Does your company have facilities in Italy? If not, it might be missing out on some of Europe's best business opportunities.

By virtue of its location and unique geographic orientation, Italy offers investors access to not only the heart of Europe, but also the region's southern reaches and the Mediterranean as well. "We're now helping a client who needs a shared service center in the southern region of Europe, and Italy is a contender for that facility," says one location consultant. "When companies for strategic reasons need to be in the southern part of the EU (European Union), Italy should be considered."

Sheer market size is one of Italy's attractions. Its 57 million people rank No. 4 among European countries, much smaller than Germany but just below France and the United Kingdom. What's more, Italy's industrial output is similar in size to that of France and the United Kingdom, so it has a substantial manufacturing base.

Italy's geographic diversity, which includes both snow-covered Alps peaks (along its northern border with France, Switzerland and Austria) and sun-drenched Mediterranean beaches, is perhaps matched only by its economic diversity and the resulting wide range of location options.

Need ready access to a large industrial base, population centers and plenty of skilled workers? Northern Italy's got what you need, in cities like Milan and Turin. "The real economic powerhouse of industry and technology in Italy is in the North," says Richard Greene, Utrecht, Netherlands-based managing consultant with Ernst & Young.

Looking to establish operations in a less-expensive area? Then central and southern Italy fit the bill nicely. In fact, investors setting up in southern Italy are eligible for some of Europe's most attractive financial incentives packages (see the Italy feature in the October/November 1998 Site Selection for more details).

"Skilled labor is less available in the South, but costs are less too," Greene points out. "So there's opportunity there. Southern Italy could also be a jumping point to northern Africa."

Whether the location choice is northern, central or southern, Italy has become an increasingly sound business site. A key reason is the country's aggressive efforts to get its fiscal house in order, launched a few years ago to meet EU entry requirements. Italy has addressed its historically huge fiscal imbalances, adopted fairly stringent budgets, abandoned its inflationary wage indexation system and begun scaling back its generous social programs.

Those business-climate reforms, coupled with the country's other business advantages, have made Italy a serious contender for European facility locations. It's taken its seat at Europe's business table.

Here's a look at location news and developments across Italy, including some of the biggest recent corporate expansion moves.