UPDATE 1-Italy's advertising spending to grow 4% this year - trade group

Adds quote, background data

MILAN, March 16 (Reuters) - Advertising spending in Italy is expected to rise by 4% this year, partly recovering from a slump in 2020 due to the coronavirus crisis, the chairman of national advertising trade group UPA said on Tuesday in an interview with Rtl radio.

The amount of money spent on advertising in Italy fell 11% to 7.8 billion euros ($9.3 billion) last year, according to research firm Nielsen.

"We estimate a growth around 4% in 2021", Lorenzo Sassoli was quoted as saying in a statement by Rtl.

Under such a scenario, spending on TV advertising is expected to grow in line with the average, while online advertising should show a better trend, he added.

In January, advertising spending in Italy fell 4.3% year-on-year but a solid recovery is expected from the spring onwards, Nielsen said on Monday. nL8N2LD4Q4

(Reporting by Claudia Cristoferi. writing by Elvira Pollina. Editing by Giulia Segreti and Mark Potter)

((elvira.pollina@thomsonreuters.com;))