AUTONOMOUS REGION OF FRIULI VENEZIA GIULIA - ITALY -

WELCOME TO FRIULI VENEZIA GIULIA

Situated at the eastern border of the Italian peninsula, Friuli Venezia Giulia is a region which by its very nature is open to the world at large.

A meeting point of Latin , Germanic and Slav cultures and a Region in which different language communities - Italian, Friulian, Slovene and German - have always lived, Friuli Venezia Giulia is achieving its development potential in a European dimension.

A natural opening to the sea for many central European countries, the region is traversed by the major transport routes between the east and west of southern Europe.

Friuli Venezia Giulia (7.840 sq km), with a population of 1.202.700 inhabitants, is one of the most developed regions of northern Italy.

THE TERRITORY

ECONOMY

The economy of the region is based on small and medium size industries, on specialized agriculture, on an high-quality tourism industry and a strong tendency to export.

Many of the small and and medium size industries are concentrated in four industrial districts , areas which specialize in one particular type of product: chairs , furniture , knives and ham .

Alongside these enterprises there are other big industrial groups and service industries whose products are well-known in Europe and the world:

- Fincantieri , the world leader in the construction of large cruise ships

- Assicurazioni Generali , one of the leading insurance companies in Europe and the world.

TOURISM

An other important sector of the regional economy is tourism .

In a small space, the Region contains very diverse environments, landscapes histories, art and culture.

Friuli Venezia Giulia is home to two well-known seaside resorts (Lignano and Grado), numerous mountain resorts for winter sports, and cities of particular historical and archaeological interest like Trieste, Aquileia, Cividale del Friuli.

In 2001 Friuli Venezia Giulia was visited by 9.5 million tourists , almost half of them coming from abroad, particularly from Germany, Austria and other countries of Northern and Eastern Europe.

SERVICES

Friuli Venezia Giulia has a number of means to sustain the economic development of the region:

- Bic (Businnes Innovation Centre) to help start new companies

- the Industrial Zone , Finest and Informest , companies designed to develop relations between local industries and Eastern European countries.

Friuli Venezia Giulia aims to technological innovation and scientific research contributing to national and international economic and social development.

The presence in Trieste of the International Centre for Theoretical Physics and the Area Science Park is the proof of this choice.

INFRASTRUCTURES

Friuli-Venezia Giulia is small in size but its geographical location has taken on renewed strategic value with the enlargement of the European Union to the east.

More than 200 kilometres of motorway , 500 kilometers of railway tracks cross the region and link to the three most northerly ports of the Mediterranean : Trieste, Monfalcone and Porto Nogaro.

Trieste, a free port for goods since 1719, is the Italian port with the greatest capacity of covered storage; transport intermodality for goods is guaranteed by the Cervignano Terminal, and lastly the airport of Ronchi dei Legionari (30 km from Trieste and 40 from Udine) is directly connected to the motorway network

EU PROGRAMMES INTO EFFECT 2000-2006