Misplaced Pages

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Gennarous (talk | contribs) at 06:27, 10 April 2008 (→Culture). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Southern Italy

Regional statistics
Largest city	Naples
Regions of Italy	Apulia, Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Molise, Sardinia and Sicily
Area  - Total	47,504 mi² (123,036 km²)
Languages	Standard Italian (official); Neapolitan, Sardinian language, Sicilian, and Italian dialects; minorities of Griko and pockets of Franco-Provençal and Arbëresh.
Population  - Total (2006)  - Density	20,755,621 168.6 people/km²
GDP (nom.)  - Total   - Per capita	2003 estimates $0.369 trillion (17h) $17,924 (26th)
GDP (PPP)  - Total   - Per capita	2003 estimates $0.365 trillion (24th) $17,724 (32th)

Southern Italy (Italia Meridionale or Mezzogiorno) is generally viewed as encompassing Basilicata, Campania, Calabria, Apulia, and Sicily, which lie in Italy's south, as well as Molise and Abruzzo, which are geographically in central or south-central Italy. Some would also include Sardinia and the southern half of Lazio. Italians often refer to Southern Italy as Meridione or Mezzogiorno. The Istituto Nazionale di Statistica (ISTAT) uses the term Italia Meridionale. ISTAT excludes Sicily, Sardinia and southern Lazio in its definition of "Italia Meridionale" but does include Abruzzo and Molise.

The term Mezzogiorno (Midday) first came into use in the 18th century. The term was popularized by Giuseppe Garibaldi who referred to the whole of Italy south of Rome as well as the Abruzzi (although part of that region lay to Rome's north) as "Il Mezzogiorno". The term, which is a reference to Southern Italy's hot midday sun, came into vogue after Italy's unification, and was associated with notions of Southern Italy's poverty, illiteracy, and crime -- stereotypes of the South that persist in modern day Italy.

Geography

Depending on just what one includes as being in Southern Italy, it forms the "boot" of the Italian peninsula, containing the ankle (Abruzzo and Molise and sometimes southern Lazio), the toe (Calabria), and the heel (the southern half of Apulia). Separating the two is the Gulf of Taranto, named after the city of Taranto, which sits at the angle between the heel and the boot itself. It is an arm of the Ionian Sea. The rest of the southern third of the Italian peninsula is studded with smaller gulfs and inlets.

On the eastern coast is the Adriatic Sea, leading into the rest of the Mediterranean through the Strait of Otranto (named after the largest city on the tip of the heel). On the Adriatic, south of the "spur" of the boot, the peninsula of Monte Gargano (Policastro), the Gulf of Salerno, the Gulf of Naples, and the Gulf of Gaeta are each named after a large coastal city. Along the northern coast of the Salernitan gulf, on the south of the Sorrentine peninsula, runs the famous Amalfi Coast. Off the tip of the peninsula there is the world famous isle of Capri.

The climate is Mediterranean (Köppen climate classification Csa), except at the highest elevations (Dsa, Dsb) and the semi-arid eastern stretches in Apulia, along the Ionian Sea in Calabria, and the southern stretches of Sicily (BSw).

The largest city of Southern Italy is Naples, a title it has historically maintained for centuries. Palermo and Bari are the next largest cities in the area.

History

Ever since the Greeks colonised Magna Graecia in the eighth and seventh centuries BCE, the south of Italy has, in many respects, followed a distinct history from the north. After Pyrrhus of Epirus failed in his attempt to stop the spread of Roman hegemony in 282 BC, the south fell under Roman domination and remained in such a position well into the barbarian invasions (the Gladiator War is a notable suspension of imperial control). It was held by the Byzantine Empire after the fall of Rome in the West and even the Lombards failed to consolidate it, though the centre of the south was theirs from Zotto's conquest in the final quarter of the 6th century. Amalfi, an independent republic from the 7th century until 1075, and to a lesser extent Gaeta, Molfetta, and Trani, rivalled other Italian maritime republics in their domestic prosperity and maritime importance.

From then to the Norman conquest of the 11th century, the south of the peninsula was constantly plunged into wars between Greek, Lombard, and the Caliphate. The Norman conquest of southern Italy completely subjugated the Lombard principalities, integrated the Islamic element, and overwhelmed the Byzantines from all but Naples, which ultimately gave in to Roger II in 1127. He raised the south to kingdom status in 1130, calling it the Kingdom of Sicily. The Normans retained harmonious control of their territory, and ran the kingdom of Sicily efficiently. However, it lasted only 64 years before the Holy Roman Emperors long-held designs on the region came to fruition. The Hohenstaufen rule ended in defeat, but the conquering French of Charles of Anjou were themselves forcibly pushed out in the event immortalized as the Sicilian Vespers. Hereafter, until the union in Spain, the kingdom was split between the principalities of Naples on the mainland and of Sicily over the island. The Aragonese rule left its impression on Italy and the Renaissance through such figures as Alfonso the Magnanimous and the Borgia clan. With the unification of the crowns of Castile and Aragon in the late 15th century, southern Italy and Sicily ceased to have a local monarch and were ruled by viceroys appointed by the Spanish crown.

The region remained a part of Spain until the War of the Spanish Succession, when Duke Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia took Sicily. It was soon exchanged with Austria for Sardinia. It became an independent kingdom for Charles of Bourbon and experienced a period of enlightenment with a local, flourishing royal court. In 1798 the French revolutionaries captured southern Italy and created the short-lived Parthenopaean Republic. Eventually, France created the Kingdom of Naples for the benefit of Napoleon's marshal Joachim Murat. An object of irredentism and the Risorgimento, the land was conquered by Giuseppe Garibaldi and the Redshirts in 1861 and, with the north, formed the modern state of Italy.

Garibaldi’s Redshirts were supported by most southern Italians; however, to many others the "northern regime" of Victor Emanuel II was "a hostile invasion which looted the treasury of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, devastated the heavily protected local industries, and reduced Naples from the fourth largest city in Europe and the capital of a kingdom to a provincial town".

The transition to a united Kingdom of Italy was not smooth for the South. The Southern economy was much more agrarian and feudal than the industrial northern economy (still Salerno, "the Manchester of the two Sicilies", could count in 1877 something like 10000 textile workers, more than twice the textile labour of widely-known productive centers like Turin). Poverty and organized crime, tho were persistent problems in Southern Italy as well. Because of this, the South experienced great economic difficulties resulting in massive emigration leading to a worldwide Southern Italian diaspora. Many natives also relocated to the industrial cities in northern Italy, such as Genoa, Milan and Turin.

Today, the South remains considerably less economically developed than the North. Southern Italian secession movements have developed, but have gained little, if any, significant influence.

North-South Divide

Southern Italy has historically been an economically underdeveloped area, roughly coextensive with the former Kingdom of Naples. In the 11th and 12th centuries, Sicily and the Kingdom of Naples played a major role in European affairs and exhibited many signs of prosperity. However, by the middle of the 13th century, due to fiscal policies that prevented the growth of a strong merchant class, the region became economically backward compared to the northern Italian states.. Unlike the rest of Italy, which experienced the rise of many small, independent and prosperous city states, all enterprise in the comparatively large kingdom centred on the capital city of Naples. The outlying areas, cursed with generally poor agricultural conditions, fell further behind. Sicily's trade fell primarily under Catalan control. In spite of economic repression, Southern Italy did experience periods of cultural flowering. With the Spanish conquest, however, the kingdom continued to be repressed and exploited by foreign rule until the late 18th century and when Bourbon rule meant a native court and a time of enlightenment.

Following unification with the rest of Italy in 1861, the southern aristocracy began to deal with northern industrialists- a practice that may have had the adverse effect of continuing the repression in the south well into the 20th century. Southern Italy was in terrible shape prior to and during Giovanni Giolitti's tenure as Prime Minister between 1892 and 1921. During this time most southern Italians were illiterate, there were large numbers of absentee landlords, rebellions were common, and poverty continued. Corruption was such a large problem that Giolitti himself admitted that there were places "where the law does not operate at all". One study released in 1910 examined tax rates in north, central and southern Italy indicated that northern Italy with 48% of the nation's wealth paid 40% of the nation's taxes, while the south with 27% of the nation's wealth paid 32% of the nation's taxes. There were also several natural disasters (earthquakes and landslides) during this period, often killing hundreds of people with each disaster. Giolitti's poor response to a major earthquake in Messina in 1908 was blamed for the high number of deaths. The management of the aftermath of the Messina earthquake infuriated southern Italians who claimed that Giolitti favoured the rich north over them.

Into the 1930s, illiteracy and poverty in southern Italy were still among the highest in western Europe. During the 1950s the regional policy, the Cassa per il Mezzogiorno was set up to help raise the living standards in the South to those of the North. The Cassa aimed to do this in two ways: by land reforms creating 120,000 new small farms, and through the "Growth Pole Strategy" whereby 60% of all government investment would go to the South, thus boosting the Southern economy by attracting new capital, stimulating local firms, and providing employment. As a result the South became increasingly subsidized and dependent, incapable of generating growth itself.

Today, in spite of increased affluence and a much improved economy, the regional disparities persist. Southern Italy continues to be the least prosperous area of Italy. Problems continue to include corruption, organized crime and relatively high unemployment. Southern Italy includes 37% of Italy's population, occupies 40% of its land area, but only produces 24% of its gross domestic product. This does not, however, include the large underground informal economy, reported to be as high as 30% of GDP.

Even though the standard of living is still well below that of northern and central Italy, there are districts with substantial economic production. On the whole, Southern Italy's per capita income has improved to the point where it is nearing the European Union median.

Culture

Historically, the regions of Southern Italy have been exposed to some different influences than the rest of the peninsula, starting most notably with the Greek colonization. Greek influence in the South was dominant until Latinization was completed by the time of the Roman Principate. Greek influences returned by the late Roman Empire, especially following the reconquests of Justinian and the Byzantine Empire. Sicily, was caputed by Muslims and turned into an Emirate for a brief period, although Islam and the people were later removed, elements of the cuisine introduced remains. The rest of the mainland was subject to a struggle of power among the Byzantines, Lombards, and Franks. Until the Norman conquests of the 11th and 12th centuries much of the South followed Eastern rite (Greek) Christianity. The Normans and other northern rulers of the Middle Ages significantly impacted the architecture, religion and high culture of the region. Later, Southern Italy was subjected to rule by the new European nation states, such as Spain and Austria. The Spanish had a major impact on the culture of the South, having ruled it for over three centuries.

In recent years, Southern Italy has experienced a revival of its traditions and music, such as Neapolitan song and the Tarantella.

See also

• Groups of regions of Italy
• Central Italy
• Insular Italy
• Northern Italy

References

1. Demo-Geodemo. - Maps, Population, Demography of ISTAT - Italian Institute of Statistics
2. Eurostat 2006
4. Eurostat 2006
6. Darkest Italy: The Nation and Stereotypes of the Mezzogiorno, 1860-1900 (Hardcover) by John Dickie Category: Italy - History ISBN: 9780312221683 ISBN10: 0312221681 Published: Palgrave Macmillan Publish Date: 1999-11-01 Pages: 209
7. Southern Italy at the Millennium: The Outlook for Southern Italy in the Year 2000, by Clark N. Ellis
8. Benedetto Croce, History of the Kingdom of Naples, 1970
9. Benedetto Croce, History of the Kingdom of Naples, 1970
10. Dennis Mack Smith (1997). Modern Italy; A Political History. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0472108956, pp. 209-210.
11. (Smith (1997), pp. 199.)
12. (Smith (1997), pp. 211.)
13. T. Astarita, Between Salt Water and Holy Water: A History of Southern Italy, 2005
14. Southern Italy at the Millennium: The Outlook for Southern Italy in the Year 2000, by Clark N. Ellis
15. Eurostat 2006

• Geography of Italy
• Italian society