This paper investigates the meso dimension of the Italian territorial capital. Multivariate explorative analysis was carried out on Italian municipalities using several original statistical indicators. We detected two latent dimensions on which three clusters of municipalities were identified: the prevalence of cultural endowments and typicality, the prevalence of environmental and natural endowments, and the prevalence of other endowments. These clusters were then used for analytical purposes, crossing demographic and socio‐economic variables. The results showed that some elements of “‘disadvantage,” such as poor accessibility, can, in reality, represent strengths, provided that such an endowment is exploited in sectors that can benefit from it, such as, for example, culture and tourism.

An original approach to spatial economic analysis is here proposed with reference to Italy. A granularity approach is applied on microdata related to a panel of firms that have been active during 2007–2017. At each firm is therefore associated a coefficient of exposure to the economic cycle of four major foreign economies: Germany, UK, USA, and China. This information is then linked to territorial level and analyzed at two geographical scales: regional and sub-regional. The autocorrelation spatial analysis carried out lead us to appreciate geography of exposure to positive or negative shocks coming from each of the four foreign economies. This geography is very different from the administrative one and can represent a tool for planning future strategies of economic investments and territorial planning.

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