Enrica Lemmi

Abstract

The Paper presents recent changes in the Italian settlement system and variations in urban hierarchical relations. Functional classification of towns and their new position compared with the situation at the beginning of 1980s, is newly proposed in terms of three categories of cities, medium-sized towns and small towns. The analysis and verification attempted in this study have revealed a marked reduction in the number of small towns as well as shifts in functional characteristics within urban areas in Italy.

Keywords: Urban system, urban functions, Italian towns, urban geography, devel-opment services in towns

Enrica Lemmi, University of Pisa, Department of Environmental and Spatial Sciences Via S. Giuseppe 22 56100 Pisa, Italy