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At the end of 2004, 246,000 people lived in the 23 townships located between the Olona and Ticino rivers, the Malpensa Hub and the new exhibition center of Rho-Pero. The land of Altomilanese is a territory united more by facts than by name. It has the same history, but the economy, in particular, has been the real common point throughout the years.
First there was agriculture, one of the oldest industries in Italy, in particular in the XIV century during the visconteo-sforzesco period. Then there was industrialization, starting from the end of the XIX century and continuing up till now; the principle industries in this area changed from textiles, to shoes and finally to the mechanical industry.
With an economy for tradition based on varying industries, the end of the XX century brought to the land of Altomilanese drastic transformations which caused even the biggest industries to close down, a phase of changes which still continues today. However there are factories that, despite this crisis, carry on innovation abilities, productive unities, and workers numbering above the provincial and regional average, one of the highest of the nation.
According to the Istat return census in 2001 the leading sector for industrial occupation was the textile industry, with about 12%, followed by mechanical (8,5%), metallurgic (6,7%) and fabrication of electric and optic machines (3,8%). A peculiarity of the territory is the concentration of different types of factories in different areas: tannery in Castano Primo, shoe industry in Parabiago and chemical in Nerviano.
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