Measurements of daily sunshine hours and of global solar radiation for most of the existing stations in Italy, covering a period of (5{curly logical or}30)y, were analysed. Linear correlation coefficients were calculated between the above-cited measurement for 36 stations and for every month of the year. Italy has been divided in areas in which such coefficients are not much different among them. The mean values of these coefficients relative to each area were used to estimate the global radiation for the sunshine stations located in the same area. Using so radiation obtained values for about 140 stations, 12 month global radiation maps were realized for the Italian territory. Possible errors and limitations of the maps were discussed. © 1990 Società Italiana di Fisica.