Abstract
“The Underdeveloped South” focuses on the status of the economy before and after the annexation. The author examines the impact that the new kingdom’s laissez-faire policy had on the Southern economy. He agrees with recent allegations that without the protection of import tariffs Southern industries were bound to go bankrupt. However, he shows that in the context of the commercial realities of the time, southern methods of production were too antiquated to actually compete in the open market. DiMaria rejects the assumption that if the country had helped manufacturers to refurbish their plants, they could have re-entered the market as competitive players. He argues convincingly that Southern industries could not have accomplished a quick turnaround because the region lacked adequate infrastructure, a literate labor force, and an entrepreneurial mentality.
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Notes
- 1.
From the table “L’analfabetismo in Europa e in Italy dal 1861 ad oggi.”
- 2.
“fino ai miei tempi era vergogna imparare a leggere e scrivere! Studiava chi doveva farsi prete! Nostra madre non sapeva fare la propria firma …” (De Roberto, 63).
- 3.
“non abbiamo chi ci consiglia […]; io non so leggere e scrivere: per fare qualche cosa buona ci devono istruire” (Nitti, Scritti, 169).
- 4.
Michelangelo Morano writes that by the beginning of the century the presence of threshers in the Basilicata region had almost doubled to around 50 machines (537).
- 5.
Speaking of the positive effects of emigration, Nitti writes: “Vi è stato un risveglio nell’istruzione elementare: l’analfabetismo, tra le rozze plebi, è stato combattuto dall’emigrazione. All’estero l’emigrato ha potuto comprendere il valore dell’istruzione, del saper leggere e scrivere, per corrispondere direttamente coi suoi cari e per governare i propri affari” (Scritti, 194).
- 6.
The treatise, read by luminaries and politicians of the time including John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, led to major penal reforms, such as the abolition of torture and the death penalty in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in 1786.
- 7.
“Ciò che rendeva difficile la comunicazione tra i protagonisti del socialismo italiano di fine secolo e il proletariato operaio e contadino era proprio l’analfabetismo diffuso, che ostacolava l’accesso alla propaganda scritta e favoriva la trasformazione delle lotte popolari” (Orsomarso, 491).
- 8.
For the various views on this subject, see Teti’s La razza maledetta.
- 9.
“Le nazioni che si avvicinano all’Italia per ignoranza, le si avvicinano pure per la più grave forma di delinquenza […] la miseria è la grande amica dell’analfabetismo” (Colajanni, Per la razza, 9, 13).
- 10.
According to the 1990 United States Census Bureau, by 1990 more than 65% of Italo-Americans were managerial, professional, or white-collar workers.
- 11.
The young professional sued the leasing agency for defamation and racial discrimination: “Già, l’odio razziale: calabrese uguale ’ndranghetista, truffatore, violento, basso, brutto, coi baffi e scuro di carnagione. Lombroso continua a far danni” (Media).
- 12.
A dramatization of this paranoia is commonly represented in Italian cinematography, most recently in Luca Miniero’s 2010 Benvenuti al Sud and its 2012 sequel, Benvenuti al Nord.
- 13.
On Dante’s fear of the newcomer see also Paradiso, 16. Through the voice of his ancestor Cacciaguida, who recalls with nostalgia the good old days, the poet wishes that the people from the surrounding area had stayed in their villages so that the Florentines did not have to suffer their stench, or puzzo.
- 14.
In their weblog, Guardie informate, the guards write that especially in the South these gunfights resemble a “scenario da far west.” For details on attacks on armored trucks, go to: http://www.guardieinformate.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topicid=12909&forum=2.
- 15.
“Quando il 50% dei dipendenti si dichiara ammalato in un giorno specifico dell’anno […] vuol dire che c’è una anomalia. Dipende da che partita c’è” (Marchionne).
- 16.
“questi assenteisti non solo rubano il salario, ma rubano il futuro a questa terra compromettendo il lavoro degli altri perché impediscono investimenti” (“Al Sud tasso”).
- 17.
Chiara Rizzo notes that between 2007 and 2013 Campania, Calabria, Sicily and Puglia failed to spend €15 billion allocated to them by the European Union for their economic development. According to Ms. Cretu the Southern regions were not able to manage the funds they receive “non sono state capaci di gestire correttamente e completamente i fondi a loro destinati.”
- 18.
The Censis report “La crisi sociale del Mezzogiorno” was presented in Rome on March 19, 2013. Of particular relevance is section 3, pp. 33–49, “L’abbandono della sanità pubblica.” Notaristefano, commenting on the report, concluded that the health care situation in the South is so “tragica” that many travel to North or Central Italy to get better care.
- 19.
On the scandalous conditions of the Cardarelli and other medical services and facilities in and around Naples, see also Bocca, 232–37.
- 20.
Rapporto Statistico Liguria shows the following illiteracy data: North: 0.6%, Center: 0.9%; Sud: 3.0%; Islands: 2.6%; Italia: 1.5%.
- 21.
For details, see Ananasso’s article.
- 22.
Longoni writes: “nessuna provincia dell’Italia centro-meridionale e insulare riesce a sfuggire a un giudizio negativo (qualità della vita scarsa o insufficiente).”
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DiMaria, S. (2018). The Underdeveloped South. In: Towards a Unified Italy. Italian and Italian American Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90766-6_4
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