There are eleven on the map, as you can see, as between 1971 and 2021 Venice dropped out of the top ten and Bari entered it.
Note that in the same timespan, Italy’s overall population has actually grown; from 54 millions to 59 millions (actually to 60 millions in the 2010s, declining in the last few years). However, all the largest cities have seen considerable decline, with many inhabitants relocating to smaller towns in the hinterland (the towns of the Milanese hinterland, for instance, have all seen considerable population increase as the city proper lost population).
In 1981, 18.5 % of Italy’s population lived in the ten largest cities; in 2021, this percentage was down to 14.35 %. Most of the ten biggest cities peaked in the early 1970s and have been declining ever since, save for Palermo and Bari, which reached the peak a decade later (701,782 in 1981 for Palermo, 371,022 in 1981 for Bari) before starting to decline in turn, and Rome, which reached 2,840,000 inhabitants in 1981, declined a little in the following decades, grew again to a historical peak of 2,875,000 in 2017 and then started declining again. Milan has seen a bit of a rebound in recent years, rising from 1,242,000 inhabitants in 2o11 (the lowest in six decades) to 1,372,000 ten years later.
In both 1971 and 2021, nine of the ten largest cities were regional capitals, with Catania being the only outlier; in 2021 four were in northern Italy, four in southern Italy, and two in central Italy, whereas fifty years before five were in the north, two in the center and three in the south.
The overall ranking of the first largest cities – Rome, Milan, Naples and Turin – has remained unchanged, although the latter two have dropped below the million; Genoa and Palermo, which in 1971 were the fifth and sixth, respectively, have switched places, due to the massive decline of the former compared to the small change in the latter. Bologna and Florence, seventh and eighth, have both retained their positions, while more change has taken place at the bottom of the top ten. Venice and Catania are the only Italian cities, among those that had over 300,000 inhabitants in the 1970s, to have since dropped below that threshold; Bari, which was the eleventh largest city in 1971, surpassed both Venice and Catania (while still losing population, just less than them), becoming the ninth, with Catania dropping from ninth to tenth and Venice being pushed out altogether. Venice and Genoa suffered the sharpest population loss, nearly one-third of their inhabitants; Rome and Palermo saw the smallest loss.
Another seven Italian cities, not pictured in the map, had over 200,000 inhabitants in 1971: Verona, Messina, Padua, Trieste, Brescia, Taranto, and Cagliari; all have likewise lost population in the last half century, with the latter three dropping below the 200,000 threshold: Brescia went from 210,047 to 197,353, Taranto from 227,342 to 189,289, and Cagliari from 211,377 to 149,055. Of the other four, Trieste has seen the sharpest decline, from 271.879 to 200.480 inhabitants, while for Verona (from 266.205 to 257.527), Messina (from 250.546 to 224.185) and Padua (from 231.599 to 208.864) this has been less marked.
Only one city that had fewer than 200,000 inhabitants in 1971 has instead since surpassed this threshold: Prato, which has grown from 143,232 inhabitants in 1971 to 201,182 in 2021, largely owing to the booming Chinese community.
Is their a good reason for that? I know Italy is shrinking a little but population is still higher then in 1971 and in most other developed countries cities by en large are growing
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There are eleven on the map, as you can see, as between 1971 and 2021 Venice dropped out of the top ten and Bari entered it.
Note that in the same timespan, Italy’s overall population has actually grown; from 54 millions to 59 millions (actually to 60 millions in the 2010s, declining in the last few years). However, all the largest cities have seen considerable decline, with many inhabitants relocating to smaller towns in the hinterland (the towns of the Milanese hinterland, for instance, have all seen considerable population increase as the city proper lost population).
In 1981, 18.5 % of Italy’s population lived in the ten largest cities; in 2021, this percentage was down to 14.35 %. Most of the ten biggest cities peaked in the early 1970s and have been declining ever since, save for Palermo and Bari, which reached the peak a decade later (701,782 in 1981 for Palermo, 371,022 in 1981 for Bari) before starting to decline in turn, and Rome, which reached 2,840,000 inhabitants in 1981, declined a little in the following decades, grew again to a historical peak of 2,875,000 in 2017 and then started declining again. Milan has seen a bit of a rebound in recent years, rising from 1,242,000 inhabitants in 2o11 (the lowest in six decades) to 1,372,000 ten years later.
In both 1971 and 2021, nine of the ten largest cities were regional capitals, with Catania being the only outlier; in 2021 four were in northern Italy, four in southern Italy, and two in central Italy, whereas fifty years before five were in the north, two in the center and three in the south.
The overall ranking of the first largest cities – Rome, Milan, Naples and Turin – has remained unchanged, although the latter two have dropped below the million; Genoa and Palermo, which in 1971 were the fifth and sixth, respectively, have switched places, due to the massive decline of the former compared to the small change in the latter. Bologna and Florence, seventh and eighth, have both retained their positions, while more change has taken place at the bottom of the top ten. Venice and Catania are the only Italian cities, among those that had over 300,000 inhabitants in the 1970s, to have since dropped below that threshold; Bari, which was the eleventh largest city in 1971, surpassed both Venice and Catania (while still losing population, just less than them), becoming the ninth, with Catania dropping from ninth to tenth and Venice being pushed out altogether. Venice and Genoa suffered the sharpest population loss, nearly one-third of their inhabitants; Rome and Palermo saw the smallest loss.
Another seven Italian cities, not pictured in the map, had over 200,000 inhabitants in 1971: Verona, Messina, Padua, Trieste, Brescia, Taranto, and Cagliari; all have likewise lost population in the last half century, with the latter three dropping below the 200,000 threshold: Brescia went from 210,047 to 197,353, Taranto from 227,342 to 189,289, and Cagliari from 211,377 to 149,055. Of the other four, Trieste has seen the sharpest decline, from 271.879 to 200.480 inhabitants, while for Verona (from 266.205 to 257.527), Messina (from 250.546 to 224.185) and Padua (from 231.599 to 208.864) this has been less marked.
Only one city that had fewer than 200,000 inhabitants in 1971 has instead since surpassed this threshold: Prato, which has grown from 143,232 inhabitants in 1971 to 201,182 in 2021, largely owing to the booming Chinese community.
Is their a good reason for that? I know Italy is shrinking a little but population is still higher then in 1971 and in most other developed countries cities by en large are growing