The concept of the "Blue Banana" urban and industrial area was first introduced by geographer Roger Brunet in 1989. Brunet identified the regions that had historically played a key role in the political, industrial, economic, and demographic development of Europe, and noted that the shape of this geographical area resembled a banana, stretching from London and southern England to Northern Italy, passing through the Netherlands, Belgium, Paris, Central Europe, and Switzerland. The blue colour used to define this region's name was taken from the EU flag and the typical uniforms of European industrial and port workers.

It is extremely interesting to note that this relatively narrow strip of land running through the heart of the Old Continent is home to approximately 110 million inhabitants and generates 70% of Europe's wealth. If it were a state, the blue banana would be the third richest in the world. It includes large urban centres such as London, Milan, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Paris, Zurich, Turin, and Genoa. The reasons for this economic success lie in a fortunate combination of historical circumstances. During the Middle Ages and the modern era, while Eastern and Mediterranean Europe were often unstable and threatened by invasions from hostile peoples pressing along their borders, the central regions of Europe and the Alpine arc enjoyed a stable and relatively peaceful political situation. Railways, ports, road networks, and industries developed in these regions, which determined their long-term success. Southern England was the birthplace of industrialisation, and the regions where industry developed most rapidly were also those that enjoyed the greatest stability. The "Blue Banana" regions soon became strongholds of industrialisation, birthplaces of liberal thought, and key locations in European history, from the Atlantic Revolutions to the tragic twentieth-century phenomenon of Fascism (born in Milan).

Even today, the concept of the Blue Banana remains one of the most effective symbols for understanding the economic and geographical imbalances of contemporary Europe. It is not just a curious shape on the map, but a concrete representation of how history, economics, politics, and geography contributed to the formation of the productive and political heart of modern Europe.