Farms in Southern Italy?

Question

Why are farms separated in Southenr Italy, I reallly need to know for my project, thanks in advance

Answer 1

Southern Italy was historically a highly wealthy area, both culturally and economically more wealthy than northern Italy, though it has always had a humble lowerclass too. The Norman Kingdom of Sicily was prosperous and politically powerful, becoming one of the wealthiest states in all of Europe; even wealthier than England.[8] 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.

Later during the time of the Bourbons it was a highly productive area, the first place in all of Italy to have railways, rule meant a native court and a time of enlightenment. Following the invasion of the Kingdom of Sardinia which saw it dragged kicking and screaming into the Italian unification with the rest of Italian peninsula in 1861, factory technology which the Two Sicilians had gained from the British was taken away to Piemonte, Lombardy and Liguria.[9] The kingdom of the Two Sicilies had been wealthy and 80 million ducats were taken from the banks as a contribution to the new Italian treasury, while other former states in the Italian unification were forced to pay far less.[10]

Because of what Garibaldi, Cavour and the Savoys had done to the area, southern Italy had a decline and suffered from mass immigration, especially between 1892 and 1921..[11] Corruption which had grown since Bourbon control was destroyed, was such a large problem that Giovanni Giolitti admitted that there were places "where the law does not operate at all".[12] 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.[13] 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.

With the introduction of Italian Fascism, the government of Benito Mussolini was able to defeat the illicit crime organisations which had rose because of the lack of governmental control which was born when the Bourbons were defeated by Garibaldi. Mussolini and the Fascists also made a genuine attempt to bring Italy forward as a nation and even began developing some south and central areas, instead of purely focusing on the north. This was a fleeting moment when "Italianism" seemd a reality to some Southerners, instead of regionalism because of what the Garibaldians and Savoys had done. 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.[citation needed]

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[14]. Southern Italy includes 37% of Italy's population, occupies 40% of its land area, but only produces 24% of its gross domestic product due to its historic repression as part of Italy. This does not, however, include the large underground informal economy, reported to be as high as 30% of GDP.[15] After being supressed during the 1920s and 1930s, the organised crime networks were "set free" by the United States who claimed to think they were genuine "anti-fascist movements" and they grew to a level they had never done before; since this time, as the majority of Italy's political groups have been leftist and completely unable to control corruption, or on the other hand the political groups were actively involved with corruption, it has remained today, mostly visably in the form of a landfill management problem.[16]

Even though the standard of living is still 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.[17]