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What are the most nothernized parts of Spain? Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, PaÃs Vasco, Cataluña I guess?
Also do you consider your region of Castilla a "northernized" area?
Cataluna not that much. It's in the north of the country but has never been part of the stereotype of Northern Spain (clean, organized, quiet and introverted people, green, rainy and gloomy).
It's a very Mediterranean region and has more in common with other regions like the Balearic, Valencia, Murcia, and even Eastern Andalusia, than with Galicia, Asturias or the PaÃs Vasco. Is richer than most of Spain, but that's all.
Castilla is quite big and covers a big area, therefore it is very heterogeneous, so many people consider it as part of this "northernized" area.
Other regions that are part of Northern Spain are Navarra and La Rioja.
Where i live does not look mediterranean at all to be honest, and the areas close to the po are often foggy even in the spring time. My gf works north of Bologna and her relatives are from there and she often complained about the fog while driving as late as may, whereas it was sunny here.
That said, i think it is more similar to Drome area in France or to areas around Toulouse than like, say, Marseille or Provence.
Yes, Marseille and Cote d'Azur have a different landscape, they look as mediterranean as Southern Italy.
About humidity, some coastal spot in southern Italy are very humid: Trapani and the island of Ponza for example have the same humidity levels of our region.
The Po Valley is mostly a man made landscape because it's largely cultivated (corn, wheat) or used for breeding, while the native vegetation can be found only in specific areas.
Emilia-Romagna, the southernmost region of the Po Valley, is quite large and the landscape gradually changes between Piacenza and Rimini. Emilia is cooler, greener and has little mediterranean vegetation (although they have large wineyards).
The more you get near Marche, the more dry/mediterranean vegetation and landscape look, where I live is clearly a transitional area.
yeah, i believe in France the transition is very rapid, especially as you drive along the rhone valley, the landscape changes completely in the space of two hours. In Italy, it takes longer.
We also have calanchi here, but i find the appenines to look nicer around Forli / Imola than around here already.
What i meant to say is that there are no places in France similar to the Po delta or with climates similar to Ferrara or the like (muggy hot summers and pretty cold damp winters with snow). Most places with summers this hot in France are usually much milder in winter and drier / sunnier overall, and places with similar winters usually have cooler summers. Only Rhone Alpes is similar but a lot drier and with slightly cooler summers.
By French standards, the climate of the Po Valley would be more considered as "continental"
It is another kind of south, I didn't mean to make a judgement of course. Lots of nice landscapes as well, but nicer when you get closer to Romagna than around here. I miss having forests nearby, the cornfields and endless flatlands are a bit depressing.
Location: Near Tours, France about 47°10'N 0°25'E
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Originally Posted by forgotten username
yeah, i believe in France the transition is very rapid, especially as you drive along the rhone valley, the landscape changes completely in the space of two hours. In Italy, it takes longer.
I do not agree with that. I tend to think that it is the reverse. Between the Po plain and the mediterranean areas (piemonte/Lombardia on one side and liguria/tuscany on the other), the transition is very sharp, because it is made of montains (the Alps and Appenins) stops the influence of the mediterranean sea very suddenly, while france is actually the only place in Europe where the mediterrean shores are not stopped to area of oceanic or semi oceanic climates by any mountains. The rhone/saone valley is just a giant pass between Alps and Massif central that connect progressively the mediterrean with the plains of the north, while the Lauragay pass do the same between Massif central and pyrenees, and connects progressively the mediterranean with the plains of Aquitaine.
I remember having crossee the from Firenze to Bologna, I never felt such quick contrast, one side looked like Provence, and the other side felt like the Saone plain area.
When I was living in Nice I had to go many times to Cuneo (Coni), a city of southern Piemonte, located in the Po Plain just about 80km north of Nice by bird fly. Going from nice to cuneo passing thru the Tende tunnel is a very interesting experience, especially during winter.
Last edited by french user; 07-22-2015 at 01:22 PM..
In the southwest of France, the transition from temperate oceanic to temperate mediterranean is quite sharp, it is striking because it is a plain and low hills : east of Carcassonne city it is definitely mediterranean, west,oceanic, and this on a few dozen kilometers. The same is true for the Rhone valley South of the Donzère corridor.The same is not true for Provence because there it is mountainous, hence while the southern slopes remain mediterranean with green oaks and some olive trees the north slopes are continental with deciduous trees and spruces.
I do not agree with that. I tend to think that it is the reverse. Between the Po plain and the mediterranean areas (piemonte/Lombardia on one side and liguria/tuscany on the other), the transition is very sharp, because it is made of montains (the Alps and Appenins) stops the influence of the mediterranean sea very suddenly, while france is actually the only place in Europe where the mediterrean shores are not stopped to area of oceanic or semi oceanic climates by any mountains. The rhone/saone valley is just a giant pass between Alps and Massif central that connect progressively the mediterrean with the plains of the north, while the Lauragay pass do the same between Massif central and pyrenees, and connects progressively the mediterranean with the plains of Aquitaine.
I remember having crossee the from Firenze to Bologna, I never felt such quick contrast, one side looked like Provence, and the other side felt like the Saone plain area.
When I was living in Nice I had to go many times to Cuneo (Coni), a city of southern Piemonte, located in the Po Plain just about 80km north of Nice by bird fly. Going from nice to cuneo passing thru the Tende tunnel is a very interesting experience, especially during winter.
You're right, that is the contrast between Piedmont/Liguria and Emilia/Tuscany (this one is less striking).
We were talking about another transition: a very gradual and slow transition along the eastern side of Italy, from Piedmont to Apulia. There isn't any sharp transition in climate and vegetation (but also culture, cuisine etc) along the Po Valley and the entire Adriatic.
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