TERRITORY

From a morphological viewpoint, Friuli Venezia Giulia can be subdivided in three belts: the alpine and pre-alpine area, the hills and the plains.
The alpine territory includes the southern part of the Carnic Alps (Monte Coglians, 2780 m.) and the western area of the Julian Alps (Jôf di Montasio, 2754 m.). The river Tagliamento divides the Prealps in Carnic and Julian Prealps, which are located in the south of the Tagliamento-Fella-Resia Valley. The mountain anfitheatre descends towards the wide morenic foothill and flatland belt, which stretches out up to Udine and Gorizia. The hill landscape is characterised by a breathtaking succession of woods and vineyards, and is overlooked by numerous castles, which were built in different periods to guard the access roads to the plains and the Adriatic.

The hills in central Friuli are characterised by barren and pervious lands called magredi, the poor lands where the rivers disappear and flow underground to surface downstream, in the valley known as the line of the natural groundwater discharge. This area features a flourishing agriculture and a blossoming nature. The presence of water is constant and unwinds in a thick network of watercourses supplied by natural groundwater discharges, canals and ditches. Nowadays, the poor lands are productive thanks to a massive irrigation system, and the flowering agriculture of the natural groundwater discharge is characterised by the forests and natural meadows which grow along the rivers.

The lagoons of Marano and Grado meet along the Adriatic coasts - which are shallow and sandy up to Monfalcone - and together with the outlet of the Isonzo River they outline the lower western coast.
In the east, the coast becomes high and rocky up to Trieste and Muggia, featuring spectacular bays such as Duino and Sistiana.
The Tagliamento is the longest among the region's four main rivers. Flowing 172 km to join the Adriatic Sea, it is subject to heavy lows in summer and to big floods in spring and autumn. The Isonzo River rises in Slovenia and enters Italy just above Gorizia. The Livenza River gathers most of the waters of the area around Pordenone, whereas the Timavo River is known for its long underground flow.

CLIMATE

Friuli-Venezia Giulia has a temperate humid climate, which changes a lot according to the particular conditions of the single areas. The alpine system is a shelter from the direct inflow of the harsh north winds, but the region, which is open to the Po plains, is subject to the general circulation of the air masses from West to East. The low-pressure areas evolve and move along this route, carrying atmospheric disturbances characterised by summer showers and hailstorms, which occur in spring and autumn also. Due to its opening toward the high-sea waters of the Adriatic, Scirocco winds flow in on the territory determining heavy rainfalls. The Karstic Plateau is characterised by particular weather and climatic conditions. The masses of cold air flowing in from the east go over the lower Julian Alps, and the region is hit by the winds flowing in from the Danubian area. The Bora wind flowing in from the Northeast reaches its maximum intensity over Trieste and its Gulf, with gusts blowing 150+ Km/h.

PEOPLE

Friuli Venezia Giulia counts almost one million and two hundred thousand inhabitants, spread on a territory of approx. 7.840 square Km that is subdivided in 219 municipalities and 4 provinces. 260 thousand inhabitants live in the 6 municipalities of the Trieste Province (229 thousand in the capital of the province). 138 thousand live in the 25 municipalities of the Gorizia Province (38 thousand in the capital of the province). 522 thousand live in the 137 municipalities of the Udine Province (99 thousand in the capital of the province), and 274 thousand live in the 51 municipalities of the Pordenone Province (49 thousand in the capital of the province). Many are the Italian citizens of Slovene origins who actually speak Slovene and inhabit the province of Trieste (Venezia Giulia) as well as the surroundings of the bordering city of Gorizia (north-western Friuli). Whereas, the continuance of Russian or Slavonic languages and traditions can be encountered in the surroundings of Udine, in the Judrio, Natisone, and Torre Valleys, as well as in the Canale and Resia Valleys. Some groups of German origins, which are much smaller than the aforementioned, inhabit Carnia and the Canale Valley.

POLITICAL

Friuli Venezia Giulia is one of the five Italian autonomous Regions. Bordering with Slovenia in the east, with Austria in the north and with the Region of Veneto in the west, Friuli Venezia Giulia has a particular position that confers a role of "economical hinge" between the Western World and Eastern Europe.
At the same time, it is an important base for the intensifying commercial development carried on by Western and Eastern Europe. In fact, major production-flows between Middle Europe, the Mediterranean Basin, and the middle and far-eastern areas, but also between the single Danubian-Balcan states converge on the regional territory. And the European Union is increasingly seeking to widen its eastern borders.

INDUSTRY

The Region features a strong presence of productive handicraft and services, and the role of specialised production creating system-areas, such as the "Chair Triangle" in the surroundings of Manzano, the "Furniture System" of the Livenza area, and the cutlery industry in Maniago, is quite relevant. The scientific and technological vocation of Friuli Venezia Giulia blossomed correspondingly, and nowadays, the Region can count on an impressive number of centres, organisations and institutes of pure and applied research, especially in the Trieste Province. Many of them are internationally known, such as the International Centre for Theoretical Physics, founded in 1964 and directed by Nobel Prize winner Abdus Salam for many years. Particularly significant is the establishment in Padriciano of Area Science Park, Italy's first multisectoral scientific park hosting, among others, the synchrotron light laboratory "Elettra".