Tourism is key sector for Abruzzo economy: in this photo Campotosto Lake
Over the years, Abruzzo has become the most industrialized region of southern Italy[1] and has had significant improvements and growth also at an economic level; the region has reached and surpassed many Italian regions in the specialization of the various industrial sectors and today it is the richest of the regions of Southern Italy.[2][circular reference][3]
Since the 1950s and 60s Abruzzo has developed innovation processes that have attracted large companies and multinationals, which have established themselves in the region, creating a driving force for regional economy by almost radically transforming the Abruzzo economy and the production structure, which, if previously based mainly on the primary sector of agriculture, livestock and fishing, is now almost completely supported by industry, from tertiary sector, services and finally tourism.
The Abruzzo economy has undergone strong transformations since 1950, the year in which great economic and social progress began, with a consequent progressive increase in GDP; in 1951 the per capita income was 53%; in 1971 of 65%, while in 1994 it was 76%; in 2006 it reached 84.4 giving Abruzzo the highest GDP per capita in Southern Italy,[4] which has exceeded the growth rate of any other region of Italy; the construction of the main motorways (Autostrada A24) and (Autostrada A25) which opened the region to new investments, and many companies and multinationals have established their industries in various locations in the region.
According to Eurostat in 2009 Abruzzo had a per capita income at purchasing power parity equal to 84.0% of the European Union average, the highest income among the regions of Southern Italy; the poorest Italian regions were Sicily and Calabria with 68%, the richest were the Autonomous Province of Bolzano with 148% and Valle d'Aosta and Lombardy with 133%.
Once the primary economic resource of the region, agriculture with its economic and industrial development has undergone a significant downsizing; in spite of this and the geology of the mainly mountainous territory not very suitable for certain types of crops, the region, also thanks to economic and industrial development, is today still able to offer various products of the highest quality; in the flat and hilly areas of the region numerous crops are grown such as figs, carrots, potatoes, grapes which place the region among the first in Italy for produce these crops; other important products are beetroot, wheat, barley, spelled and tobacco; the production of olives and vite is also important; finally, very important are the typical products of the region such as saffron[8] and licorice.[9]
One of the best known and exported Abruzzo products in the world: Montepulciano d'Abruzzo wine
As for the figures, the region produces about 850,000 quintals of fruit, 5 million quintals of vegetables, 1,600,000 quintals of potatoes, 5,000,000 quintals of grapes produced, both for table and for the production of wine; the latter is estimated at between 3 and 4million hectoliters with the production of wines such as Montepulciano d'Abruzzo in the red and cerasuolo (rosé) varieties, Trebbiano d'Abruzzo, Pecorino and the Chardonnay; oil production, on the other hand, stands at 1,350,000 quintals of olives and 240,000 quintals of oil (Aprutino Pescarese, Pretuziano delle Colline Teramane and Colline Teatine), figures that put Abruzzo in sixth place among the Italian regions;[10] as regards cereals, the durum wheat with over 1.5million quintals constitutes the main cereal, followed by soft wheat (one million quintals), then barley (0.5million quintals ); other crops are also grown such as beetroot (2,500,000 quintals), and tobacco (45,000 quintals).[11][circular reference]Licorice on the other hand is mostly cultivated and processed in Atri and surroundings and sees the region in second place in Italy for production behind only Calabria.[12] Another product typical of the region is Centerbe, a liqueur made by aromatic herbs commonly found on Mount Majella.[13][14] Also Gentian is another liquor product of Abruzzo.[15]
In addition to agriculture, before economic and industrial development the regional economy was also based on livestock; the latter was widely practiced using the technique of transhumance towards the Roman countryside and the Tavoliere delle Puglie; today the breeding techniques have changed and permanent breeding in sheepfolds is preferred; even today the region has a good heritage of sheep, while bovino farming is spreading more and more.[16]
Fishing (albeit to a lesser extent) was also one of the most important economic activities in the region, especially for some coastal centers; in the past it was practiced with ancient wooden fishing boats called Trabocchi[17] from which today the stretch of the Abruzzo coast takes its name; today, Abruzzo has a fairly good fish production, to a lesser extent if compared with regions such as the Marche and Apulia; it should be noted, however, that the region in this sector has bypassed regions with larger coastal areas such as Sardinia, Calabria, Tuscany, Campania, and Lazio; as regards the statistics of the fishing sector, in 2007 in Abruzzo the fish production was 14,657 tons of fish, a figure that placed the region in fifth place among the Italian regions after Sicily, Apulia, the Marche, the Veneto and Emilia Romagna by number of tons caught, with a 5.5% share of the national total and a revenue of approximately 51 million euros overall, equal to 3.8% of the national total.
Between the 1960s and 1970s the region underwent considerable industrialization, so much so that it became the most industrialized region in the south of Italy, with an industrialization rate of 83.9%, more than double the southern average; the industry has developed in the food, transport, and telecommunications sectors. Other important industries are chemicals, food, furniture, crafts, and textiles. The province of Teramo is one of the most industrialized areas of Italy and of the region, with numerous small and medium-sized companies,[18] then follows the province of Chieti and that of Pescara, which is also supported by tourism; the Val Vibrata (province of Teramo), on the border with the Marche region, is home to a myriad of small and medium-sized enterprises, especially in the textile and footwear sectors. The Val di Sangro (province of Chieti), on the other hand, is home to important multinationals and a factory belonging to the Fiat (Sevel) group. The area of Valle Peligna (province of L'Aquila) is also home to industries (the famous one of Sulmona sugared almonds), while other areas such as Pescara and Theatine are home to numerous industries, including multinationals (for example De Cecco, Procter & Gamble, Monti & Ambrosini Editori, Brioni, Ennedue and Miss Sixty, mostly concentrated in the industrial district of Val Pescara in the province of Chieti).
Also important is the production of hydroelectric energy in artificial basins, which place the region ninth in this ranking. The regional subsoil resources are also discrete, with fields of petroleum, methane and aluminum; the region, however, has made it known that it will continue its environmentalist development policy to safeguard the beauty of the environment, therefore it will not work for the exploitation of the oil fields itself. Another very flourishing industrial sector in the region is that concerning research in fields of pharmaceutical, biomedicine, electronics, and nuclear physics (Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso[19]); the most important industrial centers in the province of L'Aquila are concentrated in Marsica or in the city of Avezzano where there are high-tech industries (LFoundry-Smic, Micron, Telespazio), Burgo cartiere and processing industries of agricultural products and around the industrial centers of L'Aquila and Sulmona; the inland mountain areas are the least developed in the region but are nevertheless supported by the development of mountain and winter tourism.
With the economic and industrial development, also the tourism sector in the region has had considerable development and today it is one of the main sectors of the Abruzzo economy.[21] Tourism in Abruzzo has seen a notable growth with thousands of visitors arriving from all over Italy and also from Europe itself; in 2023, arrivals were 1.745.373 tourists.[22] Tourism in Abruzzo can be classified into three different types of tourism; mountain and environmental tourism, coastal and seaside tourism and finally historical-religious and cultural tourism.
Abruzzo, historically known as Abruzzi, is a region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four provinces: L'Aquila, Teramo, Pescara, and Chieti. Its western border lies 80 km (50 mi) east of Rome. Abruzzo borders the region of Marche to the north, Lazio to the west and north-west, Molise to the south and the Adriatic Sea to the east. Geographically, Abruzzo is divided into a mountainous area in the west, which includes the highest massifs of the Apennines, such as the Gran Sasso d'Italia and the Maiella, and a coastal area in the east with beaches on the Adriatic Sea.
The province of L'Aquila is the largest, most mountainous and least densely populated province of the Abruzzo region of Italy. It comprises about half the landmass of Abruzzo and occupies the western part of the region. It has borders with the provinces of Teramo to the north, Pescara and Chieti to the east, Isernia to the south and Frosinone, Rome and Rieti to the west. Its capital is the city of L'Aquila.
The Music of Abruzzo is a style of music in Abruzzo, Italy. Abruzzo is sparsely populated and is very mountainous, but the area has a musical history involving opera, sacred music, and even the town band. The great composer of delicate, 19th-century airs, Francesco Paolo Tosti, dedicated a series of compositions to the area, the romanze abruzzesi.
Roseto degli Abruzzi, more commonly Roseto, is a town and comune of the province of Teramo in the Abruzzo region of central Italy. It is a beach resort on the Adriatic Sea and has about 24,000 inhabitants. Geographically, Roseto is positioned on estuaries of the Vomano and Tordino Rivers. It is the second largest city in the province. In the last decade the city has witnessed a good deal of growth in the quarters of Borsacchio slightly to the north, Campo a Mare along the seacoast and Voltarrosto to the west.
The Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park is a natural park in central Italy. Established in 1991, it covers an area of 2,014 square kilometres (778 sq mi), mostly within the provinces of Teramo, L'Aquila, and Pescara in Abruzzo, with small areas in the provinces of Rieti in Lazio and Ascoli Piceno in Marche. The terrain is predominantly mountainous with alpine plains.
Eccellenza Abruzzo is the regional Eccellenza football division for clubs in Abruzzo, Italy. It is competed amongst 18 teams and the winner is promoted to Serie D. The clubs that finishes between the second and the fifth place also have a chance to gain promotion. The winner of the regional play-off is entered into a national round which consists of two matches.
Pescara Centrale railway station, also known as Pescara railway station, is the main railway station of Pescara. The station lies on the Adriatic line from Rimini to Lecce and the trans-Apennine line to Rome. It serves an average of 3.5 million people per year and is a 5-minute walk to the city's main street and to the beach.
Chieti railway station serves the city and comune of Chieti, in the region of Abruzzo, southern Italy. Opened in 1873, it forms part of the Rome–Sulmona–Pescara railway.
Tourism in Abruzzo has become one of the most prosperous sectors in the economy of Abruzzo, and in recent years has seen a remarkable growth attracting numerous tourists from Italy and Europe. According to statistics, in 2021 arrivals totaled 1,330,887. A total of 5,197,765 arrivals were tourists, a figure that puts the region seventeenth among the Italian regions for numbers of tourists per year. A moderate support to tourism is also given to the Abruzzo Airport with many low cost and charter flights connecting the entire region with the rest of Europe.
The traditional cuisine of Abruzzo is eclectic, drawing on pastoral, mountain, and coastal cuisine. Staples of Abruzzo cuisine include bread, pasta, meat, fish, cheese, and wine. The isolation which has characterized the region for centuries has ensured the independence of its culinary tradition from those of nearby regions. Local cuisine was widely appreciated in a 2013 survey among foreign tourists.
The Sagittario is a river in Italy. It is located primarily in the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of southern Italy. The river is the main tributary of the Aterno-Pescara. Its source is located near Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise and Scanno. The river flows into Lago di Scanno near Scanno and flows out of the lake near Villalago. The portion of the river that enters the lake is known as the Tasso. The Sagittario flows north through the Appennino Abruzzese near Villalago, Bugnara, Sulmona and Pratola Peligna. It enters the Aterno-Pescara near Raiano and Popoli on the border with the province of Pescara.
The Rome–Pescara railway is an Italian 240-kilometre (150-mile) long railway line, that connects Rome with Tivoli, Avezzano, Sulmona and Pescara. The route operates through the regions of Lazio and Abruzzo.
Pescara San Marco is a railway station in Pescara, Italy. The station opened on 27 November 2005 and is located on the Rome–Sulmona–Pescara railway. The train services are operated by Trenitalia.
Sulmona is a railway station in Sulmona, Italy. The station opened in 1888 and is located on the Rome–Sulmona–Pescara railway, Terni–Sulmona railway and Sulmona-Isernia railway. The train services are operated by Trenitalia.
Eremo di Sant'Egidio is an hermitage located in Scanno, Province of L'Aquila. It is located on the hill of the same name and dedicated to the Sant'Egidio.
Museo delle genti d'Abruzzo is an ethnographic Museum in Pescara, Abruzzo.
The Terni–Sulmona railway is a regional railway line in central Italy, managed by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana. It links three regions, Umbria, Lazio and Abruzzo, and three provincial capitals: Terni, Rieti and L'Aquila. Together with the Sulmona–Isernia railway it forms a north–south corridor through the Apennines in central Italy. Its route is the result of two unfinished railways that had to meet in Rieti: the Pescara–L'Aquila–Rome line, and the Terni–Avezzano–Roccasecca line.
Chieti–Madonna delle Piane is a railway station in Chieti, Italy. The station opened on 30 March 2016 and is located on the Rome–Sulmona–Pescara railway. The train services are operated by Trenitalia.
Scapece alla vastese is a traditional dish from the Abruzzo region of Italy. In its preparation mackerel and oily fish are used; then, once fried, the fish is immersed in vinegar and saffron which gives it the intense yellow color that characterizes it.
The confetti di Sulmona are Italian candy-coated almonds, a speciality of the comune (municipality) of Sulmona, in the province of L'Aquila, Abruzzo, where the oldest confectionary factory is located. They are commonly given as favors for weddings or other celebrations. Confetti di Sulmona sugar-coated almonds are often wrapped in brightly colored cellophane and arranged into flowers, or other shapes.
References
↑ "Archived copy"(PDF). www.eib.org. Archived from the original(PDF) on 27 March 2009. Retrieved 5 February 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
↑ "Archived copy". www.abruzzoheritage.com. Archived from the original on 8 March 2005. Retrieved 22 February 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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