Walker - 1967 - A geography of Italy

Otherwise the chemical industry in the South and Centre is mainly represented by
a few isolated plants exploiting some local advantage, for example at Crotone
(Silan power), Porto Empedocle (sulphur), Portiglione (pyrites) andCampofranco
(potash). In the North the towns with a particularly strong interest in chemicals
are Turin, Milan (Bovisa), Novara, Ferrara, Ravenna, Merano, Bolzano, Porto
Marghera, S. Giuseppe di Cairo and Cogoleto. In common with that o f all
industrialized countries Italy’s chemical industry has enjoyed a rapid expansion
accompanied by an almost ceaseless proliferation o f new products. The lion’s
share o f production is similarly controlled by a handful o f firms among which
E N I, the international oil companies and above all Montecatini^ are outstanding.
In the pharmaceutical branch Italian producers have an advantage in that
Italian law gives less protection than that o f most countries to manufacturing
processes, many o f them evolved abroad after considerable expenditure on
research.
The textile and footwear industries
IN D U STR Y
Textiles are a branch o f manufacturing in which Italians have enjoyed a high
reputation for centuries but mass-production, based on hydro-electric power and
the relatively cheap labour then available, dates only from the turn o f the century.
In most European coxmtries since the war the industry, except in the synthetic
branches, has enjoyed none o f the spectacular advances achieved in such ‘growth’
sectors as cars and chemicals. In this respect Italy is no exception but the industry
still employs over half a million workers and is second only to engineering
as an exporter. Except for silk and hemp, almost all the raw materials have to be
imported, and although the consumption o f textiles has risen with improved
living standards, most manufacturers, especially in cottons, are in the position of
having to export a large part o f their output if capacity is to be fully employed.
This is obviously a difficult task in view o f the fierce competition in foreign
markets. The structure o f the industry exhibits great variety; in rayon and synthetics
large units are the rule, and in cotton they are well represented, but in
woollens they are much less general; indeed, there are still many woollen producers
operating on a workshop or handicraft basis, for example in Tuscany and
the Alpine valleys. T h e vulnerability o f some sections o f the industry has
prompted a number o f self-imposed and privately financed rationalization
schemes aimed at the introduction o f more modem machinery and labour-saving
processes and the concentration o f production in fewer but larger units; in
cottons in particular this has resulted in a drastic reduction in the number of
workers.
Over 90% o f Italy’s cotton spinning and weaving capacity is located in the
North particularly in the upper plain o f Piedmont and Lombardy (Varese,
Gallarate, Busto Arsizio, Legnano). Most o f the rest is to be fmmd in Campania
and Calabria where several mills damaged in the war came under the control of
* Montecatini has recently merged with Edison, another major chemical producer.
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