned by
the winter snow cover, being high in the summer and low in the winter; while the
pre-Alpine and northern Apennine source rivers are mainly rain-fed and are only full in
spring and autumn. Consequently, the cycle of the Po River is the most regular and
therefore best suited to navigation. The other rivers of the peninsula and islands are
heavily influenced by climatic conditions, being full in winter and empty in summer. In
the latter case it is not unusual for the bed to remain completely dry, as in the case of
the typical fiumare in Calabria and Sicily. Italy is fairly well supplied with lakes,
having several thousand natural and artificial basins of different sizes and origins. The
largest and deepest occupy the bottom of the great pre-Alpine valleys at their junction
with the Po Plain (from Lake Orta to Lake Garda, which is the largest of all, while Lake
Como is the deepest) and they were all excavated by Pleistocene glaciers. Also along the
Apennine spine there are fairly frequent large lakes, such as Trasimeno the remains of an
older lake that together with others occupied the bottom of the internal basins of the
peninsula. The numerous small lakes scattered inside the spent craters of Latium and
Campania are volcanic in origin. The coastal plains of the Tyrrhenian, Adriatic and large
islands contain basins that are sometimes extensive and derived from lagoons.
Furthermore, the Italian Alpine slopes, above 2,800 m., contain about a thousand
glaciers. Some of these are of a considerable size, such as the Miage Glacier, which is
some 10 km long and descends the southern slope of Mont Blanc in Valle d'Aosta. The
glaciers are especially important for their function as water reserves, providing as they
do a constant supply for the Alpine rivers. The central Apennines also have a small
glacier, under the northern walls of the Corno Grande (Gran Sasso). Finally, Italy's
water system is completed by the many underground water bearing strata of the numerous
limestone karst massifs in the pre-Alps and Apennines. These produce springs bearing a
considerable volume (as that of the Peschiera in Latium or the Sele in Campania, etc.).
In addition, there are those reaching to varying depths under the Po Plain and the other
alluvial plains.
The Italian Seas
With its extension from southern Europe towards Africa, the Italian peninsula almost
divides the Mediterranean in two separate basins. Leaving aside the Strait of Messina,
the shortest distance between Sicily and Africa (NE Tunisia) is circa 140 km, reduced to
70 km if it is measured from the island of Pantelleria. In this part of the sea (Channel
of Sicily) the depth does not exceed 500 m. Furthermore, the eastern Mediterranean
section, known as the Sea of Sicily and from which emerge the Maltese Islands, the
Pelagian and Pantelleria, rarely exceeds a depth of 1,500 m. Considerably deeper, on the
other hand, is the Ionian Sea. This extends eastwards from Sicily and Calabria and
southwards from the Salentina Peninsula, touching on the 4,000 m isobath. Equally deep is
the Tyrrhenian Sea, within the triangle formed by Corsica and Sardinia, Sicily and the
Italian peninsula. At its centre it often exceeds a depth of 3,500 m. A narrow channel
(the Canale di Corsica) separates it, to the north, from the Ligurian Sea. This latter
exceeds a depth of 2,000 m in its western section corresponding to the Riviera di
Ponente. The shallowest of the Italian seas is the Adriatic, which up to the level of
Ancona does not exceed 80 m and only at Pescara does it decend below 200 m; off the coast
of Puglia, however, it exceeds a depth of 1,200 m. Finally, in the area of the Strait of
Otranto the two shores of the Adriatic draw close together and here the Italian and
Albanian coasts are only 75 km apart. As for the rest of the Mediterranean, the surface
temperature of the Italian seas is on average rather high. In the northern Tyrrhenian,
the Sea of Sicily, Ionian and southern Adriatic it is circa 13?; in the Ligurian Sea
circa 12?; in the southern Tyrrhenian circa 14?; but in the northern Adriatic, because of
the shallowness of the waters, it drops to 9?. The quality of the water is also rather
elevated, re
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