More than 16 million people (nearly a third of all Italians) live in the Val Padana, and is some of the most heavily cultivated land in Europe.
The maximum width of the river Po is 200/400 meters after Mantova.
The maximum depth of the river Po is 120 metres.
The most important cities across the River Po are: Torino, Piacenza, Cremona, Ferrara.
The Po river provides water for civil, industrial and agricultural usage. Its power is also used to produce electricity.
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The Northern part of Italy has hot summers and cold winter, although the temperature rarely drops below freezing during the daytime. The South enjoys mild winters and long, dry, hot summers. Mountain areas such as the Alps and the Apennines have long; cold winters long and short, cool summers. Italy’s distinct shape (the boot) makes it one of the most recognizable countries in the world. Being a peninsula, the majority of the country is surrounded by the crystal blue Mediterranean Sea leading to nearly 8000 km (nearly 5000 miles). Rolling green hills dotted in olive groves and wineries dominate the more rural landscape while the cities have ancient structures with more modern buildings. There are two major mountain ranges in Italy that cover more than 75% of the landscape: the Alps in the north and the Apennine range creating the backbone of the mainland.
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The complexity of its geological history combined with the wide variety of its substratum rock types, often dislocated by numerous fault-lines and folding of the rocky strata by orogenic forces, have contributed to Italy's extremely diverse morphology. Less than a quarter (23%) of its total territory is formed by plains, while mountainous areas occupy over a third of its surface (35%). Finally, over two-fifths (42%) consists of hill zones. Italy's maximum height above sea level corresponds with the summit of Mt. Bianco, 4,810 m., on the border with France. The far eastern section of the Po Plain has in contrast some zones slightly below sea level, which are generally subject to subsidence phenomena. However, physically, the Italian territory can be considered to consist of the following regional units, characterized by a certain morphological similarity and at times also climatic: the Alpine system and Po-Venetian Plain in the continental section; the Apennine system and anti-Apennine reliefs in the peninsula section; and the large islands of Sicily and Sardinia.