Other Industrial Sectors

The diversification of Italian industry has reached the point where it becomes difficult to classify producers in specific sectors. Certain industries, some traditional, have made a highly important contribution locally or in a specific context to the country's development. One example is the building industry in general (constructions, roads etc.), particularly the housing sector which after the depression affecting the whole country between 1975-85, appears to be in a new phase of development. Satellite activities include cement production, with Italian raw materials (lime, marl etc.), other building materials (ceramics, bricks) and glass manufacture. The woodworking industry, a solid, generally localised industry, uses prevalently imported raw materials specifically in the production of household goods and furniture. The manufacture of paper and allied materials has been traditional for centuries and is linked to the production of packaging and particularly to printing and publishing. Other specific sectors include tobacco (utilizing some national raw materials), footwear, leather and rubber articles, while jewelry and hand-crafted products such as pottery, glass, wood and wrought-iron, provide employment for large numbers, with a generally standardized output for the tourist trade.