ABSTRACT
This chapter examines various aspects of a phenomenon, including brief references to the period preceding 1861 for which homogeneous statistics and precise territorial divisions similar to those of the Kingdom of Italy are lacking. Pausing for a moment on the medium-large towns and on the capitals or former capitals of the Italian States, it may be noted that the urbanization process in Northern Italy follows three different logical directions. The first direction includes the settlements along the Via Emilia through cities like Placenza, Parma, Modena, Reggio, Bologna. Another line of urbanization is in Tuscany, leading from Florence to the sea. Limited at one end by the ancient capital of the Grand Duchy and at the other by its port, Livorno. A third area worth mentioning, round which, indeed, towards the middle of the 20th century, urbanization has been so pronounced that it is possible to speak of a metropolitan area, is that of the pre-Alpine plain of Lombardy.
