The development of transport in italy is short. Characteristics of the transport infrastructure of italy

The urban transport system in Italy is extremely well developed. In Italy they run buses, Taxi, there is subway as well as typical for Italy water transport which is presented gondolas and river taxis... The latter are very popular among tourists who enjoy taking a ride in a river taxi and, of course, in a gondola. The first one accommodates four people and, like a regular taxi, measures the area. "Parking lots" are everywhere in the city. The price for a gondola is about 80 thousand liras for a 50-minute ride during the day and 110 thousand at night.

In Italy, the borders of which are washed by more than 90% of the seas and in which most of the territory is coastal regions, in the internal transport of passengers and especially cargo, it is also important sea ​​coastal fleet... Among the branches of Italian transport, the maritime fleet is of great interest, which is the largest international carrier and is important for the development of Italian foreign trade. Across seaports passes 90% of goods arriving in Italy for imports and 55-60% for exports. The Italian merchant marine carries out the most important national economic functions. This is the main reason that it is overwhelmingly under state control.

Also extremely popular in Italy cars... Out of 293 thousand km. about half of the roads are in Northern Italy. In Italy, 1/4 of all European motorways are concentrated (about 6 thousand km), including the world's oldest motorway Milan-Varese, built in 1924. The main transport artery of the country is the Highway of the Sun, which runs through all of Italy, from Turin through Milan, Florence, Rome, Naples to Reggio di Calabria. Five international motorways pass through the territory of Italy: London-Paris-Rome-Palermo, London-Lausanne-Milan-Brin-disi, Rome-Berlin-Oslo-Stjordan, Rome-Vienna-Warsaw, Amsterdam-Basel-Genoa. The Italian car park has over 20 million vehicles, including about 18 million cars.

Railway transport could not stand the fight with such a powerful competitor and for a long time was in a state of crisis. Only in recent years, the state, which owns 82% of the railways, has begun to invest in their enhanced development. Some lines were modernized, the Rome-Florence high-speed railway (“Direttissima”) was built, on which trains can reach speeds of up to 200-260 km per hour, this route is part of the future high-speed highway connecting Milan with Florence, Rome, Naples. The total length of railways is 19.8 thousand km (including sidings), of which 10.2 thousand km are electrified.

Two branches Metro is in Rome. Line A, 18 km long, connects the city center from Ottaviano near the Vatican to the eastern outskirts of the city, passing through Cinecitta (Anagnia). Line B runs north to the outskirts of the city (Rebbibia) and to EUR, a modern industrial complex in the south. The lines cross at Termini. You can buy a special ticket, it is called "big", you can travel with it both by bus and by metro during the day on any line.

Milan metro considered the best in Italy. MM consists of two lines (1 and 2) and serves the city and the outskirts. Tourists usually use the 1 heading south near Stazione Centrale via Piazza del Maria della Grazie. Tickets are sold at vending machines at each station and are valid for 1 hour. 10 min. A one-day ticket allows you to use all types of transport.

In the internal transportation of goods and passengers, the main role is played by road transport, followed by rail. In terms of the level of electrification of railways, the country occupies one of the first places in the world. A dense network of modern highways and railways links the cities of Northern Italy.

Due to the elongation of the country from north to south, its network of railways and highways developed mainly in the meridional direction. Latitudinal communications, with the exception of the Padan plain, are not enough. Many automotive and railways In Italy they are laid on steep mountain slopes and therefore have many bridges and tunnels, which increases the cost of their operation.

In Italy, the role of road transport is exceptionally great: it accounts for 3/4 of all land transportation of goods. About half of the roads are in northern Italy; in the South of the country, the density of the road network is much less.

Railways are inferior in importance to automobile roads, but now more capital is invested in railway construction than in road transport. Some of the main lines stand out sharply in terms of technical equipment. As a result of such modernization, for example, on the Rome-Florence line, the train can reach speeds of up to 200 km / h.

Sea transport plays a very important role in both internal and external transport of the country. This is due to the position of Italy on the Mediterranean waterway, the large length of the coastline, and the presence of islands in the country. There are 144 ports on the shores of Italy.

Oil and other mineral raw materials prevail in the turnover of the ports. The largest Italian port of Genoa is one of the most important in the entire Mediterranean. Genoa serves as a gateway to the outside world for the entire Northwest of Italy, as well as for Switzerland. The main rival and competitor of Genoa on the Adriatic is Trieste, the second largest in Italy in terms of cargo turnover and one of the most important oil ports in Europe. Through Trieste, northeastern Italy connects with other countries of the Mediterranean, the Near and Middle East, East Africa and East Asia.

Port cargo turnover has increased significantly Southern Italy(Augusta and Taranto), which is explained by the development of the oil refining and petrochemical industries.

One of the country's largest passenger ports, Naples is the center of the Apennine peninsula's connections with Sicily, Sardinia and other islands.

River transport in Italy is poorly developed due to the lack of large rivers. Developing quite fast civil Aviation Italy. Air lines keep in touch largest cities Italy with many cities in Europe as well as other continents. The country's largest airports - Leonardo da Vinci near Rome, Malpensa and Linate near Milan, serve as important hubs for the international airline network.

Foreign economic relations are vital for the economic development of Italy. Almost 15% of all imports are oil. Italy also imports raw materials for the metallurgical and other industries, machine tools, industrial equipment, timber, paper, various types of food. The main export items are engineering products, mainly vehicles, various equipment, typewriters and calculating machines, agricultural and food products, especially fruits and vegetables, canned tomatoes, cheeses, ready-made clothes, footwear, chemical and petrochemical products. Trade with France and Germany is especially active.

Italy is annually visited by 50 million foreign tourists, mainly from Germany, France, and the United States. In Italy, the material base for receiving a large number of tourists has long been formed. In terms of the number of hotel rooms, it ranks first in Europe Abroad.

The urban transport system in Italy is extremely well developed. There are buses, taxis, there is a subway in Italy, as well as water transport typical for Italy, which is represented by gondolas and river taxis. The latter are very popular among tourists who enjoy taking a ride in a river taxi and, of course, in a gondola. The first one accommodates four people and, like a regular taxi, measures the area. Parking lots are everywhere in the city. The price for a gondola is about 80 thousand liras for a 50-minute ride during the day and 110 thousand at night.

In Italy, whose borders are washed by more than 90% of the seas and in which most of the territory is coastal regions, in the internal transport of passengers and especially cargo, the sea coastal fleet is also important. Among the branches of Italian transport, the maritime fleet is of great interest, which is the largest international carrier and is important for the development of Italian foreign trade. 90% of goods arriving in Italy for imports and 55-60% for exports pass through seaports. The Italian merchant marine carries out the most important national economic functions. This is the main reason that it is overwhelmingly under state control.

Cars are also extremely popular in Italy. Out of 293 thousand km. about half of the roads are in Northern Italy. In Italy, 1/4 of all European motorways are concentrated (about 6 thousand km), including the world's oldest motorway Milan-Varese, built in 1924. The main transport artery of the country is the Highway of the Sun, which runs through all of Italy, from Turin through Milan, Florence, Rome, Naples to Reggio di Calabria. Five international motorways pass through the territory of Italy: London-Paris-Rome-Palermo, London-Lausanne-Milan-Brin-disi, Rome-Berlin-Oslo-Stjordan, Rome-Vienna-Warsaw, Amsterdam-Basel-Genoa. The Italian car park has over 20 million vehicles, including about 18 million cars.

Railway transport could not stand the fight with such a powerful competitor and for a long time was in a state of crisis. Only in recent years, the state, which owns 82% of the railways, has begun to invest in their enhanced development. Some lines were modernized, the Rome-Florence high-speed railway (“Direttissima”) was built, on which trains can reach speeds of up to 200-260 km per hour, this route is part of the future high-speed highway connecting Milan with Florence, Rome, Naples. The total length of railways is 19.8 thousand km (including sidings), of which 10.2 thousand km are electrified.

There are two metro lines in Rome. Line A, 18 km long, connects the city center from Ottaviano near the Vatican to the eastern outskirts of the city, passing through Cinecitta (Anagnia). Line B runs north to the outskirts of the city (Rebbibia) and to EUR, a modern industrial complex in the south. The lines cross at Termini.

The Milan Metro is considered the best in Italy. MM consists of two lines (1 and 2) and serves the city and the outskirts. Tourists usually use the 1 heading south near Stazione Centrale via Piazza del Maria della Grazie.


In a country like Italy, elongated in its configuration, jutting deeply into the Mediterranean Sea at its very center, located at the intersection of many international transport routes, and being the southern outpost of the European Economic Community on trade routes across the Mediterranean, transport, both domestic and external, plays a very important role. Italy has a well-developed transport network. The network of railways and roads in Italy developed mainly in the meridian direction. Latitudinal communications are not enough, with the exception of the Padan plain.

Many roads and railways run on steep slopes, pass through tunnels, or over numerous bridges and viaducts, making them very expensive to build and operate. In international road and rail transport, the roads laid in the Alps play an important role, especially through the passes of Simplon, Mont Cenis, Tarvisio, Saint Gotthard, Brenner and others, under which tunnels are made. In Italy, more than 90% of passengers and more than 80% of cargo are transported by road. Of 293 thousand km. about half of the roads are in Northern Italy. In Italy, 1/4 of all European motorways are concentrated (about 6 thousand km), including the world's oldest motorway Milan-Varese, built in 1924. The main transport artery of the country is the Highway of the Sun, which runs through all of Italy, from Turin through Milan, Florence, Rome, Naples to Reggio di Calabria. Five international motorways pass through the territory of Italy: London-Paris-Rome-Palermo, London-Lausanne-Milan-Brin-disi, Rome-Berlin-Oslo-Stjordan, Rome-Vienna-Warsaw, Amsterdam-Basel-Genoa. The Italian car park has over 20 million vehicles, including about 18 million cars.

Railway transport could not stand the fight with such a powerful competitor and for a long time was in a state of crisis. Only in recent years, the state, which owns 82% of the railways, has begun to invest in their enhanced development. Some lines were modernized, the Rome-Florence high-speed railway (“Direttissima”) was built, on which trains can reach speeds of up to 200-260 km per hour, this route is part of the future high-speed highway connecting Milan with Florence, Rome, Naples. The total length of railways is 19.8 thousand km (including siding), of which 10.2 thousand km are electrified.

Civil aviation is developing quite rapidly. It features prominently in Western Europe. Major airports (Fiumicino near Rome, Linate near Milan) serve as important hubs for the international airline network connecting Europe with other continents. The airports of Naples, Palermo, Venice, Genoa are important in domestic traffic. The country's air transport is 75% controlled by the state through the Alitalia company.

Different values ​​of the share of sea transport in import and export traffic in physical and value terms are due to large differences in the nature of the transported goods. Import transportation is mainly associated with the import of such bulk cargo as oil, coal, ore, grain, timber and certain types of food, which, with a large physical volume, have a relatively lower cost. In contrast to this, export transportation is mainly associated with the export to foreign markets of a wide variety of industrial products, which, with a smaller physical volume, have a much higher cost. For these reasons, the physical volume of imported goods is 5-6 times higher than the volume of exported goods. For the implementation of maritime transport, Italy has a wide network of large and small ports, ship traffic and cargo turnover of which is increasing from year to year. In terms of cargo turnover in ports, Italy occupies 1st place among the Mediterranean countries.

River transport in Italy is poorly developed due to the absence of large rivers. On the canals of Venice, its lagoon and on the alpine lakes, small passenger ships of the “river tram” type run, and goods are transported in small quantities.

Italy has a fairly large merchant fleet in terms of the number of ships. It ranks eighth among the capitalist countries of the world (after Liberia, Japan, Great Britain, Norway, Greece, USA and Germany). Among the EEC countries, Italy occupies the 3rd place in terms of the total gross tonnage of merchant ships, second only to Great Britain and the Federal Republic of Germany. Along with the ships that fly the Italian flag, Italian shipowners have a significant number of ships registered in other countries and used in foreign markets under FOCs. The total number of such vessels reaches 20-25% of the total tonnage of the Italian merchant marine. These ships are not included in the official statistics on the Italian merchant marine.

The ships of the Italian merchant fleet are used for their foreign trade and coastal shipments passing through Italian ports for the transit of goods from neighboring countries, as well as for international transport between foreign ports. Most of Italy's foreign trade cargo is transported through the chartering of foreign ships, for which significant amounts of foreign currency are paid to foreign shipowners annually. So far, Italian ships retain an increased role only in international passenger traffic, which is largely supported by subsidies allocated annually.

When solving general issues in the field of maritime transport, serious complications arise due to the lack of a single body for the management of the activities and development of seaports. Moreover, a number of large and important ports (Genoa, Trieste, etc.) have their own autonomous administrations with varying degrees of administrative and financial independence. Some other ministries are also involved to consider and resolve issues that go beyond the functions and responsibilities of the Ministry of the Merchant Marine, including ports.

Recently, in the system of maritime transport, there has been an increase in the activities of the ministry on the issues of state participation. Its activities have expanded to some shipping companies that are subsidized by the government's industrial development institute. An important role in ensuring state influence on maritime transport is played by the policy of providing loans and various subsidies pursued by the Italian government. It is based on the provision of financial assistance primarily to companies controlled by state organizations.

From 80 to 90% of the volume of import, 55-60% of export cargo and about one third of the total volume of domestic traffic in Italy pass through the seaports. In addition, a number of ports (Trieste, Genoa, Venice) are widely used for transit transportation of foreign trade goods of neighboring countries.

There are more than 144 ports on the mainland coast and islands. However, most of them are small in size and are used mainly by cargo-passenger and fishing vessels for local use or pleasure and sports boats.

Up to 90% of the total volume of sea traffic passes through 220-25 of the largest ports, each of which has an annual cargo turnover of more than 1 million tons. These ports are located in areas of large industrial and economic centers or individual large oil refineries, chemical, metallurgical and machine-building plants with which the ports are closely connected and which they mainly serve.

In 1981-1992, the total cargo turnover of the ports of Italy increased 2.5 times and in 1992 it amounted to 357.3 million tons, with a tendency to further growth. More than 2/3 of the total cargo turnover of ports is associated with servicing foreign trade transportations and about one third - with servicing domestic transportations.

Genoa is the largest Italian port. Located at the top of the Genoa Gulf of the Ligurian Sea. The total length of its berths is 22.4 km, depths in the port basins are from 7 to 10 m. The semicircular basin of Vecchia, to which the old city quarters descend like an amphitheater, is the oldest part of the port, where all its activities were concentrated at the beginning of the century. Now it is used mainly by passenger ships. The Genoese port began to develop in westward... The long breakwater formed a new artificial harbor, including a deep-water outport and several rectangular basins separated by piers. Large-tonnage vessels use the eastern entrance to enter the port.

Directly west of the port on an artificially reclaimed territory is Italy's largest metallurgical plant, and even further to the west is a large airport on an artificially created peninsula that encloses a new deep-sea oil harbor. Genoa is the second most important (after Marseille) port on the Mediterranean Sea. during the Middle Ages, Genoa was the largest trade intermediary between the countries of the West and the East. After the construction of railways in the middle of the last century, the port became a sea gateway for the densely populated and economically developed Po valley, especially for the industrial triangle Milan-Turin-Bologna. Genoa is the home port of the Italian merchant fleet.

Naples is the main port of the southern part of the country. Located on the shores of the eponymous gulf of the Tyrrhenian Sea at the foot of the active volcano Vesuvius. Is one of the oldest cities and tourist centers Europe. More than 2 million passengers, tourists and expatriates pass through the sea terminals of Naples every year. The port water area is fenced by a breakwater, two breakwaters and consists of several pools, separated by short breakwaters. The port is divided into three zones: passenger (western part), grain and general cargo (central part) and bulk and liquid cargo zone ( East End). One of the piers in the central part has the status of a free zone. Situated about halfway between Gibraltar and Port Said, Naples serves as a convenient port of call for ships of the line. Raw materials for oil refineries and metallurgical plants in the vicinity of Naples, as well as their products - the main part of the cargo turnover of the Port of Naples. The share of vegetables, fruits and canned food traditional for Naples in the modern cargo turnover is small. The hardest crisis hit the Neapolitan port in the 80s due to a sharp reduction in international sea passenger transportation(the reason for which was the decrease in emigration). This forced Naples to cede Brindisi as the country's first passenger port.

Venice is the main Italian port on the Adriatic Sea and one of the most distinctive cities in the world. Located in the shallow lagoon of the Gulf of Venice on 119 islands separated by 160 canals. The depth of the entrance to the lagoon, in the upper part of which the port is located, is: Lido - 10.6 m, at Alberoni - 9.14 m.To Marghera, the new industrial port of Venice, there is a canal accessible for sea vessels with a draft of up to 9.45 m. Venice is second only to Naples and Genoa. The port is partly located in the western part of the city, partly on the coast of the mainland (Marghera), 10 km from the city. The main part of the port's cargo turnover falls on its mainland, where three industrial zones are located on the territory reclaimed from the sea, including over 200 industrial enterprises.

Trieste is the largest free harbor in Europe. The proximity to continental countries that do not have their own access to the sea creates a large area of ​​gravity, including Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and other countries, therefore, transit cargo prevails in the turnover of Trieste. The port consists of four harbors: new, old, customs and industrial. The length of the mooring front is about 20 km. Trieste is the deepest Italian port. After the construction of the oil berths and their connection with the transalpine oil pipeline, the cargo turnover increased 5 times. The industrial area of ​​Trieste, like many other Italian ports, includes an oil refinery and a metallurgical plant.

Transport in Italy

Traveling without transport is impossible. Trains and planes, buses and sea connections are integral parts of the journey. If you want to visit best places sunny Italy, it is better to get acquainted with the culture of the country, not only to travel, but also to get acquainted with all the dances of local public transport and traffic.

How to get to Italy

After the ancient speech, the road begins with the road.

Therefore, pay attention to the level of comfort, compare prices and routes. Then, after careful consideration of the little things, the road will seem pleasant and not exhausting.

airplane

Thanks to the largest Russian and Italian airlines, Transaero, S7 of Siberia, Aeroflot, Meridiana Mucha and Alitalia, they operated daily direct regular flights from Moscow to Rome, Milan, Venice, Bologna and Turin. h.

Direct flights to Pisa, Rome and Milan are also available when leaving the northern capital.

You can travel to Italy (Rome, Trapani, Pisa, Milan) via Finland (from Lappeenranta) and Ukraine (Kiev) along with Wizz air and Runair.

trains

Do you want to travel around Europe by train? Then, especially for you, a route from Moscow to Nice, which passes through Bolzano, Verona, Milan, San Remo, Bordighera and Genoa.

In the warehouse with patience and food, the journey lasts 57 hours.

bus

The smallest comfortable and too long trip to Italy can also be covered by buses with transfers in Germany. But the cost of the trip will be the same flight by plane, and the duration of the trip will be more than two days.

Ferries from Greece

If it so happens that you are traveling to Italy via Greece, then pay attention to the passenger ferry.

They leave Greek ports every day and reach their destination within 10-35 hours. Some routes go through Albania. Price from 40 to 300 euros per trip.

Long distance communication

Everything big cities Italy, as well as areas associated with paused roads, including railways, through which thousands of passengers and residents of the country travel, are opening up new ones at seemingly famous locations.

Air Transport

Each major Italian city has its own airport, which receives long distance flights daily.

The cost of the ticket is not far off (a system of discounts for students and pensioners).

Suburban and long-distance trains

Over the past decade, the entire railway system in the country has been moderately modernized. Thus, along with regular trains, high-speed trains are starting to run among the largest tourist and commercial centers, which can be covered over long distances for a long time.

Tickets for these high-speed trains are reserved two months in advance, which helps prevent unpleasant situations on the road and at the train station.

IntercityTrains or simply intercity trains run between larger and less populated cities and stop at very small stations. These stops make the journey much longer than a high-speed train.

Ticket reservations (comfort 1st and 2nd class) are also possible after two months, and you will need additional charges to reserve a place.

On local trains, local trains, the schedule of which overlaps with the training plan, when buying seats for a ticket, do not produce only compost (on a special machine and indicates the date of compost time, after which the ticket becomes suitable for travel), immediately before the trip.

These trains are inconvenient, but the ticket prices are extremely low. Local trains run short distances - to neighboring settlements, in such a way that many stops.

buses

No less comfortable than on high speed train, you can travel all over the country with buses from the Italian company Cotral and other carriers.

Tickets must be purchased at stations located in each city. Thus, a trip from Venice to Rome is 80-100 euros, and the trip duration is up to 10 hours. You arrive from Rome to Naples in 6 hours; the ticket price is 60 euros.

If you bought your ticket in advance, it is not too late - the bus may leave a few minutes before the scheduled time.

Maritime communication

Since Italy is surrounded by the sea, each port has ferries that take passengers (as well as cars) to neighboring cities.

The ferry trip is pleasant, comfortable and quite profitable.

City traffic

If you find yourself in Italy, you will find metro (Rome and Milan), trams, buses, electric trains (in the big cities) and taxis. In short, there will be no traffic problems.

City tickets public transport are sold in kiosks (ATAS, tobacco or newspaper) in special cars (and do not change), in the metro, at the train station and at the main bus stops.

At night you can buy a ticket from the driver (bus or tram), but it will cost 1 euro.

Public transport tickets

If you buy a one-way ticket (Biglietto semplica B.I.T.), it works 100 minutes after the first pass on any public transport.

Such a trip is one and a half euros. You can make an unlimited number of downloads within the assigned minutes on the same ticket.

For those who plan to get around the city in one day, it is more profitable to buy a ticket for 6 euros (Biglietto giornaliero B.I.G.), which is applied during the day (from the time of movement until midnight).

Along with them are weekly and three-day passes.

The cost is 24 and 16.5 euros. The passenger's name is assigned on a seven-day contract.

Travel costs on a sightseeing bus: for adults - 13-16 euros, for children under 12 years old - 7 euros, for children under 5 years old - free.

Buses and trams

At night (from 3 am to 5 pm in the morning), buses pass twenty routes that leave the train stations every 30 minutes.

They also send experimental buses. Their work schedule is from 8:00 to 20:00. Night bus stops are marked with an owl. A similar work schedule and trams.

Italian city trains

Trains (both expressive and conventional) connect the airports and railway stations of major cities (Rome, Milan, Genoa, Bologna, and others) to remote areas and suburbs.

The cost of transportation is 8-14 euros. Every half hour there are trains.

Taxi

A caught car on the street will not be accepted. Taxis are easy to book at the hotel, restaurant and even if paid. When calculating travel expenses, include, as long as the driver drives to the place of call, 4 euros for the first three kilometers of the route and 0.7 euros for the next.

At night, be prepared to pay € 1.76 per kilometer. Holiday and Sunday stamps are € 0.59.

Subway station

The metro is a very convenient way to get around the city quickly. There are two underground paths in Rome, four in Milan. Tickets are sold at all stations. The ingredients are varied every five minutes.

Rent

Renting a car, bicycles (10 euros per day, from 30 euros per week) or a moped (25-80 euros) makes sense when planning visits to nearby attractions.

You can rent cars for people over 20 years of age with one year of driving experience with an international driving license and insurance. Traffic in Italy is correct and very tight. Not all drivers follow the road rules.

Be careful on the road and don't be tempted to become offenders, the fines will be very high.

Venice city transport

River trams, gondolas and river taxis operate from 6 am to 11 pm. Ticket prices range from 8 to 50 euros.

Choosing the mode of transport for yourself, you decide that this is your priority: travel speed or a route that passes through places that allow you to admire the incredibly beautiful nature of Italy.

OmniWorld> Italy> Notes>

Climate in Italy

Italy is called sunny, but the weather is very cold.

The state is located on the Apennine Peninsula. Despite the small area, the terrain varies considerably between regions. For this reason, and also largely from north to south, the climate in Italy has many features that cannot be ignored when planning a trip.

What to bring from Italy

When we hear “shopping in Italy,” we often think of fashion boutiques and then think of olive oil, pasta, cheese; Someone may have associations with Venetian glasses or carnival masks.

And then? Then - we offer you a list of popular, original and simple interesting souvenirs and other products that interest you, some of which will even be very useful.

Italian food

The first thing that comes to mind when it comes to Italian cuisine is pizza, pasta and risotto.

In this form, Italian cuisine appears before us in any restaurant, but it is much more diverse in the country itself, and one of its characteristics is the difference between recipes for the same dishes in different regions of the country.

Characteristics of Italian cuisine

For kitchens in northern regions typical consumption of meat and dairy products (of which only chopped meat sauces are prepared, large dishes serve as the main course), and for the southern regions - vegetables and seafood.

Characteristics of transport in Italy (modern).

Land and air transport.

In a country like Italy, elongated in its configuration, jutting deeply into the Mediterranean Sea at its very center, located at the intersection of many international transport routes, and being the southern outpost of the European Economic Community on trade routes across the Mediterranean, transport, both domestic and external, plays a very important role.

Italy has a well-developed transport network. The network of railways and roads in Italy developed mainly in the meridian direction. Latitudinal communications are not enough, with the exception of the Padan plain. Many roads and railways run on steep slopes, pass through tunnels, or over numerous bridges and viaducts, making them very expensive to build and operate. In international road and rail transport, the roads laid in the Alps play an important role, especially through the passes of Simplon, Mont Cenis, Tarvisio, Saint Gotthard, Brenner and others, under which tunnels are made.

In Italy, more than 90% of passengers and more than 80% of cargo are transported by road. Of 293 thousand km. about half of the roads are in Northern Italy. In Italy, 1/4 of all European motorways are concentrated (about 6 thousand km), including the world's oldest motorway Milan-Varese, built in 1924. The main transport artery of the country is the Highway of the Sun, which runs through all of Italy, from Turin through Milan, Florence, Rome, Naples to Reggio di Calabria.

Five international motorways pass through the territory of Italy: London-Paris-Rome-Palermo, London-Lausanne-Milan-Brin-disi, Rome-Berlin-Oslo-Stjordan, Rome-Vienna-Warsaw, Amsterdam-Basel-Genoa. The Italian car park has over 20 million vehicles, including about 18 million cars.

Railway transport could not stand the fight with such a powerful competitor and for a long time was in a state of crisis. Only in recent years, the state, which owns 82% of the railways, has begun to invest in their enhanced development.

Some lines were modernized, the Rome-Florence high-speed railway (“Direttissima”) was built, on which trains can reach speeds of up to 200-260 km per hour, this route is part of the future high-speed highway connecting Milan with Florence, Rome, Naples. The total length of railways is 19.8 thousand km (including siding), of which 10.2 thousand km are electrified.

With the development of the oil refining and petrochemical industries, the pipeline transport network has grown. The total length of main oil and gas pipelines exceeds 8 thousand km. Some of them are of international importance, such as the pipeline supplying Russian gas to northern Italy, the Trieste-Ingolstadt oil pipeline. An oil pipeline has been laid from Genoa to Milan, Munich, Switzerland.

Civil aviation is developing quite rapidly. It features prominently in Western Europe.

Major airports (Fiumicino near Rome, Linate near Milan) serve as important hubs for the international airline network connecting Europe with other continents. The airports of Naples, Palermo, Venice, Genoa are important in domestic traffic. The country's air transport is 75% controlled by the state through the Alitalia company.

River and sea transport.

Different values ​​of the share of sea transport in import and export traffic in physical and value terms are due to large differences in the nature of the transported goods.

Import transportation is mainly associated with the import of such bulk cargo as oil, coal, ore, grain, timber and certain types of food, which, with a large physical volume, have a relatively lower cost. In contrast to this, export transportation is mainly associated with the export to foreign markets of a wide variety of industrial products, which, with a smaller physical volume, have a much higher cost. For these reasons, the physical volume of imported goods is 5-6 times higher than the volume of exported goods.

For the implementation of maritime transport, Italy has a wide network of large and small ports, ship traffic and cargo turnover of which is increasing from year to year.

In terms of cargo turnover in ports, Italy occupies the 1st place among the Mediterranean countries.

River transport in Italy is poorly developed due to the absence of large rivers.

On the canals of Venice, its lagoon and on the alpine lakes, small passenger ships of the “river tram” type run, and goods are transported in small quantities.

Italy has a fairly large merchant fleet in terms of the number of ships. It ranks eighth among the capitalist countries of the world (after Liberia, Japan, Great Britain, Norway, Greece, USA and Germany).

Among the EEC countries, Italy occupies the 3rd place in terms of the total gross tonnage of merchant ships, second only to Great Britain and the Federal Republic of Germany. Along with the ships that fly the Italian flag, Italian shipowners have a significant number of ships registered in other countries and used in foreign markets under FOCs. The total number of such vessels reaches 20-25% of the total tonnage of the Italian merchant marine.

These ships are not included in the official statistics on the Italian merchant marine.

The ships of the Italian merchant fleet are used for their foreign trade and coastal shipments passing through Italian ports for the transit of goods from neighboring countries, as well as for international transport between foreign ports.

Most of Italy's foreign trade cargo is transported through the chartering of foreign ships, for which significant amounts of foreign currency are paid to foreign shipowners annually. So far, Italian ships retain an increased role only in international passenger traffic, which is largely supported by subsidies allocated annually.

Along with foreign trade transport, maritime transport plays an important role in ensuring the internal transport of Italy. It accounts for about one third of the country's total domestic traffic. These shipments are usually carried out on ships flying the Italian flag.

The organizational structure of the merchant fleet.

The Italian merchant marine has a complex organizational structure. In addition to the presence of the Ministry of the Merchant Marine and several large shipping companies controlled by state organizations, such as the Finmare group, the joint-stock company SNAM and Sidemar, there are a number of other large shipping companies in Italy and several hundred private shipping and shipping companies, different in composition and nature. ...

Most of the private shipowners are members of the so-called national federation of independent shipowners - Confitarma. The Ministry of the Merchant Marine has limited functions, which are more often manifested in solving such issues as the distribution of appropriations for the fleet, the preparation of bills on specific issues of the merchant marine and shipping, general issues of material security and insurance of seafarers and other issues.

Transport system of Italy

Italy is one of the most economically prosperous countries in Europe. And this can be seen not only in the level of well-being of its inhabitants, but also in the quality transport links within the country, which is a necessary factor for the development of business and tourism.

The road network in Italy is well developed and is evenly distributed throughout the country, although there is some predominance of roads in the north of Italy compared to the south. However, this does not in the least affect the quality of road transport. Due to the dense network of roads, 80% of freight and 90% of passenger traffic is carried out by cars.

If speak about external transport, then sea transport prevails here.

There are more than a thousand ships in Italy and they perfectly cope with the largest loads and long distances.

There is a great demand for rail transportation... A dense network of railways connects cities and towns in Italy. Like roads, many railways were laid directly on the slopes of the mountains. This explains the large number of bridges and tunnels that exist on any road in all parts of the country.

Today, the Italian authorities are paying special attention to rail transport, modernizing it and investing heavily in the repair of existing trains. Not only the technical equipment of the railways is undergoing changes and improvements, but their total number is also increasing. This already today makes it possible to quickly and easily get to any city in Italy.

Sea transport also plays a large role in the external and internal transport of the country.

This is due to the significant length of the coastline, general provision Italy on the sea route, as well as the presence of islands that make up the country. 144 ports - there are so many of them on the shores of Italy. The largest is the port of Genoa, which is famous all over the world. This port is a "sea gate" for ships in the North-West of Italy and Switzerland.

Trieste is the second port in terms of cargo turnover after Genoa.

He sends ships to countries in the Middle East, East Asia and Africa. Thanks to the development of the petrochemical and oil refining industry in Italy in recent years, the cargo turnover of two more large ports of the country - Taranto and Augusta - has significantly increased. The largest passenger port in Italy is Naples, which is the center of connections with Sardinia, Sicily and other islands.

Due to the lack of major rivers in Italy river transport it is poorly developed here.

This cannot be said about civil aviation... There are many daily flights from Italy to the most different countries the world. The largest airports in the country are Rome's Leonardo da Vinci, Milan's Linate and Malpensa.

It is very important for Italy that all trade routes are constantly functioning and in the best condition, since the country's foreign economic relations largely depend on this. What does Italy import? First of all, the products of engineering industries, agricultural products, footwear, clothing, industrial equipment and raw materials for various industries.

The most active foreign trade is in Italy with Germany and France. Hospitality business This country serves more than 50 million tourists from all over the world per year, the entire infrastructure of Italy is ready to work for guests, so it ranks first in Western Europe in terms of the number of hotel beds.

The main role in the external relations of the state is in maritime transport.

Ports - Genoa, Venice, Trieste, etc. They provide export-import supplies not only in Italy, but also in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and the Danube country. The Italian fleet has 1,500 ships and occupies a tenth of the world in terms of tonnage.

Internal transport is carried out by rail. The length of the railway lines is 30.5 thousand km.

The main railway is Milan. The railway lines have a meridian along the eastern and western shores of the Apennine Peninsula. The main railway line is Milan-Bologna-Florence-Rome. The first-class "Autostrada Sun" is passing in parallel. In terms of the number of highways, Italy is only for Germany in Western Europe. More than 90% of passengers and 80% of freight vehicles. There are 25 million vehicles in the Italian fleet. In the last decade, pipeline transport has played an important role.

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Due to the elongation of the country from north to south, its network of railways and highways developed mainly in the meridional direction. Latitudinal communications, with the exception of the Padan plain, are not enough.

Many roads and railways in Italy are laid on steep mountain slopes and therefore have many bridges and tunnels, which makes them more expensive to operate.

In Italy, the role of road transport is exceptionally great: it accounts for 75% of all land transportation of goods.

About half of the roads are in northern Italy; in the South of the country, the density of the road network is much less.

Railways are inferior in importance to automobile roads, but now more capital is invested in railway construction than in road transport.

Some of the main lines stand out sharply in terms of technical equipment. As a result of such modernization, for example, on the Rome-Florence line, the train can reach speeds of up to 200 km / h.

Sea transport plays a very important role in both internal and external transport of the country. This is due to the position of Italy on the Mediterranean waterway, the large length of the coastline, and the presence of islands in the country. There are 144 ports on the shores of Italy.

Oil and other mineral raw materials prevail in the turnover of the ports. The largest Italian port of Genoa is one of the most important in the entire Mediterranean. Genoa serves as a gateway to the outside world for the entire Northwest of Italy, as well as for Switzerland.

The main rival and competitor of Genoa on the Adriatic is Trieste, the second largest in Italy in terms of cargo turnover and one of the most important oil ports in Europe. Through Trieste, northeastern Italy connects with other countries of the Mediterranean, the Near and Middle East, East Africa and East Asia.

The cargo turnover of the ports of southern Italy (Augusta and Taranto) has significantly increased, which is explained by the development of the oil refining and petrochemical industries.

One of the country's largest passenger ports, Naples is the center of the Apennine peninsula's connections with Sicily, Sardinia and other Italian islands.

River transport in Italy is poorly developed due to the lack of large rivers. The civil aviation of Italy is developing quite rapidly. Air lines connect the largest cities in Italy with many cities in Europe and other continents.

The country's largest airports - Leonardo da Vinci near Rome, Malpensa and Linate near Milan, serve as important hubs for the international airline network.

Foreign economic relations are vital for the economic development of Italy.

Almost 15% of all imports are oil. Italy also imports raw materials for the metallurgical and other industries, machine tools, industrial equipment, timber, paper, various types of food. The main export items are engineering products, mainly vehicles, various equipment, typewriters and calculating machines, agricultural and food products, especially fruits and vegetables, canned tomatoes, cheeses, ready-made clothes, footwear, chemical and petrochemical products.

Trade with France and Germany is especially active. Italy is annually visited by 50 million foreign tourists, mainly from Germany, France, and the United States. In Italy, the material base for receiving a large number of tourists has long been formed. In terms of the number of hotel rooms, it ranks first in Europe Abroad.


CONTENT:

1. The place of Italy and its transport in the modern world economy.

2. Natural conditions and natural resources of the country.

3. Development of transport.

4. General characteristics of the economy, characteristics of industry, characteristics of agriculture

5. Economic ties of Italy, carried out through

river and sea ports

6. Characteristics of transport (modern):

Land and air transport.

River and sea.

Port characteristics.

7. Prospects for the development of transport in Italy and its ports.

8. Schematic maps

Physical and geographical conditions

Transport network and industry

9. List of used literature.

The place of Italy and its transport in the modern world economy.

Italy is a developed capitalist country located in the center of the Mediterranean, in the south of Western Europe and focusing in itself not only many typical features of nature, economic, political, cultural life, but also the most important problems of both regions. According to the level of economic development, it belongs to the most developed countries. Modern Italy, although not among the great powers that have a decisive influence on the course of world events, is nevertheless one of the seven largest capitalist states in the world in terms of the scale of economic activity.

Italy occupies the Apennine Peninsula, which runs deep into the sea, the part of the mainland adjoining it from the north - the Padan Plain, bordered by a powerful arc of the Alps, as well as the large islands of Sicily and Sardinia and a number of small archipelagos and islets. In terms of area (301 thousand sq. Km) Italy belongs to the category of medium-sized countries, ranking third in Western Europe (after France and Spain). Administratively, Italy is divided into 20 historically formed and constitutionally secured regions, which are subdivided into 94 provinces, and those in turn consist of communes in total over 8 thousand. The capital of Italy is Rome.

The land border with a length of about 1900 km, approximately coinciding with the main watershed of the Alps, separates Italy from France, Switzerland, Austria, Yugoslavia. It runs almost entirely along high mountain ranges. Among the mountains, however, there are depressions through which the railways and trackless roads connect Italy with neighboring countries. The maritime boundaries separate the territorial waters of Italy and the territorial waters of France, Spain, Algeria, Tunisia, Malta, Libya, Greece, Albania and Yugoslavia. The territory of Italy is interspersed with two independent miniature states - the Vatican and San Marino.

An important role in the life of Italy is played by the Mediterranean Sea washing it and its separate parts: the Tyrrhenian, Adriatic and Ionian seas. ITS coastline stretches for 7,500 km. The sea coast of Italy is the most densely populated; there are many industrial and port cities, resorts, the most important roads and railways stretch along the coasts, coastal shipping is developed, regular sea voyages connect Italy with the countries of Europe and other continents.

Italy's position in the center Mediterranean Sea, at the crossroads of trade routes between the West and the East has always been extremely important for the country - both in ancient times, and in the Middle Ages, and in the Renaissance, and in later times. The significance of the current economic and geographical position of Italy is determined primarily by the fact that it is the first of the developed capitalist countries of Western Europe to meet the flow of Middle Eastern oil that feeds Western European industry. In Italy, many important air routes intersect, connecting the countries of Europe, America, Africa and Asia.

Italy's key strategic position in the Mediterranean basin is drawing close attention of NATO leaders, who regard the country as the centerpiece of their military system in southern Europe and the entire Mediterranean. Italy is an active member of NATO. On its territory are located dozens of major US bases and a number of airfields, training grounds and other military facilities of the US and NATO. The island of Sicily is of particular importance.

Closely connected in economic terms with many European countries, Italy is part of most of the economic and political organizations that emerged after the Second World War in the process of capitalist integration of Europe. In particular, it is a member of the European Economic Community and Euratom.

The geographical position of Italy is in many respects favorable for its economic development. The Mediterranean Sea provides Italy with a convenient connection with the countries of Europe and North Africa, and after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, Italy found itself on trade routes leading to the countries of South and East Asia, East Africa, and Australia. Thus, the geographical position of Italy allows it to widely use sea transport for foreign and coastal shipping and at the same time to develop ties with its neighbors on land.

Natural conditions and natural resources.

Italy is located in the temperate and - for the most part - subtropical zones. This explains the wealth and diversity. Its northernmost point - Betta d'Italia - is located in the Tyrol mountains at 47 N.; the most southern - Cape Isola delle Correnti at 36.5 N. (about. Sicily) apart from small islands.

Physically and geographically, the territory of Italy is divided into three parts: the mainland, which is the Padan lowland, bordered by a system of alpine ridges and peaks, occupying about 120 thousand km. Apennine peninsula, stretched in the form of a boot for 900 km. to the central part of the Mediterranean Sea, 125 to 230 km wide. with an area of ​​130 thousand km; the islands of Sicily, Sardinia and a number of smaller ones with an area of ​​about 59 thousand km.

Separate parts of the peninsular and insular territory of the country are characterized by a significant indented coastline, the presence of bays, bays and convenient harbors. There are especially many of them on the western coast of the peninsula, washed by the Tyrrhenian Sea. Such are the bays of Genoese, La Spezia, Gaeta, Neapolitan, Salerno, etc., the bays of Savona, Livorno, Civitavecchia. Major seaports are located here. The coastline, washed by the Adriatic Sea, is weaker indented. Its northern section from the state border to Rimini is replete with lagoons and wetlands, to the south, up to the Gargano Peninsula, the high and steep shores of the Adriatic are devoid of any convenient natural harbors and bays; only to the south of the coast of the Adriatic Sea has separate convenient natural bays, the main of which are Bari and Brindisi.

Italy is a predominantly mountainous country. About 4/5 of its surface is occupied by folded mountains of the Alpine age, their foothills and hills. The low-lying part is represented by the Padan lowland along the Po River, which occupies more than 1/7 of the country's territory, and small areas in the coastal strip of the peninsula. The relief of Italy, which is the result of complex geophysical processes, on the one hand determines a variety of natural conditions that contribute to the development of agriculture, and on the other hand, it narrows the area of ​​land cultivated by man, and also makes it difficult and more expensive to develop transport links between individual parts of the country.

In the north, Italy is separated from the rest of the continent by the highest powerful arc of the Alps in Europe, which stretches from west to east for 1200 km, bending to the northwest. The Alps are a very complex system, consisting of many mountain ranges and ridges, separated by longitudinal and transverse valleys. The most high peaks- Mont Blanc (4807 m above sea level), Monte Rosa (4634 m), Cervino (4478 m) - are concentrated in the western, most ancient part of the Alps. The Alps are a powerful barrier against the action of air masses from the north. In this powerful belt of mountains, however, there are convenient passages, which have long been used for economic ties. For example, in the Lepontine Alps, the railway runs in the valley of the Ticino River, then heading through the Saint-Gotthard Tunnel (15 km) to Switzerland and the Simplon Tunnel (20 km) to France. Rail links with Austria are via the Brenner Pass in the Venetian Alps along the Isorko Valley, a tributary of the Adige. The Alps are actively involved in the economic life of the country; Here, large reserves of river energy are used, construction materials, metal ores and other minerals are mined, herds graze in mountain meadows. In recent decades, the construction of high-mountainous hydroelectric power plants, roads, and the rapid development of mountain tourism have increased the avalanche hazard.

The Maritime Alps pass into the Apennine Mountains, bordering the Ligurian Gulf and stretching further across the entire Apennine Peninsula. The Apennines are longer than the Alps (more than 1500 km), but cannot be compared with it in terms of height. Their highest point, Monte Corno in the Gran Sasso d'Italia massif, reaches only 2914 m above sea level. seas. The relief and geological structure of the Apennines are complex and varied. The mountains are either side-by-side with valleys closed between them (in Tuscany), then they stretch in long chains from northwest to southeast (in the Central Apennines), then they break up into separate massifs (in Campania, Basilicata), then they pass into the high plateaus of Calabria ... The Apennines are composed mainly of conglomerates, sandstones, limestones, clay shales, marbles, separate massifs and plateaus of southern Italy - ancient igneous and metamorphic rocks, also characteristic of the mountains of Sicily and Sardinia.

And in the Alps. and in the Apennines, limestones are widespread and, in connection with this, the most diverse manifestations of karst: craters, wells, polia, grottoes, caves, rivers disappearing underground. The caves attract many tourists; some have constant air humidity, salts and medicinal mud and are used for medicinal purposes. At the same time, karst causes great damage to the economy, drying up and depleting soils, hindering the construction of buildings and roads, causing landslides and landslides.

In Italy, both ancient and modern volcanic rocks of all types (basalts, liparites, tuffs) are widespread, especially characteristic of Tuscany, Lazio, Campania, Sicily, Sardinia. In Italy, there are volcanoes of different types and at different stages of development: extinct (Euganean Hills, Albanian Mountains), and active (Etna, Vesuvius, Stromboli). Nowadays, the most active is the highest (3296 m above sea level) and powerful of the Italian volcanoes - Etna. It erupts regularly every three to five years or more. To the southwest of Sicily, from time to time there are underwater eruptions, small islands appear, which are soon washed away by the sea. In a vast area from southern Tuscany to the coast of the Gulf of Naples, one can observe other natural phenomena associated with volcanism - emissions of high pressure water vapor (Ischia island), carbon dioxide (Dog grotto in the Phlegraean fields, near Naples), hot mineral springs in Tuscany, mud volcanoes in the Emilian Apennines.

The only vast lowland in Italy is the Padan Plain, which occupies most of the Po basin. It gradually decreases from 400-500 m in the west to sea level in the east. With the decrease, not only the landscapes change, but also the nature of the agricultural use of the territory: from orchards and vineyards in the west to livestock, grain and beet-growing areas in the lower reaches of the Po river in the east. The Padan Plain is not only the main granary of Italy, but also the most urbanized and economically developed region of the country.

With a fairly wide variety of minerals, Italy is very insufficient and unevenly provided with raw materials and energy resources. Deposits of many minerals are small in terms of reserves, are scattered throughout the country, and are often inconvenient for development. Until now, the subsoil has not yet been sufficiently studied. At the same time, some deposits have been developed since antiquity that they are now depleted or have already been depleted and abandoned. So, in 1982, the country completely stopped mining iron ore, including on the island of Elba, where iron was still mined by the Etruscans.

Italy is much richer in lead-zinc ores with an admixture of silver and other metals. These deposits are associated with the crystalline and metamorphic massif of Sardinia and with the Triassic limestones of the Eastern Alps. The Tuscany region is rich in reserves of pyrites and mercury ore - cinnabar, the reserves of which Italy ranks second in the world; Antimony ores occur in the Devonian limestones of Sardinia. Sulfur deposits, known since the times of ancient Rome, are concentrated mainly in the Caltanissetta region on the island of Sicily. The bowels of Italy are rich in various building and finishing materials (marble, granite, tuff, etc.). Marble is quarried in a number of places, but especially in the Carrara region. In terms of reserves of other types of raw materials, the territory of Italy is poor. Anthracite is found in small quantities in the Valle d'Aosta region, colloidal lignites in Tuscany, peat and peat-like lignites. There are small deposits of manganese in Central Italy and Liguria. Bauxites, which were mined for a long time from the karst depressions of Apulia, are now almost exhausted. The island of Sicily has reserves of potash and rock salt, asphalt, bitumen.

In the post-war years, quite significant (for Italy) oil resources were discovered - in the Padan lowland, in the strip of alpine foothills, as well as on the island of Sicily. In addition to these are bituminous shales, on the island of Sicily in the Ragusa region, at San Valentino in the Abruzzo e Molise region, and in the Frosinone region (Lazio). In Sardinia, Tuscany, Umbria there are small deposits of brown and low-quality coal. Its own energy resources meet the needs of Italy by no more than 15%. Under these conditions, natural gas deposits of methane, usually dissolved in water, which are impregnated with loose Tertiary and Quaternary deposits of the Padan Lowland in the lower reaches of the Po River and its underwater continuation - the continental shelf of the Adriatic Sea, are very important for the country's economy. Gas has also been found in sandstones, marls, shales of the Northern, Central and Southern Apennines, in Sicily and off its coast and on the shelf Ionian Sea... The general shortage of energy resources used in thermal power plants is to some extent offset by the presence of sufficiently rich hydropower reserves in the country.

Development of transport (highlighting the sea).

Transport.

The most important branch of the sphere of circulation. The transportation of goods and labor is that part of the sphere of circulation, which is a continuation of the production process in the sphere of circulation.

In Italy, transport is developing in accordance with the same trends that are observed in other European countries - in particular, the share of road transport is increasing, mainly due to a decrease in the share of railway transport... This is due to the fact that road transport is more mobile, requires less costs for auxiliary services and minimizes transshipment work, since it delivers the cargo directly to its destination (these are opportunities that sea and rail transport are deprived of).

The difference between Italy is that here and in domestic transport of goods, road transport has acquired an exceptionally high share, while the share of all other modes of transport has dropped to an extremely low level.

This deeply specific situation in the transport sector in Italy is due to the special impact of the industry on this sector. The fact is that such branches of the Italian industry as the automobile, rubber, oil refining and building materials industry develop the most rapidly, develop the most rapidly. The branches producing railway rolling stock are slowly developing their production. Therefore, the first group of industries and the monopolies operating in it managed to give a road direction to the development of Italian transport without much difficulty.

Development of Italian maritime transport.

In Italy, the borders of which are washed by more than 90% of the seas and in which most of the territory is coastal regions, in the internal transport of passengers and especially cargo, the sea coastal fleet is also important. Among the branches of Italian transport, the sea fleet is of great interest, which is the largest international carrier and is essential for the development of Italian foreign trade. 90% of goods arriving in Italy for imports and 55-60% for exports pass through seaports. The Italian merchant marine carries out the most important national economic functions. This is the main reason that it is overwhelmingly under state control.

In the 70s, the importance of maritime transport and shipping for the Italian economy, and primarily for its foreign trade, increased due to the shifts in the country's energy balance (more than 86% of total energy needs are met by the import of oil and gas). in recent years in the structure of industry and foreign trade, have caused changes in the Italian navy in the relationship between the different types of ships. The rapid development of the oil refining industry has led to the rapid growth of the tanker fleet. The fall in the importance of coal in the energy sector caused a drop in the share of the dry cargo fleet. In addition, the American coal used in Italy is usually delivered by American ships.

Italian merchant fleet.

The merchant fleet of Italy in the post-war years has undergone significant quantitative and general structural changes. On the one hand, they were caused by the decommissioning of outdated and heavily worn-out ships, and on the other hand, by the replenishment of the fleet with new, larger and more modern ships. Changes in the composition and structure of the Italian merchant fleet for the period 1874 to 1983 are characterized by the following data.

the years
total number
total accommodate.
v
volume
number
e

thousand reg. tons
tankers
bulk carriers
ore
etc. su ships
hogr

shaft instead of registered tons
%
%
shaft instead of registered tons
%

1974
1421,00
5708,00
1982,00
34,8
1027
17,6
2699
47,6

1975
1413,00
5701,00
1989,00
34,9
1091
19,3
2621
45,8

1976
1403,00
5851,00
2113,00
37
1191
20,4
2492
42,6

1977
1445,00
6219,00
2140,00
34,5
1506
24,2
2573
44,3

1978
1490,00
6624,00
2414,00
36,5
1674
25,3
2536
38,2

1979
1552,00
7038,00
2573,00
36,5
1900
27
2565
36,5

1980
1639,00
7448,00
2721,00
36,5
2089
28,1
2638
35,4

1981
1690,00
8139,00
3027,00
37,2
2455
30,1
2657
32,7

1982
1684,00
8187,00
3119,00
38
2510
30,7
2558
31,3

1983
1726,00
8867,00
3437,00
37,7
2866
32,4
2564
29,9

It follows from the above data that over 10 years, the specific value of the tonnage of bulk carriers and ore carriers increased especially sharply, while the share of all other dry cargo ships decreased.

As of July 1, 1983, tankers, bulk carriers, ore carriers and combined vessels accounted for 70.1% of the total gross tonnage of all sea vessels in Italy. Despite the aforementioned replenishment of the merchant fleet with new larger vessels, small and medium tonnage vessels continue to dominate in its total composition.

As of July 1, 1983, more than half (57.9%) of all sea-going vessels had a gross tonnage of up to 1000 reg. tons, and their share accounted for only 4.45% of the total gross tonnage of the fleet. Many of these vessels have long service lives and are subject to gradual replacement with newer vessels. On the same date, there were only 23 ships in the merchant fleet with a gross tonnage of more than 50 thousand reg. tons with a service life of less than 4 years.

Most of the Italian ships had diesel and diesel-electric installations as main engines. Steam-powered ships account for 14.5% of the total number of sea-going ships.

Brief information on the characteristics of the main groups of transport ships.

The sea vessels available in Italy as of July 1, 1983 were distributed according to the main types and purposes as follows.

types of ships
number of vessels
total gross capacity, reg. tons
specific value RHV,%

1.Tankers for transportation of oil and oil products
344
3449184
2,98

2.Gas carriers
26
133027
2,01

3.Tankers for liquid chemicals
17
21070
3,23

4.Combined ships
21
1145231
5,86

5 Bulkers and Ore Carriers
93
1721040
3,24

6. Dry cargo vessels for the transfer. gene. cargo
663
1289842
1,84

7. Container ships and ro-ro
6
69661
1,9

8 passenger ships
25
533288
17,77

9.Ferries, etc.
157
334784
7,99

10.Fishery
225
90847
1,3

11.Tugs
213
47199
4,34

12.Other ships
33
30760
-

Total
1726
8867205
2,86

Tanker fleet. For the transportation of oil and oil products, there are a total of 320 tankers with a total gross tonnage of 3,437,391 reg. t (total deadweight 5,901,231 t). For coastal shipping and bunkering operations, there were 24 small vessels with a total gross tonnage of 11793 reg. Tons. More than half of the capacity of the tanker fleet is represented by ships less than nine years old, incl. 11 tankers with a gross tonnage of 40-50 thousand reg. tons each and 10 tankers with a gross tonnage of 50-140 thousand reg. tons each less than 4 years old.

Gas carriers and vessels for the transport of liquid chemicals. For the transportation of liquefied gas, there were 26 small vessels with a total gross tonnage of 133,027 reg. tons. Some of these vessels are used for transportation from Algeria to the southern ports of Europe. For the transport of liquid chemicals there are 17 small vessels with a total gross tonnage of 21,070 reg. tons.

Combined ships, bulk carriers and ore carriers. This is the second largest and most important group of cargo ships. There are 114 vessels with a total gross tonnage of 2 866 271 reg. tons (total deadweight 4 859 207 tons). This group includes: 21 combined vessels with a total gross tonnage of 1 145 231 reg. tons and 93 ore carrier, bulk carrier and bulk carrier-ore carrier sum. gross tonnage 1 721 040 reg. tons.

The group of dry cargo ships (including cargo-passenger ships) is the most numerous, in which there are 663 ships of various types and purposes with a total gross tonnage of 10876 reg. tons. Most of this group is represented by small vessels of up to 2000 gross tonnage. tons each. The replenishment of this group with new vessels is carried out on a limited scale and mainly by multipurpose dry cargo vessels, including those adapted for partial container transport.

Container carriers and container-trailers (ro-ro). On July 1, 1083, this group included 6 ships with a total gross tonnage of 69 661 reg. tons. This group was supplemented by container ships, which are used for transportation on the Far East and Australian lines.

Passenger, ferry and other cargo-passenger ships. In the Italian merchant fleet, there are 25 large passenger ships with a total gross tonnage of 533.3 thousand reg. tons. This group includes 157 ferry and other cargo-passenger ships with a total gross tonnage of 337.8 thousand reg. tons, which are mainly used for servicing domestic traffic, and only a small part of them operates on short international lines in the Mediterranean Sea area.

The Italian merchant fleet was replenished with new ships, mostly of Italian construction. Placing orders abroad is allowed only for individual large-tonnage vessels, for the construction of which in Italy there is not enough equipment, experience and for other reasons. As of March 1983, Italy ranked 5th in the tonnage of ships under construction for its national fleet (after Great Britain, Liberia, Japan and Norway).

Economy of Italy.

Italy embarked on the path of capitalist development later than Great Britain and France - at the end of the 19th century, after the political unification that ended in 1870. However, the country's economic development, hampered by strong remnants of feudalism, poverty of the peasantry, and the weakness of the fuel and raw material base, proceeded slowly.

On the eve of the First World War, Italy remained a backward agrarian country. Only Northern Italy stood out for a higher level of economic development: a developed industry was formed here, agriculture was more intensive.

Despite its economic weakness, the Italian bourgeoisie took an active part in the struggle for the redivision of the world. The arms race policy gave impetus to the development of heavy industry. New industries - automobile, aviation, electrical, chemical (in particular, the production of artificial silk) - have received great development. The Second World War caused great damage to the Italian economy. Nevertheless, in the post-war period, Italian industry developed at a fairly high rate. The growth of industrial production is largely due to the inflow of foreign capital.

In terms of its economic position, Italy occupies an intermediate position between the most economically developed capitalist countries, led by the United States and the Federal Republic of Germany, and countries with an average level of development of productive forces. In terms of its share in the capitalist industrial production of the world (5% in 1985), it ranks fifth after the United States, Japan, the Federal Republic of Germany and France. But in terms of national income per inhabitant, Italy is inferior not only to these countries, but also to many others, surpassing only Greece, Spain and Ireland in Western Europe.

As in other highly developed countries, industry in Italy is the leading sector of the economy, although it employs a smaller part of the economically active population than in the intensively and disproportionately growing service sector. The cost of industrial products is four times higher than the cost of agricultural products, in which 5.5 times less capital is invested annually than in industry. Manufactured products dominate Italian exports sharply.

A significant part of the national wealth of Italy is in the hands of monopolies, 11 of which are among the largest concerns in the world. They dominate the chemical and electrical industries (Montadison), the automotive industry (FIAT), and the rubber industry (Pirelli).

At the same time, there are a great many medium, small and smallest firms in the country, mainly in the light and food industries, as well as in the production of household electrical appliances, equipment for the processing of synthetic materials, in some subsectors of machine tool construction. Since the 70s, there has been a tendency towards a reduction in large and an increase in the role of small and medium-sized firms and enterprises.

The Italian state actively and in various forms intervenes in the country's economy: its specialized bodies participate in joint-stock companies as holders of a controlling stake, industrial enterprises are created in accordance with various state programs. The state has become the country's largest entrepreneur. Its positions are especially strong in the energy sector, metallurgy, and shipbuilding. He owns many light industry enterprises. The largest banks were also nationalized. In terms of the rate of development, the public sector surpasses the development of the Italian economy as a whole. In modern conditions, state intervention in the economy is not limited to helping individual monopoly associations to develop the least profitable or those requiring particularly large capital investments. The main goal of state intervention is to ensure the continuity of the reproduction process, to preserve and strengthen the capitalist system in the country.

A new important feature of the development of state-monopoly capitalism in Italy has become a nationwide long-term programming of the economy, reflecting the increased degree of concentration and centralization of production and capital, increased monopolization and nationalization of the economy. Some industries (transport, communications, public Works and others) are financed mainly on the basis of economic programs. The largest and most permanent program in Italy since 1950 is aimed at developing the economy of the South.

The Italian government encourages the inflow of foreign capital, which plays an important role in the country's economy. Most of the investments are directed to mechanical engineering, chemistry and energy, a significant part is invested in the service sector. Capital from the USA, France, Germany, Great Britain, Switzerland, Liechtenstein predominates.

Many aspects of the economic life of Italy are determined by its participation in the EEC. The specialization of production that took shape within the EEC forced the Italian economy to adapt to the new market conditions and accelerated its structural transformation. In the system of the common market, Italy acts as an importing country of industrial products (mainly machinery and equipment) and minor food products (fruits, vegetables, wine) and at the same time as an importing country of basic food products and the main types of mineral and agricultural raw materials for their industry.

As in other countries, in Italy the economy develops spontaneously and unevenly. The “economic miracle” of the 1960s, when Italy was second only to Japan in terms of industrial development, turned out to be short-lived. It was followed by a recession and then the most severe energy and general economic crisis of 1973-1975. In 1982, the country's economy again entered a crisis period: the gross national product is declining (-1.2% in 1983), inflation is increasing, the volume of foreign trade, the level of personal consumption of the population is decreasing, unemployment and the cost of living are growing. The utilization of industrial capacities was in 1983 the lowest for the entire post-war period - 71%.

Since the crisis 70s, a new phenomenon has spread in Italy - the so-called hidden economy: in many industries, bypassing collective agreements, tax laws, etc. nowhere registered enterprises operate. they are employed by the unemployed, women interested in part-time or home work, students and pensioners in need of additional earnings. The age-old problem of the disproportionate development of individual parts of the country, the contrast between the level of economic and social development of Northern and Southern Italy, retains all its acuteness.

General characteristics of the industry.

The general state, pace and nature of the development of the Italian economy are determined by its most important area - industry, which accounts for about 2/5 of those employed in the economy and the same share of the national income. Italy is distinguished by an extremely low share of the extractive industry and a high share of the manufacturing industry in the number of employees, fixed capital, and especially in the total value of industrial production. This is due to the absence in the country of any significant reserves of the most important minerals.

The Italian manufacturing industry is mainly based on imported raw materials. Heavy industry prevails, the main role in which belongs to mechanical engineering. Power engineering, metallurgy, chemistry and petrochemistry have also developed significantly.

As a result of the radical restructuring of the energy base that took place in recent decades, the leading role in it has shifted from hydropower and imported coal to oil, which provides more than 60% of all energy consumed. It is followed by natural gas (15.5%), bituminous coal and lignites (8.5%), hydropower (7.6%) and nuclear power (0.3%). At the same time, Italy is forced to import almost all of the oil consumed, 80% of solid fuel and 44% of natural gas.

The most powerful oil refining industry in Western Europe grew on the oil imported by sea. Italy is one of the largest exporters of petroleum products in Western Europe. The energy crisis forced us to look for ways to save energy resources in general and oil in particular. In the 80s, the total capacity of the Italian oil refining industry decreased from 206 million tons. crude oil per year in 1980 up to 150 million tons. in 1983, several factories were closed.

The power industry plays a vital role in the country's economy. The installed capacity of power plants totals 49.4 million kW, of which 64.4% are thermal power plants, 32% are hydroelectric power plants and pumped storage power plants, 2.6% are nuclear and 1% are geothermal. The country generates 180-190 billion kWh of electricity annually. Most of the electricity is obtained at thermal power plants operating mainly on fuel oil, the first place was given to them by hydroelectric power plants, since water resources are almost completely depleted. In recent years in Italy they prefer to build pumped storage stations. Italy was a pioneer in the construction of a pumped storage power plant (1908). Almost simultaneously, the world's first geothermal power plants appeared (1905). In the 60s, Italy was one of the first to start building large nuclear power plants. There are 4 nuclear power plants operating in the country with a total capacity of 1.4 million kW.

Dependence on imports of fuel and raw materials is very significant in the iron and steel industry. In 1986, the country produced 10.3 million tons. pig iron and about 22 million tons. become. Italy takes 5th place in steel smelting. Metallurgical plants are located either near ports, or gravitate towards sales markets - large centers of mechanical engineering. It is in the port centers that the four largest full-cycle plants in the country are located, belonging to the state association "Finsider" (Genoa-Cornigliano, Piombino, Naples Bagnoli and Taranto. Most of the steel-making and steel-rolling plants are concentrated in the old industrial cities of the North-West. In the foothills of the Alps and Alpine valleys are located electrometallurgical enterprises. The Italian ferrous metallurgy enters the world market mainly with thin cold-rolled steel and steel pipes. Italy ranks 4th in the world in the production of pipes. In recent years, the Italian ferrous metallurgy has experienced significant difficulties in its development due to the fact that the Common Market, under pressure from the United States, decided to limit steelmaking production in the countries of the top ten.

In the production of non-ferrous and light metals, those industries are distinguished that are better provided with local ore reserves - the smelting of aluminum, lead, zinc and mercury. During the crisis years, aluminum smelting decreased from 274 thousand tons in 1986 to 194 thousand tons in 1988. Most aluminum smelters are located in the North-East, which is rich in electricity.

The lead-zinc industry processes imported polymetallic ores and local ones. Energy-intensive zinc smelting is located near large power plants (in the cities of Porto Marghera, Monteponi, Porto Vesme, Crotone). Lead smelters are grouped mainly in Sardinia, in the vicinity of polymetallic ore deposits.

In recent years, Italy has lost the world leadership in the production of mercury to Spain. This ancient production was rebuilt in accordance with environmental requirements and today produces about 2 thousand tons. in year.

Using the rich deposits of dolomites, Italy has become one of the first places in the world for the production of magnesium. In 1986, 85 thousand tons of magnesium ores were mined and 7.8 thousand tons were smelted. magnesium.

The leading branch of Italian industry is mechanical engineering. It employs 2.2 million people and accounts for 1/4 of all manufacturing products and 2/5 of Italian exports. Italy is one of the largest car suppliers to the world market. It ranks 5th in terms of production. Mechanical engineering is distinguished by a high concentration of production and capital and is in the hands of a few large associations that produce complex and varied products. The most developed export machine building (production of cars, electric locomotives, railcars, shipbuilding). Most of the automobile production was monopolized by the FIAT concern - the most powerful private company in Italy and one of the largest monopolies in the world. The factories of the concern are scattered all over the country and produce small and small cars, trucks, buses, various engines, airplanes, ships, locomotives, tractors, equipment for the subway, power plants, airports.

FIAT left a little space in automobile production for other firms - Ferrari, Maserati, Lancia, the state-owned company Alfa-Romeo. Almost all factories are located in the industrial centers of the North. Several factories produce motorcycles and scooters. One of the first places in the world is Italy in the production of bicycles and mopeds.

The origins of Italian shipbuilding are lost in the mists of time. The development of this traditional industry is due to historical reasons and geographic conditions. In recent years, orders for tankers have declined sharply, and more container ships, mixed vessels, specialized vessels for subsea drilling and subsea exploration are required.

About 85% of all shipbuilding capacity belongs to the state-owned Fincantieri group. The country's largest shipyards are located in Monfalcone on the Adriatic Sea, as well as in Trieste, Venice, Ancona. The oldest region of Italian shipbuilding is the Ligurian coast (Genoa, Livorno, La Spezia). In the South, the main shipbuilding centers are Naples, Taranto, Messina, Palermo, Castellammare di Stabia.

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