CITIES

As recently as 1900, the three largest cities of Italy Rome, Milan, and Naples each had about 500,000 people. Much of the Italian population lived in very small towns and villages. More than half the people were farmers, and industry was concentrated in the northwestern part of the country.

Italy's urban population has grown impressively since 1900. Rome, the largest city, had nearly 3 million people in 1990; Milan had about 1,500,000; and Naples, about 1,200,000. Since the late 19th century Italy has been a source of large numbers of emigrants. Prior to the 1920s most settled in North and South America. After World War II many moved to Australia. Hundreds of thousands of Italians are now temporary or permanent residents of Switzerland, France, and Germany.

As Italian cities grew, the means of earning a living changed from agricultural to industrial employment. Less than 10 percent of the labor force now works in agriculture. The majority is employed in manufacturing, service occupations, commerce, and construction industries