4.4 Major Technological Advances

Major Technological Advancements

• Automobile 🚗 🚙- One of the largest industries in Italy - over 2000 firms, 250,000 employed, 8.5% of Italy's GDP- Dominated by the Fiat Group (90% of vehicles)- (+++) - convenient, more privacy, spurs other industries, freedom of open road- (- - -) - expensive, air + noise pollution, traffic, increase in fossil fuels consumed (⬆️ global warming)
• Airplane 🛫 🛬- Contributes to the tourism industry, as people fly by plane to Italy and within Italy, from region to region- (+++) - easy, high speed, quick service, no natural deterrents- (- - -) - expensive, unreliable, airports take up land space
• Television 📺 📺- 2 Main Networks: state-owned RAI and commercial Mediaset- TV industry is considered to be overly politicized, and the majority of people find online sources more reliable than television news- Similarly to the USA, there are the typical dvd recordings, broadcasts, live performances, classic channels, and streaming networks- (+++) - entertainment source, career opportunities, medium of information, facilitates unity and creativity- (- - -) - too much vulgarity/violence, linked to some health hazards, affects social interactions
• Vaccinations 💉 💊- The Italian government has made 10 vaccines mandatory for children if they wish to enroll in state-owned schools- The consensus was that vaccines are important, but the debate is over whether they should be compulsory — the government wants to be proactive, which is supported by Italian scientific societies- (+++) - can save children's lives, protect the majority, preserve time + money, has eradicated entire diseases, economic benefits- (- - -) - sometimes dangerous effects, not gov choice (goes against people's rights)
• High-speed Trains- Trenitalia Frecciarossa- First introduced in 2007 and is capable of reaching speeds of up to 300 km/h- It connects major cities such as Rome, Milan, Florence, and Venice.

image courtesy of trainline

Italian Inventions

Italians have always been closely connected with other countries, allowing them to take advantage and reap the benefits of major, life-changing inventions, but at the same time, many extraordinary discoveries were made by Italians themselves.

The following is a list of some of the more famous inventions/innovations/discoveries known to be Italian:

• Jeans👖 newspapers 🗞️ Jacuzzis 🛀🏽, telephone ☎️, radio 📻, battery🔋 piano 🎹 banks 🏦, espresso machine ☕