| download "Province
of Venice, between tradition and innovation"
Located in the Eastern part of the Padana
lowland, the province of Venice (people:
836,596) forms a semicircle along the Adriatic
Sea, from the source of the Tagliamento
River to the North to the Adige in the
South, for a coastline development of approx.
96 km. It borders with the provinces of
Udine (to the East), Pordenone and Treviso
(North), Padova and Rovigo (West and South
respectively) and represents the outlet
to the sea of one of the richest and most
productive areas of the Country.
The area has the required infrastructure of a big metropolitan area: the passenger
and commercial port at Venice, the industrial, commercial and petroleum port
at Marghera, the commercial and fishing port of Chioggia, the international airport
of Marco Polo of Tessera (third Italian hub for scheduled passengers) and the
tourist airport Nicelli in the Lido of Venice.
A modern network of motorways allows an efficient connection nationally (Milan-Turin,
Bologna-Florence-Rome, Ravenna-Ancona) and internationally (Bavaria, Tyrol and
the Balkans). A dense network of long distance national routes, an articulated
waterway system, excellent national and international railway connections, position
the area in a strategic location in relation to the Mediterranean, Italy and
Central Europe.
Venice is an important junction of the
Trans-European Corridor no. 5 – the
large rail and motorway axis which the
EU has undertaken to construct by 2015
and which, along a West-East axis, will
connect Barcelona to Kiev – and
be able to exploit the logistic directrix
with the basin of Eastern Europe.
The most recent data processed by the Istituto
G. Tagliacarne of Rome (2006) related to
the province of Venice show that added
value comes from the following:
1.5% from agriculture, 18.4% from industry,
7.1% from building industry and 73.1% from
the tertiary industry .
In 2007, the labour force in
the Venice province amounts to over 361,000.
Of these 60% are men and the remaining
40% women. The rate of provincial
activity (the labour force and
the population ratio between 15 and 64
years of age) is equal, according to the
Istat findings, to 64.6%, against a regional
level of 68.1%.
The level of employment (relationship
between those who are employed and the
population between 15-64 years of age)
of the Venice province is 62.7% (the Veneto
one is equal to 65.8%), while the level
of unemployment (relationship
between those seeking employment and the
labour force) is 2.9%, less than 0.4 percentage
points than that recorded for the Veneto
region.
Of the total number of employed people
(351 thousand), 2.6% find work in agriculture,
29% in industry and 68.3% in commerce and
services.
As regards the 2007 import/export flows, exportations increased
by 14.1% and Venetian exports for the Veneto
region settled to about 10.8%.
The means of transport sector
was the most positively affected, with
an increase in exports of over 81%. The metal
and metal products sector recorded
an export increase of about 24%. The machinery
and mechanical equipment sector recorded
an export increase of 8.3%.
In 2007 the chemical products, plastic
materials and artificial fibres sector – among
one of the most important of the province – saw
the export of “basic chemical products” fall
by 34.8% while the sector “synthetic
and artificial fibres” recorded a
decrease of 37.7%.
Exports of “fashion and accessories” increased
by 19.6% while there are signs of a recovery
in the “footwear” sector
whose export value rose by 2.6%. As regards
the other productions typical of the Venetian
province, there was an increase of about
11% in the exports of “beverages”,
an increased export value by 0.8% for “furniture” while
the “glass and glass products” sector
recorded an increase of 1%.The export flow
of “lighting equipment and electrical
lights” increased of 6.7% over
2006.
Among the main partners of the province
are U.S.A. (+20.5%), Germany (+14.1%) and
Bahama (+176173% due to the great orders
of ships). Of note is also the increase
of the export flow towards Arab Countries
(Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, United Arab
Emirates, Syria, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon,
Bahrein, Jordan, Yemen, Oman, Palestinian
Territories): the provincial export towards
this geographical area rose by over 30%.
Exports to China from the Venice province
is worth a mention, having increased by
15.5%.
Finally overall, the increase of 17% of
Venetian exports to the countries which
have joined the EU from 1/5/2004 (Czech
Republic, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania,
Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, Malta and Cyprus)
is also worth a mention.
As regards the imports (+6.2%
compared with 2006) Venice
is in 3rd place in the Veneto region after
Verona and Vicenza with a relative importance
of about 15%. Among the supplying countries
the first place goes to Libya (+26.3%),
followed by the Germany (-3.4%), U.S.A.
(+58.8%) and China (+28.4%).
In 2007, confirming the negative trend
recorded in the last three years, the deficit
in the balance of trade of the Venice province
reached a value over 670 million Euro.
This was mostly due to the price increase
of energy products and raw materials on
international markets.
ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
The province of Venice distinguishes itself for the variety of production
sectors:
- the port and airport system and
the associated intermodal and logistics
services which have been recognised by
the Veneto Region (Law 8/2003 of the
Veneto Region and subsequent amendments)
as “Metadristretto Logistico Veneto”,
involving the sector’s businesses
of the provinces of Verona, Padua, Venice
and Treviso.
- tourism and hotel and restaurant
services: spread out, beyond
Venice, among the Venetian villas along
the Riviera del Brenta, and along the
entire coastline, with a total of 11,739
thousand operational tourist activities.
Data of the Venice Province-Tourism
sector – relating to 2007, show
almost 7.4 million arrivals (72.6%
foreign citizens) and over 33 million
presences, 65.9% of these foreign tourists.
- the agricultural and food industry which
includes some of the most important cereal
productions of Eastern Veneto, including
corn, wheat and barley, the industrial
cultivation of soya and beetroot, the
horticulture with the renowned radish
of Chioggia; the wines produced mainly
in the eastern area of the province,
around Portogruaro, with the famous doc
area of Lison-Pramaggiore, and the equally
well known wines of the Piave, around
San Donà di Piave, as well as
the new DOC wines of “Riviera del
Brenta” and “Corti Benedettine
del Padovano”, located in the western
part of the province.
Many important production companies of
mineral water and soft drinks, food pastes
and canning companies are also present;
- fishing and aquaculture,
hinged on the marine of Chioggia and
on lagoon fish farming, yield precious
varieties like gilthead and bass;
- the industrial centre of Porto Marghera
where there are the chemical, gas and energy processing, plastic
materials, pottery and industrial
glass as well as the engineering and iron
and steel sectors;
- the means of transport sector,
which groups together the shipyard industry,
famous worldwide for having built some
of the biggest naval ships in the world
(within the sector, the Cluster of the
Venetian nautical shipyard work has also
been recognised with Law 8/2003 of the
Veneto Region and subsequent amendments),
the sector of aeroplanes,
specialised in the development, maintenance
and construction of parts of vehicles
(businesses of this sector have created
the “Veneto Cluster of Airspace
and Astrophysics – SKYD” which
is going to be recognized by the Veneto
Region); as well as the production of motorcycles and
spare parts for the motoring industry;
- the Veneto footwear “Metadistretto”,
based on a new wider cluster model and
including mostly enterprises located
in the Riviera del Brenta area, and
the artistic glass of Murano cluster,
sectors of ancient productive tradition
and internationally renowned. These have
been reconfirmed as important productive
sectors by Law no. 8 of 2003 of the Veneto
Region and subsequent amendments. The
former gains 90% of sales from exports;
the latter exports over 50% of the value
produced;
- the technological hub of nanotechnology which
involves the Ministry of Education, University
and Research, the Veneto Region, the
Municipalities, the Provinces and the
Chambers of Commerce of Venice and Padua
and sets itself the goal – through
the Veneto Nanotech shareholding consortium
- to incite companies to become acquainted
with and apply the nanotechnology to
their own production processes and at
the same time make the Veneto region
a fertile environment in this sector,
through the attraction of research centres
and training of excellence.
- the Veneto Region has recognized the Veneto
cultural heritage “Metadistretto” which
groups together the enterprises operating
in the sector of restoration and preservation
of movable and immovable cultural assets.
Further information about clusters in
the province of Venice and in the Veneto
Region are available at following web site: http://www.distrettidelveneto.it/.
To finish, there is a well-organised presence
of small enterprises like for example the textiles-clothing-knitwear and furniture sectors.
The first is developed mainly in the Municipalities
of Cavarzere, Cona and Chioggia. The production
of furniture is located mainly in the eastern
area of the Venetian province.
PROSPECTS
The efforts of the Venetian public system
are geared to encouraging internationalisation
of the Small-Medium –sized enterprises
of the province, with particular regard
to integration of the same within the Veneto
area – one of the most advanced production
systems in Europe- and with the emerging
markets of the Mediterranean area and Central
and Eastern Europe. Priority is given to
the ten Countries who joined the European
Union on 1st May 2004 (Czech Republic,
Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland,
Hungary, Slovenia, Malta and Cyprus), and
to Romania and Bulgaria, EU-Members from
1/1/2007 without forgetting the opportunities
offered by markets like China, India,
Russia and Brazil.
At the same time it is vital to promote
the tourist attractions of Venice, which
make it a unique holiday destination as
well as the potential offered by the coast
and the villas of the Riviera del Brenta,
combining the demands of a cultural based
tourism of art cities with that of food
and drink and seaside tourism. Here it
is necessary to continue to improve the
infrastructure and connections with initiatives
geared to specific segments of the market
(for example cruise traffic, connections
with the Far East, high speed ferries).
The natural complement of these strategies
is the Environment and the need to direct
growth towards a “sustainable development” from
an economic but also from a social and
environmental point of view.
The objective, therefore, is to improve
the quality of the economy and not only
its quantitative growth.
The search for forms of renewable alternative
and clean energy, like that generated by
hydrogen, is an example of the challenges
which the industry gravitating around the
centre of Porto Marghera must necessarily
tackle over the coming years.
The first projects of urban renewal have
already produced important results, like
the Science and Technological Park of Marghera,
incubator of businesses operating in the
field of research, new materials, biotechnology
and I.T.
Finally, as regards the historical centre of Venice, it is essential to tackle
the problem of the high water and resolve the problem of mobility and building
in the city, which is strongly penalising the social structure.
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