South Coast
| South Coast | |
|---|---|
| Region of Vegno | |
 |
|
| Country |  Vegno |
| Capital | Murgione |
| Government | |
| • President | Emanuele Messicano (PNV) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 75,692.16 km2 (29,224.91 sq mi) |
| Population (1724 AN) | |
| • Total | 231,602 |
| • Density | 3.1/km2 (7.9/sq mi) |
South Coast (Vegnian: Costa Sud), also known by its vegnian name Costa Sud, is a region of Vegno, located in the southern section of the country, bordering the Strait of Pearls to the eas and to the south. The region comprises 75,692.16 square kilometers, and its population is about 231,602 people (on 1724 AN).
It is bordered by the other vegnese regions of Largoprato and Cossa to the north. Its chief town is Murgione.
Geography
South Coast's coastline is longer than that of any other mainland Vegnese region. It is also the home to two national parks, the Alta Murgia National Park and Murgione National Park.
The climate is typically maritime and continental with mild, warm and sunny summers and quite cold and rainy winters. Snowfall, especially on the coast is rare but has occurred as recently as early 1711 AN. South Coast is among the hottest and driest regions of Vegno in summer with temperatures sometimes reaching up to and above 25-30 °C in Murgione and Belvedere.
The coastal areas in the southern are frequently exposed to winds of varying strengths and directions, strongly affecting local temperatures and conditions, sometimes within the same day. The Northerly wind from the Northern Sea can lower temperatures, humidity and moderate summer heat. On some rare days in spring and autumn, it can be warm enough to swim in Belvedere and Port of Sails on the southern coast while at the same time, cool winds warrant jackets and jumpers/sweaters in the other part of the region.
Economy
The region's contribution to Vegno's gross value added was around 4.6% in 1706, while its population was 2,74% of the total. The per capita GDP is low compared to the national average.
The region has industries specialising in particular areas, including food processing and vehicles in Virtola; footwear and textiles in the Ansia province, and wood and furniture in the Murgione area to the west.
Between 1705 and 1710 the economy of South Coast expanded more than that of the rest of southern Vegno. Such growth, over several years, is a severe challenge to the hydrogeological system.
South Coast's thriving economy is articulated into numerous sectors boasting several leading companies, but most of them produce materials or components, not finished goods:
- Aerospace
- Automotive
- Mechanics
- Furniture
- Food and Beverage
- Agriculture
- Publishing
- Tourism
- Logistics
The unemployment rate stood at 8.1% in 1710 AN.
Fishing and acquacolture
The port of Murgione hosts numerous fishing boats. The fleet is mainly made up of about 80 fishing boats, which do not exceed 10 gross tonnage and which practice trawling, while the remaining small-scale fishing boats operate with gillnets. The sea, rich and generous, is populated by dentex and sea bream, grouper, mullet and anchovies, shrimp and squid. Other significant fishing ports are Belvedere and Ansia.
Today Belvedere is one the producer of farmed mussels: with 1,300 employees, around 30,000 tons of mussels are processed per year. Mussel farming has characterized the city's economy for years, making the mussel one the gastronomic symbol of Belvedere.The work place of the Belvedere mussel farmers is the boat; every detail of the working method has improved over time.
Agricolture
Agriculture plays a prominent economic role in Vegno, since it's the most warm region in the country. It is a mainly intensive and modern agriculture that allows the region to be among the first in Vegno for the production of many products:
- durum wheat which is used to produce pasta
- tomatoes
- grape
- almonds
- olive oil
Vegetable growing (lettuce, artichoke, fennel, cabbage, celery, barattiere, borage, sweet potato, caper, portulaca) and horticulture (kiwis, peaches, orange, clementine, lemon) are also developed.
Transports
The region has a good network of roads, but the railway network is less comprehensive, particularly in the south. There are high-speed lines wich connect essentially the capital Murgione with only two lines to Mhazar and Cossa.
The region is crossed northwest to southeast by the A1 and A2 highways: the Murgione- Agropl Grande Autostrada and the Murgione-Mhazar Piccola Autostrada, which connects the region capital, Murgione, to the other important cities in Vegno, like Mhazar, Cossa and Agropl. There are no other highways in the region but there is still a rapid way to reach Port of Sails from Murgione with the SS106.
Government and politics
The Regional Government (Giunta Regionale) is presided by the President of the Region (Presidente della Regione), who is elected for a five-year term. The Regional Council of South Coast (Consiglio Regionale della Costa Sud) is composed of 30 members and is elected with proportional representation plus a majority premium for the winning coalition. The Council is elected for a five-year term, but, if the President suffers a vote of no confidence, resigns or dies, under the simul stabunt vel simul cadent clause (introduced in 1704), also the Council will be dissolved and there will be a fresh election.
The last regional election was held in 1710 AN and saw the election of Emanuele Messicano, exponent of the Partito Nazionalista Vegnese party.
Administrative divisions
| Province | Area (km2) | Population
(1724 AN census) |
Density
(inhabitants/km2) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Murgione | 14,408.64 | 95,373 | 6.62 |
| Belvedere | 13,331.52 | 48,173 | 3.61 |
| Ansia | 13,582.08 | 43,981 | 3.24 |
| Virtola | 34,369.92 | 44,073 | 1.28 |
Culture
Cuisine
Cuisine plays an important role throughout South Coast. The key locally produced ingredients used there include: olive oil, artichokes, tomatoes, aubergines/eggplants, asparagi, Seafoods and mushrooms. In summer it is very common to also use the carosello, a variety of muskmelon which is often consumed in an immature state. Moreover, also a type of bread, Pane di Belvedere and legumi present in the list, in South Coast and in Murgione are typical pasta shapes such as Orecchiette. Popular street foods include panzerotti, sgagliozze (Fried Polenta), and focaccia barese.
Sports
South Coast is home to several national football clubs.
Across the top 3 levels of vegnese football, the clubs in South Coast include:
- U.S. Città di Murgione playing in Lega A
- Belvedere Calcio playing in Lega B
- Virtus Virtola playing in Lega B
- Ansia Nord playing in Lega C
- AC Ansiogena playing in Lega C
