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