Northern Italy is a wide cultural, historical and geographical definition, without any administrative usage, used to indicate the northern part of the Italian state, also referred as Il Nord, Settentrione or Alta Italia as its mentioned in the map of northern Italy. It coincides with two areas belonging to Italian first level NUTS of the European Union: North-West (Nord-Ovest) that includes the regions of: Aosta Valley, Liguria, Lombardy and Piedmont. North-East (Nord-Est) that includes the regions of: Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol and Veneto.

 

Situated between the Alps and the Mediterranean, the eight regions that define Northern Italy (Valle d'Aosta, Piedmont, Liguria, Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, Trentino-Alto Adige and Fruili Venezia Giulia) have for centuries been strategically positioned to take advantage of the major trade routes linking the Mediterranean Sea with Northern Europe as you can see in the map of northern Italy. After the fall of the Roman empire, the entire region was invaded by barbarian tribes, as well as more civilized peoples, but relative peace and prosperity returned to the region after the year 1000 AD, with the rise of the middle class and semi-independent, merchant-controlled ‘communes’. The entrepreneurial spirit developed under these early governments is carried on today by many Northern Italians, whose thriving businesses have turned the Italian North into one of Europe wealthiest regions.

 

The northern region of Italy is known locally as Il Nord or Settentrione and consists of eight separate regions – Peidmont, Liguria, Aosta Valley, Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Trentino-Alto as its shown in the map of northern Italy. In terms of population, this region of Italy has an estimated population of at least 27.2 million inhabitants. Northern Italy has a diverse geography due to its two coastal regions, and the mountainous region of the Alps and Apennines.

 

The Po River created the vast flood plain of the Veneto under the brow of pre-Venetian Alps to the north and the Dolomites in the west. What draws visitors to these agricultural flatlands are the art treasures of Padua (Padova), the Renaissance villas of Palladio in Vicenza, the ancient Roman and pseudo-Shakespearean sights of Verona, and round carnival, Venice (Venezia) as its mentioned in the map of northern Italy. The Dolomites, bordering Austria, cap the eastern stretches of the South Tirol region with sharp pinnacles straight out of a fairy tale, while the peaks of the Alps crown the west. This region comprises legendary resorts such as Cortina d'Ampezzo and Merano, as well as cities such as Trent (Trento) and Bolzano, that lie at the crossroads of the German and Italian worlds.