Recenzje: Atlante Fisico-Economico d'Italia

Summary

This is a detailed review of the Physical-Economic Atlas of Italy, edited by G. Dainelli (1940). Produced by a team of Italian scholars, the atlas contains 82 plates and 508 maps and uses mainly isarithmic methods to present Italy's physical environment and economic development. The physical section, about one-quarter of the volume, gives particular attention to climate, and also covers relief, seas, geology, volcanoes, hydrography, vegetation and fauna; the economic section deals with population, agriculture, industry and services, with special emphasis on land use and the regional distribution of activities. The reviewer praises the wealth of material and the clarity and aesthetic quality of the maps, but criticizes significant shortcomings: the only topographic map is too small in scale, a soil map is lacking, urban geography and tourism are absent, fisheries are insufficiently treated, the isarithmic method is often misapplied, and no map bears a graticule or coordinates. He concludes that the atlas fails to provide a complete picture of Italy's geography, and that its economic content was deliberately selected to present the fascist regime in a favorable light.