Economia e società: il divario Nord-Sud all’Unità

With the avail of the most recent results from research in economic history, the essay analyses the conditions of Southern Italy around the time of Unification in comparison with the Centre-North, for what regards both economic and social indicators. In income and in the pre-conditions of development, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was certainly not the most advanced state of the Italian peninsula, as instead a recent popular literature argues; on the contrary, it was actually the most backward one. Furthermore, Southern Italy appears to have been burdened by internal inequality, between the rich and the poor, higher than in the rest of Italy; such inequality was in turn supported by extractive institutions, and by subsequent strategies of the southern ruling elite. Of course, there were some exceptions, either at the local or sub-sectoral level. However, on the whole, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was far away from the threshold of autonomous industrial take-off; less than ever it could be regarded as one the most industrialized countries of that time, or even only boast good institutions and an efficient administration. In view of this, we must ask ourselves how come that the fallacious popular literature in favour of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies is growing so successful.

Keywords: Italy’s unification; Regional inequality; Social conditions; Bourbonism