Italy's Motorway of the Sun

by Kotaro Shigeta
(Koiwa, Tokyo)

The highway called the "Motorway of the Sun" is located in Italy. It is Autostrada del Sole. This motorway that connects Naples to Milan is a highway through which it travels north and south from the knee of Italy to the ankle.

Industry is prosperous, and the economic discrepancy has spread greatly between the northern part with big cities, such as Milan and Turin, and the poor southern part which is based on agriculture. This has become a big problem in Italy.

The Autostrada del Sole was made in order to narrow the gap between the north and south in Italy. It was prayed that a solar motorway could be compared to shining a light on the whole country, and so it was named Motorway of the Sun.

However, the South-North gap of Italy has not been cured, even though over 50 years has passed since completion of this motorway.

In Japan there is a debate about whether a gap becomes still larger by the development of traffic.