44°27′20″N, 8°44′5″E

Liguria
Geography
Status	Region
Capital	Genoa (Genova)
President	Claudio Burlando (DS-Union)
Provinces	4
Area	5,420 km²
- Ranked	18th (1. Genoa ( Genova, ˈdʒɛːnova in Italian; Zena in Genoese and Ligurian; Genua in Latin and archaically in English Genoa ( Genova, ˈdʒɛːnova in Italian; Zena in Genoese and Ligurian; Genua in Latin and archaically in English The Democrats of the Left ( Democratici di Sinistra, DS was a left-wing Italian political party and part of the Olive Tree electoral coalition The Union ( Italian: L'Unione) was an Italian Centre-left Political party coalition led by Romano Prodi, the In Italy, a Province (in Italian provincia) is an administrative division of intermediate level between Municipality ( Comune Area is a Quantity expressing the two- Dimensional size of a defined part of a Surface, typically a region bounded by a closed Curve. Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of These are ranked lists of the regions of Italy. Population figures are from 2001 8 %)
Population (2006 est. In Biology a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular Species; in Sociology )
- Total	1,610,134
- Ranked	12th (2. These are ranked lists of the regions of Italy. Population figures are from 2001 7 %)
- Density	297/km²

Liguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. Population density (in agriculture standing stock and Standing crop) is a measurement of Population per unit area or unit volume Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Its capital is Genoa. Genoa ( Genova, ˈdʒɛːnova in Italian; Zena in Genoese and Ligurian; Genua in Latin and archaically in English

Geography

Liguria borders France to the west, Piedmont to the north, and Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany to the east. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Piedmont ( Piemonte; Piedmontese and Occitan: Piemont; French: Piémont) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy. Emilia-Romagna is one of the 20 Regions of Italy. The capital is Bologna. Tuscany (Toscana is a region in Italy. It has an area of 22990 km² and a population of about 3 It lies on the Ligurian Sea. The Ligurian Sea (Mar Ligure Mer Ligurienne is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, between the Italian Riviera ( Liguria and Tuscany) The coastal strip forms the Italian Riviera; further inland are the Ligurian Alps, on the west, and the Ligurian Apennines on the east. The Italian Riviera is the narrow coastal strip which lies between the Ligurian Sea and the mountain chain formed by the Maritime Alps and the Apennines It is noticeable that, despite the high population density, woods cover half of the total area. The Ligurian coast enjoys a typical mediterranean climate, compared to the semi-continental climate of the Po valley to the north; in January, Genoa records an average temperature of about 8-10°C, with no frost, which can occur only in the mountainous interior. A Mediterranean climate is one that resembles the Climate of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, which includes over half of the area with this climate type world-wide Continental climate is a Climate that is characterized by Winter Temperatures cold enough to support a fixed period of Snow cover each Year The Po ( Latin: Padus, Po Ligurian: Bo, Greek: Eridanus) is a river that flows 652 km(405 miles (682 km by considering Summer averages about 25-30°C. Rainfall can be very abundant at times; mountains very close to the coast create an orographic effect, so Genoa can see up to 2000 mm of rain in a year; other areas instead show the normal values of the Mediterranean area (500-800 mm). Orography is the average height of land measured in geopotential meters, over a certain domain

Liguria is divided into four provinces:

• Genoa (Genova)
• Imperia
• La Spezia
• Savona

History

Portofino harbour. The Province of Genoa (It Provincia di Genova) is a province in the Liguria region of Italy. The Province of Imperia (It Provincia di Imperia) is a mountainous and hilly province, in the Liguria region of Italy, situated between The Province of La Spezia (Italian Provincia della Spezia) is a province in the Liguria region of Italy. The Province of Savona (Italian Provincia di Savona; Ligurian: Pruvinsa de Sann-a) is a province in the Liguria region of Italy Portofino ( Ligurian: Portofin) is a small Italian fishing village Comune and tourist resort located in the Province of Genoa

The port of Genoa

Liguria is a very old name, dating back to pre-Roman times. Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC Ancient Ligures settled the Mediterranean coast from Rhône to Arno, but later Gallic migration mixed and produced the Gallo-Ligurian culture. The Ligures (singular Ligus or Ligur; English: Ligurians, Greek:) were an ancient people who gave their name to Liguria The Rhone, or the Rhône is one of the major Rivers of Europe, running through Switzerland and France. The region was officially subdued and colonised by the Roman Republic during the 2nd century BC. The Roman Republic was the phase of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by a Republican form of government a period which began with the overthrow of the The 2nd century BC started the first day of 200 BC and ended the last day of 101 BC. During the Middle Ages, Genoa gradually gained control of most of Liguria, which shared most of the city's history, and, with a few breaks in the 15th and early 16th century when the area was under either Milanese or French control, the Republic of Genoa ruled the area until 1796, when the French Revolutionary general Napoleon Bonaparte reorganized the area into the Ligurian Republic. The Duchy of Milan was a state in northern Italy from 1394 to 1797 This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The Most Serene Republic of Genoa (Repubblica di Genova was an independent state in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast from the 11th century Napoleon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821 was a French military and political leader who had a significant impact on the History of Europe. The Ligurian Republic (Repubblica Ligure was a short-lived French client republic formed by Napoleon on June 14, 1797. The Ligurian Republic proved short-lived, however, and was annexed by France in 1805. Following the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, the area was annexed by the Kingdom of Sardinia. The Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815 involved Napoleon's French Empire and a shifting set of European allies and opposing coalitions Kingdom of Sardinia, also known as Piedmont-Sardinia or Sardinia-Piedmont, was the name given to the possessions of the House of Savoy in 1720 when the

Economy

The Ligurian economy is based on tourism, olive oil production, winemaking, fisheries, and a different industrial sectors (yacht construction and maintenance, cruise liner building, military shipyards, glass- and ceramics-making, slate extraction and manufacturing, railroad carriage and locomotive building, oil refineries, aviation) mainly concentrated in Genoa and the Province of Savona. Genoa ( Genova, ˈdʒɛːnova in Italian; Zena in Genoese and Ligurian; Genua in Latin and archaically in English The Province of Savona (Italian Provincia di Savona; Ligurian: Pruvinsa de Sann-a) is a province in the Liguria region of Italy Steel, once a major industry in the 50s and 60s is being phased out after the late 70s and 80s crisis, as Italy is moving away from heavy industry to pursue more technologically advanced "light" industrial revolutions.

Politics

In Medieval and Renaissance times the then city states of Liguria were controlled by merchant families. The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere Genoa was then run by the powerful merchant families, prominently the Adorno and the Campofregoso. The Adorno family was an illustrious patrician family in Genoa, Italy, of the Ghibelline party several of whom were Doges of

Demographics

The Genoa World Trade Center. After two decades of economic and demographic decline due to an obsolete heavy industry based economy, from the 90s Genoa has completed her transition to the service industry.

Due to a severe economic crisis in the '80s and '90s Genoa lost 200,000 inhabitants, but after the economic recovery in the late '90s the region has attracted consistent fluxes of immigrants. As of 2006, the Italian national institute of statistics, ISTAT, estimated that 65,994 foreign-born immigrants live in Liguria, equal to 4. 1% of the total regional population.

Towns of Liguria with a population of 50,000 or more:

Image gallery

Genova

La Spezia

Savona

Imperia (Porto Maurizio)

External links

• Wikipedia in Ligurian language
• Official Region website
• Official website of the Ligurian regional government
• Map of Liguria
• Official website of the Province of La Spezia, In Italian
• Consorzio Mete di Liguria
• Genoa Airport
• IIT - Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia
• Liguria travel guide from Wikitravel