Liguria
Liguria
Ligûria ( Ligurian) | ||
---|---|---|
ISO 3166 code IT-42 | | |
HDI (2021) | 0.901[3] very high · 10th of 21 | |
NUTS Region | ITC | |
Website | regione.liguria.it |
Liguria (
Etymology
The name Liguria predates
Some scholars see a possible connection with
Geography
The narrow strip of land is bordered by the sea, the Alps and the Apennine Mountains. Some mountains rise above 2,000 m (6,600 ft); the watershed line runs at an average altitude of about 1,000 m (3,300 ft). The highest point of the region is the summit of Monte Saccarello (2,201 m; 7,221 ft).
Liguria is the third smallest Italian region after Aosta Valley and Molise, but is also one of the most densely populated, with a population density of 287 ab/km2, much higher than the national average, and is fourth place after Campania, Lombardy and Lazio. However, there is much difference between inland mountain areas and coastal areas.
The region is crossed east to west by the
The winding arched extension goes from
The continental shelf is very narrow and so steep it descends almost immediately to considerable depths along its 350-kilometre (220 mi) coastline. Except for the
The hills lying immediately beyond the coast together with the sea account for a mild climate year-round. Average winter temperatures are 7 to 10 °C (45 to 50 °F) and summer temperatures are 23 to 24 °C (73 to 75 °F), which make for a pleasant stay even in the dead of winter. Rainfall can be abundant at times, as mountains very close to the coast create an
As of 2023, according to the report on land consumption of the Higher Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Marche and Liguria hold the Italian record for coastal overbuilding.[8][9]
History
Prehistory
Evidence of human presence in Liguria dates back to prehistoric times. Near the port of Nice, in Terra Amata, traces of the oldest huts built by nomadic hunters, around 300,000 years ago, have been found. The stratigraphy showed different settlement periods, with the remains of oval huts with a central hearth, chipped pebbles, scrapers and captured animals such as wild boar, turtles, Merk's rhinoceros, southern elephants, aurochs and various birds. Traces of Neanderthal Man have been found near Loano. In the caves of Toirano, signs of frequentation dating back to the end of the Upper Palaeolithic are visible. Remains reminiscent of Cro-Magnon Man have appeared in the Balzi Rossi cave in Ventimiglia. At the Arene Candide there is evidence of Neolithic and epigravettian strata dating between 20,000 and 18,700 years ago, while in the caves along the Pennavaira stream, in the valley of the same name in the Ingauno area, human remains have been found dating back as far as 7,000 BC.
Copper begins to be mined from the middle of the 4th millennium BC in Liguria with the Libiola and Monte Loreto mines dated to 3700 BC. These are the oldest copper mines in the western Mediterranean basin.[12]
From the 2nd millennium B.C. (Neolithic), there are records of the presence of Ligurians over a vast territory, corresponding to most of northern Italy.
It is commonly thought that the ancient Ligurians settled on the Mediterranean coastline, divided in several tribes, from the Rhone to the Arno (so we are told by Polybius), pushing their presence as far as the Spanish Mediterranean coast to the west and the Tiber to the south-east, colonizing the coasts of major islands such as Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily. Numerous ceramic artefacts remain of them.[13]
The foundation of Genoa
The Genoa area has been inhabited since the fifth or fourth millennium BC.
Roman times
During the first
Middle Ages
Between the 4th and the 10th centuries, Liguria was dominated by the
Between the 11th century (when the Genoese ships played a major role in the first crusade, carrying knights and troops to the Middle-East for a fee) and the 15th century, the
After the introduction of the title of doge for life (1339) and the election of
Early modern
The alternation of French and Milanese dominions over Liguria went on until the first half of the 16th century. The French influence ceased in 1528, when Andrea Doria allied with the powerful king of Spain and imposed an aristocratic government, which gave the republic relative stability for about 250 years.
Genoese explorer Christopher Columbus's speculative proposal to reach the East Indies by sailing westward received the support of the Spanish crown, which saw in it an opportunity to gain the upper hand over rival powers in the contest for the lucrative spice trade with Asia. During his first voyage in 1492, instead of reaching Japan as he had intended, Columbus landed in the Bahamas archipelago, at a locale he named San Salvador. Over the course of three more voyages, Columbus visited the Greater and Lesser Antilles, as well as the Caribbean coast of Venezuela and Central America, claiming them for the Spanish Empire.
The value of trade routes through Genoa to the Near East declined during the
Late modern and contemporary
After a short period of independence in 1814, the
In late 19th and early 20th century, the region's economic growth was remarkable: steel mills and ship yards flourished along the coast from
Demographics
Year | Pop. | ±% |
---|---|---|
1861 | 829,000 | — |
1871 | 884,000 | +6.6% |
1881 | 936,000 | +5.9% |
1901 | 1,086,000 | +16.0% |
1911 | 1,207,000 | +11.1% |
1921 | 1,338,000 | +10.9% |
1931 | 1,423,000 | +6.4% |
1936 | 1,467,000 | +3.1% |
1951 | 1,566,961 | +6.8% |
1961 | 1,735,349 | +10.7% |
1971 | 1,853,578 | +6.8% |
1981 | 1,807,893 | −2.5% |
1991 | 1,676,282 | −7.3% |
2001 | 1,571,783 | −6.2% |
2011 | 1,570,694 | −0.1% |
2021 | 1,509,227 | −3.9% |
Source: ISTAT 2001 |
The population density of Liguria is much higher than the national average (300 inhabitants per km2, or 770 per mi2), being only less than
The population of Liguria has been declining from 1971 to 2001, most markedly in the cities of Genoa, Savona and La Spezia. The age pyramid now looks more like a 'mushroom' resting on a fragile base.[18] The negative trend has been partially interrupted only in the last decade when, after a successful economic recovery, the region has attracted consistent fluxes of immigrants. As of 2008[update], the Italian national institute of statistics, ISTAT, estimated that 90,881 foreign-born immigrants live in Liguria, equal to 5.7% of the total regional population.[19]
Economy
Ligurian agriculture has increased its specialisation pattern in high-quality products (flowers, wine, olive oil) and has thus managed to maintain the gross value-added per worker at a level much higher than the national average (the difference was about 42% in 1999).[20] The value of flower production represents over 75% of the agriculture sector turnover, followed by animal farming (11.2%) and vegetable growing (6.4%).
Steel, once a major industry during the booming 1950s and 1960s, phased out after the late 1980s crisis, as Italy moved away from the heavy industry to pursue more technologically advanced and less polluting production. So the Ligurian industry has turned towards a widely diversified range of high-quality and high-tech products (food, shipbuilding, electrical engineering and electronics, petrochemicals, aerospace etc.). Nonetheless, the region still maintains a flourishing shipbuilding sector (yacht construction and maintenance, cruise liner building, military shipyards).[20] In the services sector, the gross value-added per worker in Liguria is 4% above the national average. This is due to the increasing diffusion of modern technologies, particularly in commerce and tourism.
Transport
A good motorways network (376 km (234 mi) in 2000) makes communications with the border regions relatively easy. The main motorway is located along the coastline, connecting the main ports of Nice (in France), Savona, Genoa and La Spezia. The number of passenger cars per 1000 inhabitants (524 in 2001) is below the national average (584).
In average, about 17 million tonnes of cargo are shipped from the main ports of the region and about 57 million tonnes enter the region.
Economical statistics
The Gross domestic product (GDP) of the region was 49.9 billion euros in 2018, accounting for 2.8% of Italy's economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 32,000 euros or 106% of the EU27 average in the same year.[23]
The unemployment rate stood at 8.3% in 2020 and was slightly lower than the national average.[24]
Year | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
unemployment rate (in %) |
4.8% | 4.8% | 5.4% | 5.8% | 6.6% | 6.4% | 8.1% | 9.8% | 10.8% | 9.2% | 9.7% | 9.5% | 9.9% | 9.6% | 8.3% |
Tourism
Liguria has many small and picturesque villages, 27 of them have been selected by I Borghi più belli d'Italia (English: The most beautiful Villages of Italy),[25] a non-profit private association of small Italian towns of strong historical and artistic interest,[26] that was founded on the initiative of the Tourism Council of the National Association of Italian Municipalities.[27]
Government and politics
The politics of Liguria takes place in a framework of a
The Regional Government is presided by the Governor, who is elected for a five-year term, and is composed by the President and the Ministers, who are currently 11, including a vice president.[28]
The Regional Council of is composed of 40 members and it is elected for a five-year term, but, if the President suffers a vote of no confidence, resigns or dies, under the simul stabunt vel simul cadent clause (introduced in 1999), also the council will be dissolved and there will be a fresh election.
In the last regional election, which took place on 31 May 2015, Giovanni Toti (Forza Italia) defeated Raffaella Paita (Democratic Party), after 10 years of regional left-wing government by Claudio Burlando (Democratic Party).
At both national and local level, Liguria is considered a swing region, where no one of the two political blocs is dominant, with the two eastern provinces leaning left, and the two western provinces right.
Liguria is one of 20 regions (administrative divisions) of Italy.
Administrative divisions
Liguria is divided into four provinces:
Province | Area (km2) | Population | Density (inhabitants/km2) |
---|---|---|---|
Metropolitan City of Genoa | 1,838 | 884,945 | 481.5 |
Province of Imperia | 1,156 | 220,217 | 190.5 |
Province of La Spezia | 881 | 222,602 | 252.7 |
Province of Savona | 1,545 | 265,194 | 185.2 |
Culture
Cuisine
Liguria is the original source of
Seafood is a major staple of Mediterranean cuisine, the Ligurian variety being no exception, as the sea has been part of the region's culture since its beginning. Ciuppin soup is made from fish leftovers and stale bread, flavoured with white wine, onion, and garlic.[30]
Vegetables, especially beans, are important in Ligurian cooking. Mesciua soup is made from beans, olive oil and farro (old kinds of wheat including emmer).[30] The Badalucco, Conio and Pigna Beans are a Slow Food Presidium.[31]
Ligurian pasta includes trenette and trofie, and the fresh pasta pockets called pansòuti.[30]
Sports
The two main men's football clubs are
Pro Recco is a men's water polo club that has a record 33 Serie A1 titles and 9 LEN Champions League titles.
The Milan–San Remo is one of the most prestigious one-day road cycling races in the world.
The Rallye Sanremo auto race was part of the World Rally Championship from 1973 to 2003.
See also
References
- ^ "Statistiche demografiche ISTAT". Demo.istat.it.
- ^ "Population on 1 January by age, sex and NUTS 2 region", www.ec.europa.eu
- ^ "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
- ^ "DicoLatin". DicoLatin.
- ^ "Greek Word Study Tool". www.perseus.tufts.edu.
- ^ Room, "Placenames of the World," 2006
- ^ Marie Henri d'Arbois de Jubainville, Premiers Habitants de l'Europe (2nd edition 1889-1894)
- ^ "Liguria, the future razed to the ground". 5 December 2023.
- ^ "I dati sul consumo di suolo". ISPRA Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale (in Italian).
- ^ "Balzi Rossi, one of the most important prehistoric shrines in Italy". 27 March 2018.
- ^ "The Young Prince of the Arene Candide".
- ^ Figure 3. Monte Loreto. Fourth-millennium cal BC mineshaft (ML6)
- ^ Zamboni, Lorenzo (2022). "Ceramiche d'impasto decorate in Cisalpina tra seconda età del Ferro e romanizzazione - appunti per una ricerca (PDF)". Milano University Press.
- ^ The objects found during the works for the underground had been exposed in the exhibition Archeologia Metropolitana. Piazza Brignole e Acquasola, held at the Ligurian Archeology Museum (30 November 2009 - 14 February 2010) ([1] Archived December 30, 2013, at the Wayback Machine)
- ISBN 978-8875633363.
- ^ Marco Milanese, Scavi nell'oppidum preromano di Genova, L'Erma di Bretschneider, Roma 1987 on-line in GoogleBooks; Piera Melli, Una città portuale del Mediterraneo tra il VII e il III secolo a.C., Genova, Fratelli Frilli ed., 2007.
- ^ "Pero Tafur". depts.washington.edu.
- ^ "Eurostat". Circa.europa.eu. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
- ^ "Statistiche demografiche ISTAT". Demo.istat.it. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
- ^ a b c "Eurostat". Circa.europa.eu. Archived from the original on 16 September 2008. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
- ^ a b "Autorità Portuale di Genova — Traffico porto". Porto.genova.it. Archived from the original on 2 December 2008. Retrieved 26 December 2008.
- ^ "Inf_07_05_Statistiche dei trasporti marittimi 2002–2004" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 April 2012. Retrieved 26 December 2008.
- ^ "Regional GDP per capita ranged from 30% to 263% of the EU average in 2018". Eurostat.
- ^ "Unemployment NUTS 2 regions Eurostat".
- ^ "Liguria" (in Italian). 10 January 2017. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
- ^ "Borghi più belli d'Italia. Le 14 novità 2023, dal Trentino alla Calabria" (in Italian). 16 January 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
- ^ "I Borghi più belli d'Italia, la guida online ai piccoli centri dell'Italia nascosta" (in Italian). Retrieved 3 May 2018.
- ^ "Regione Liguria – - sito ufficiale". Regione.liguria.it. Archived from the original on 9 December 2002. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
- ^ Della Gatta, Andrea. "La Ricetta del Pesto Genovese" (in Italian). Consorzio del Pesto Genovese. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
- ^ a b c "The Food and Cuisine of Liguria". Made in Italy. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
- ^ "Badalucco, Conio, and Pigna Beans - Presìdi Slow Food". Retrieved 18 December 2022.
External links
Liguria travel guide from Wikivoyage