Central Italy
Italia centrale | |
|---|---|
| Country | Italy |
| Regions | |
| Area | |
| • Total | 58,052 km2 (22,414 sq mi) |
| Population | |
| • Estimate (2016 est.) | 12,067,524 |
| Languages | |
| – Official language | Italian |
| – Other common languages | |
Central Italy (Italian: Italia centrale or just Centro) is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), a first-level NUTS region, and a European Parliament constituency.
Central Italy encompasses four of the country's 20 regions:
The southernmost and easternmost parts of Lazio (Sora, Cassino, Gaeta, Cittaducale, Formia, and Amatrice districts) are often included in Southern Italy (the so-called Mezzogiorno) for cultural and historical reasons, since they were once part of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and southern Italian dialects are spoken.
As a geographical region, however, central Italy may also include the regions of Abruzzo and Molise,[2][3][4] which are otherwise considered part of Southern Italy for socio-cultural, linguistic and historical reasons.
Marches, Tuscany, and Umbria – together with Emilia-Romagna – are considered to be the most left-leaning regions in Italy, and together are also referred to as the "Red Belt".[5][6][7][8]
Lazio, except for Rome, is more politically conservative, a trait which it shares with both Northern and Southern Italy.[citation needed]
The gross domestic product (GDP) of the region was 380.9 billion euros in 2018, accounting for 21.6% of Italy's economic output. The GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 31,500 euros, or 105% of the EU27 average the same year.[9]
