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{{Short description|Regionalist movement in Europe}}
]
{{use dmy dates|date=July 2023}}
]
In ], there are some active movements and parties calling for autonomy or even independence for the areas comprised within the historical ]: that is, ] and/or the region of ]. No political movement promoting these ideas has ever been successful in gaining traction among the population. The movement remains on the fringes with no representation in the Italian parliament.


], being ] (dark turquoise) and ] (dark purple).]]
There are various regional '''Southern Italy autonomist movements''', covering the political spectrum from ] to ] ].


==Languages==
Since the fall of the ], ] often experienced distinct historical developments when compared to ]. As a result, it has developed distinctive cultures and identities that persist to this day. After the ] took control of the south in 1861, as well as the rest of Italy apart from present day ], ] and ], which were annexed later, it took many years before resistance died down and central authority was established. During World War II there were fresh attempts by ] to achieve independence. Political groups continue to advocate greater autonomy, or sometimes even independence, for southern Italy or regions within it (primarily ] and ]), although the demand for autonomy or independence is now weaker in the South than in the North.<ref name=smith>{{cite book
Most of the languages traditionally spoken in southern Italy (historically the ]) are grouped as dialects of the ] and ] languages. Like the ] spoken in the north, these dialects are different from standard ], though the Neapolitan variants are similar to the central language group which includes the ] on which standard Italian is based. Sicilian has a very strong Greek-Arab substratum, which give the languages many distinct sounds and flavors not typical of Italian.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://arbasicula.org/|title=Arba Sicula|publisher=Arba Sicula|accessdate=2009-04-14}}</ref>
|last=Smith |first=Dennis Mack
|year=1997
|title=Modern Italy; A Political History
|location=Ann Arbor
|publisher=The University of Michigan Press
|pages=95–96
|isbn=0300043422
}}</ref>


==Southern Question==
==Historical background==
{{main|Southern question}}
] group in dark purple, ] group in light purple)|300px]]
]
Many academics, politicians and other influential people have contributed to "]" (''meridionalismo''), opinions, and research, analysis and policy proposals regarding the south of Italy. Historically concentrating only on the economic gap between the north and south of Italy, the ] and problem is now seen in the broader context of Europe.


The historian ] (1827–1917), the politician ] (1847–1922) and the publicist ] ( 1847–1917) were among the first to study in depth the effect of annexation to the Kingdom of Italy. To some of them, the unification was a form of military and economic colonialism. The early Meridionalists, although conservative, did not hesitate to reveal the serious responsibility of the government and the ruling classes, especially landowners.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/9195/9195.intro.html|title=The View from Vesuvius: Italian Culture and the Southern Question|author=Nelson Moe|publisher=University of California|date=July 2002|accessdate=2009-04-18}}</ref>
After the disintegration of the ] in 476, Italy and ] came under the control of successive ] invaders such as the ],<ref>], ''History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'' Vol. IV, Chapters & </ref> ]<ref>{{Cite book
|first=Christopher|last=Wickham|author-link=Chris Wickham
|editor-last=Goffart|editor-first=Walter A.|editor2-last=Murray|editor2-first=Alexander C.
|contribution=Aristocratic Power in Eight-Century Lombard Italy
|title=After Rome's Fall: Narrators and Sources of Early Medieval History, Essays presented to Walter Goffart
|year=1998
|pages=153–170
|place=Toronto
|publisher=University of Toronto Press
|isbn=0-8020-0779-1
|postscript=<!--None-->}}</ref> and ].<ref>{{cite book
|author=McKitterick, Rosamond
|title=The Frankish Kingdoms under the Carolingians, 751–987
|location=London
|publisher=Longman
|year=1983
|isbn=0582490057}}</ref> However, the Eastern Roman or ] continued to retain strong links with Venice, the south of Italy and Sicily. For long periods the southern territories were under ] ] control. Following the expansion of ], Sicily (as with Spain) was progressively conquered by the ] from the mid 9th to the mid 10th centuries, and Arab advances were introduced to Europe.<ref>{{cite book
|author=]
|year=1968
|title= A History of Sicily: Medieval Sicily 800—1713
|publisher=Chatto & Windus
|location=London
|isbn=0701113472}}</ref>


The solutions the Meridionalists proposed varied considerably due to their different viewpoints and political affiliations. For example, the writer and politician Napoleone Colajanni (1847–1921), a positivist and socialist, supported state intervention in the south as the only way to develop the area.<ref>{{cite EB1922|wstitle=Colajanni, Napoleone|volume=30}}</ref> On the other hand, ] (1858–1943), a liberal economist and radical deputy, accepted state regulation of "natural" monopolies, but believed in free trade and was hostile to state interventionism.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://siba2.unile.it/ese/search/details.php?id=&pubid=5&recid=2211&recs=10&pubcat=ese&single_pub=&pub_type=c&n_campo=|title=The notion of market power in the Italian marginalist school De Viti de Marco and Pantaleoni|publisher=Servizi Informatici Bibliotecari di Ateneo: Università degli Studi di Lecce|author=Mosca, Manuela|year=2004|accessdate=2009-04-18}}</ref>
In the 11th century ] invaders took control of southern Italy, captured ] in 1061, and after extended maneuvers and sporadic fighting took ] in 1086.<ref>{{cite book
|author=]
|title=The Normans in the South 1016-1130
|location=London
|publisher=Longmans
|year=1967
|isbn=0140152121}}</ref> The Normans adapted to the sophisticated oriental culture of the island, which for a while was the wealthiest country in Europe and the main channel for bringing advanced eastern knowledge and ideas to ].<ref>{{cite book
| last = John Julius
| first = Norwich
| authorlink = John Julius Norwich
| title =The Normans in Sicily: The Normans in the South 1016-1130 and the Kingdom in the Sun 1130-1194
| publisher =Penguin Global
| url =http://www.amazon.com/Normans-Sicily-1016-1130-Kingdom-1130-1194/dp/0140152121
| isbn = 978-0140152128}}


], (1868–1953) was an economist and political figure. A ], he served as the ] between 1919 and 1920. According to the ] ("''Theories of Overpopulation''"), Nitti (''Population and the Social System'', 1894) was a staunch critic of English economist ] and his Principle of Population.
</ref> Various dynastic changes occurred in the ensuing centuries, with Sicily and Naples coming under control of the ]n ], then the French ]. In 1282 ], son-in-law of the last Hohenstaufen king, gained control of Sicily although the Angevins retained control of the ].


] graduated in literature in ] in 1896. He taught History at the universities of ] (during the 1908 Messina earthquake he was the only survivor of his entire family), ] and ]. From 1919 to 1921 he served in ]. As member of the Italian Socialist Party he fought for ] for the moral and economic rebirth of Italy's Mezzogiorno (southern Italy), and against corruption in politics.
In 1442 King ] reunified the ] and the ] into the ]. For most of its existence, the Kingdom of Two Sicilies was ruled directly by Aragon, then by Spain, or was a kingdom subordinate to Spain. In 1713 Spain and both Sicilies passed to ], who founded the Spanish branch of the ]. Apart from a short period of ] rule between 1805 and 1815, the kingdom was ruled by Bourbon princes until 1861 when it was annexed by the ] after the ] led by ].<ref name>{{cite book
|last=Colletta
|first=Pietro
|title=History of the Kingdom of Naples (1858)
|publisher=University of Michigan
|url=http://books.google.com/?id=7IM2AAAAMAAJ&dq=%22Edict+of+Bayonne%22
|year=1858}}</ref>


==World War II and Sicilian Independence Movement==
As a result of its colourful history and geography, southern Italy and Sicily have developed some distinctive qualities. Compared to the northern regions of Italy, cultural similarities to the Greeks, Spaniards and Eastern Mediterranean people are more obvious. Unlike much of the northern regions, southern Italian cuisine has strong ], ] and ] influences<ref>{{cite web
{{main|Sicilian nationalism}}
|url=http://www.umass.edu/journal/sicilyprogram/sicilianfoodhistory.html
The Committee for the Independence of Sicily (''Comitato per l'Indipendenza della Sicilia'', ''CIS'') was founded in September 1942 during the struggle between the Italian/German Axis and the US/Russian/British Allies.
|title=A History of Sicilian Cuisine
|author=Tom Musco
|accessdate=2009-04-14}}</ref> and is more typical of the ].


The Allied forces successfully invaded Sicily in July 1943, and in general were warmly embraced by the Sicilian population influenced by Mafia gangster like ].<ref name="ModernEra">{{cite news|url=http://www.bestofsicily.com/history3.htm|publisher=BestofSicily.com|title=The Modern Era|date=7 October 2007}}</ref>
===Languages===
Most of the languages traditionally spoken in the southern Italy are grouped as dialects of the ] and ] languages. Like the ] spoken in the north, these dialects are quite different from standard ], though the Neapolitan variants are similar to the central language group which includes the ] (they are similar to Romanesco only because Romanesco use to be a southern dialect, it has been influenced by Tuscan heavily during the 15th century) on which standard Italian is based (with Sicilian influence. Neapolitan is actually more similar to Sicilian than any central Italian dialect). Sicilian and Neapolitan have a very strong Greek substratum, which give the dialects many distinct sounds and flavors not typical of Italian.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://arbasicula.org/
|title=Arba Sicula
|publisher=Arba Sicula
|accessdate=2009-04-14}}</ref>


The CIS gained authority following the ] of 8 September 1943. In the spring of 1944, the CIS was disbanded and the ] (''Movimento Indipendentista Siciliano'', MIS) was founded. Although the ] prohibited any kind of political activity, they tolerated the existence of the MIS.
==Revolutions and Rebellions 1806 - 1861==
===French Revolution, Empire, Reaction===
] in the background.]]
The ] (1789–1799) created a fundamental change in political thought in Europe, establishing the principle of rule by representatives of the people. During the wars to ensure the survival of the ], the French army led by the ] ] occupied northern Italy and founded the ] with its capital at ].<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/9602
|title=History of the French Revolution from 1789 to 1814
|author=François Mignet
|year=1824}}</ref> After seizing power from the republicans, Napoleon was crowned ] with the ] in 1805. In 1806 Napoleon dispatched a French army to the south of Italy, installing his brother ] king of Naples and Sicily. Two years later Joseph was replaced as king by ] who ruled until 1815.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://faculty.ed.umuc.edu/~jmatthew/naples/blog23.htm#aug3
|title=Around Naples Encyclopedia
|author=Jeff Matthews
|accessdate=2009-04-18}}</ref>


Italy ] in 1946 and as part of the ], Sicily was one of the five regions given special status as an ].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.grifasi-sicilia.com/regione_sicilia_gbr.html|publisher=Grifasi-Sicilia.com|title=Sicily autonomy|date=7 October 2007}}</ref> Both the partial Italian ] and special funding from the Italian government's '']'' (Fund for the South) from 1950 to 1984, helped the Sicilian economy improve.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-27778/Italy#319101.hook|publisher=]|title=Italy - Land Reforms|date=7 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.fcpp.org/images/publications/FB049ItalianEqualizationMarch07draft.pdf|publisher=Frontier Center for Public Policy|title=North and South: The Tragedy of Equalization in Italy|date=7 October 2007|format=PDF|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080226214108/https://www.fcpp.org/images/publications/FB049ItalianEqualizationMarch07draft.pdf|archivedate=26 February 2008}}</ref>
] fled to Palermo in 1806 and managed to retain control of Sicily under British naval protection. He appointed his son Francis regent, and at the insistence of ], the British minister, allowed a reform of the constitution on English and French lines in 1812. However, following the defeat of Napoleon, Ferdinand violated his oath and in 1816 abolished the Sicilian constitution, imposing a reactionary system of aristocratic government.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.questia.com/PM.qst;jsessionid=Lb7J1swl4D1PyR9F1qLGY3G1SVJKvy4pzY4SGNTgnJnkpWHjt6Q4!2307961?a=o&d=112858601
|title=FERDINAND I, king of the Two Sicilies
|publisher=Columbia University Press
|location=New York
|year=2007
|accessdate=2009-04-18}}</ref>


However, the MIS remained active after the war.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.siciliaindipendente.org/|title=Movimento per l'Indipendenza della Sicilia website|publisher=Movimento per l'Indipendenza della Sicilia|accessdate=2009-04-14}}</ref> One of the best-known members was ], who formed a band variously described as mafia-members or bandits, evading capture until he was killed in 1950.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,934976,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090311012240/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,934976,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 11, 2009|title=Bandit's End|publisher=Time Magazine|date=1950-07-17|accessdate=2009-04-15}}</ref> Another early supporter was ], one of the most influential and legendary ] bosses of Sicily after World War II until his death in 1954, but Vizzini later shifted alliance to the ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.holycross.edu/departments/history/tmcbride/mafia1.htm|title=The Mafia and Politics: The Italian State Under Siege|publisher=Cornell Studies in International Affairs|author=Judith Chubb|year=1989|accessdate=2009-04-15|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20041223024115/http://www.holycross.edu/departments/history/tmcbride/mafia1.htm|archivedate=2004-12-23}}</ref>
===Rebellion of 1820===


]
In July 1820 a military revolt broke out in Naples, the mutineers cheering for the king and the constitution. A simultaneous revolt in Sicily having been repressed, General ], who had previously fought for Napoleon, was appointed inspector-general of the army. While Pepe hesitated as to what course he should follow Ferdinand promised a constitution on the model of the ]. The king, who had no intention of respecting the constitution, went to ] to confer with the sovereigns of the ] assembled there, leaving his son as regent. While the regent dallied with the Liberals, Ferdinand obtained the loan of an ] army with which to restore absolute power. Pepe, who in parliament had declared in favour of deposing the king, took command of the army and marched north against the Austrians. He attacked them at ] in March, 1821 but his raw levies were repulsed.
The political arm of the movement today calls itself the ''Sicilian National Front'', (''Italian: Fronte Nazionale Siciliano, Sicilian: Frunti Nazziunali Sicilianu'') and is a socialist political party founded in 1964. Its Secretary General since 1976 is Giuseppe Naics. The movement is no longer a significant force. In the regional elections of 2006 the party obtained 679 votes in Palermo, or 0.2% of the vote.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fnscatania.tk/|title=Movimento per L'Indipendenza Della Sicilia|accessdate=2009-04-15}}</ref>


==Autonomous Magna Graecia movement==
After the revolt had disintegrated Ferdinand dismissed the parliament and inaugurated an era of savage persecution, supported by spies and informers, against the Liberals and ].<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Ferdinand_IV_of_Naples
|title=Ferdinand IV of Naples
|publisher=1911 ''Encyclopædia Britannica''
|accessdate=2009-04-18}}</ref>


Since the beginning of the 2010s, an ] has been launched to awaken the Greek consciousness of the inhabitants of ] and also to express an opinion that highlights the desire of a part of the inhabitants of the south for secession from the state of Italy, its union with the Hellenism of the ] (and re-establishment of ] and the ]).<ref name="newsbomb.gr">{{cite web | url=https://www.newsbomb.gr/synenteyxeis/story/1448121/oi-katoikoi-tis-notias-italias-theloun-na-ksana-ginoun-megali-ellada | title=Οι κάτοικοι της Νότιας Ιταλίας θέλουν να (ξανα)γίνουν Μεγάλη Ελλάδα! | date=14 July 2023 }}</ref>
===Rebellion of 1848===
]
Through pages on Facebook, historical issues are highlighted that have more to do with the Greek presence in Italy that begins with the migration of the Greek diaspora in the 8th century BC., the linguistic minority, known as Griko in ], ] and ], the modern day Greeks of Italy and in general the inhabitants of the south who call themselves Great-Greeks (MagnoGreci).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mfa.gr/www.mfa.gr/en-US/Policy/Geographic+Regions/Europe/Relationships+with+EU+Member+States/Italy/ |title=Greek MFA: Greek community in Italy |access-date=April 4, 2008 |archive-date=July 17, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060717183746/http://www.mfa.gr/www.mfa.gr/en-US/Policy/Geographic+Regions/Europe/Relationships+with+EU+Member+States/Italy/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
]


The largest Facebook page highlighting the specific issues called "Stato Magna Grecia - Due Sicilie", has over 270,000 followers, mainly Italians but also several Griko, expressing the need for the secession of Southern Italy, the so-called Mezzogiorno and its ''enosis'' with Greece and Cyprus. This page and other pages based in Italy highlight the achievements of ancient Magna Graecia and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies as well as the close relations that the people of Southern Italy have with Greece.<ref name="reader.gr">{{cite web | url=https://www.reader.gr/kosmos/anypotakto-horio-sto-facebook-poy-oneireyetai-tin-enosi-italias-kai-elladas/525747 | title=Το ανυπότακτο «χωριό» στο Facebook που ονειρεύεται την ένωση Ιταλίας και Ελλάδας | date=22 July 2023 }}</ref>
In 1848 fresh tides of revolution swept over Europe. A revolt led by Sicilian nobles broke out in ] on 12 January 1848, the birthday of ]. The leaders reinstated the democratic constitution of 1812. On 3 September 1848 a naval flotilla shelled the city of Messina for eight hours after its defenders had already surrendered, killing many civilians and earning the King the nickname "Re` Bomba" ("King Bomb"). After a savage campaign, the Neapolitan army under the command of General ] defeated the rebels, who capitulated on May 15, 1849.


According to the administrators, the unification of Italy, in which ]'s campaign in Sicily in 1860 played a decisive role, represents for many inhabitants of southern Italy the beginning of a form of colonialism, as for them the union was made on the terms of the Italian north, which essentially imposed its own powers, its language, and its culture, while the Italian South was more economically developed than the North, but this trend was reversed after unification.
The head of the state during this period was ] (Ruggeru Sèttimu in Sicilianu), who escaped to ] after the island capitulated. After the success of the ] movement during 1860 and 1861, he was offered the position of the President of the ] of the newly created ] of the ] but he declined for health reasons, dying two years later.<ref>{{cite book
Thus emerge views interwoven with neo-bourbonism (Italian: Neoborbonismo) which is a form of nostalgia for the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, a term coined in 1960 and born with the creation of the separatist movements in Italy, while experiencing a significant increase in popularity around 2011 during the celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the Unification of Italy, the same decade of prominence of the movement of the re-Hellenization and independence of Greater Greece. The Neo-Bourbonist movement is supported by small political movements, amateur websites, leading the Italian newspaper Corriere del Mezzogiorno to report that "Neo-Bourbon revanchism is in vogue in recent years..."<ref>{{cite news|author=A. Leogrande|title=Neoborbonici a cinque stelle|journal=]|date=6 July 2017|url=http://corrieredelmezzogiorno.corriere.it/bari/politica/17_luglio_06/neoborbonici-cinque-stelle-72afbb2c-6223-11e7-9295-7f1167187369.shtml}}</ref>
|last=Correnti |first=Santi
|year=2002
On a political level, the administrators of the said Magna Graecia - Two Sicilies pages urged followers during the 2023 national elections in Greece to vote for political parties supporting the demand for independence of South
|title=A Short History of Sicily
Italy and union with Greece.<ref name="reader.gr"/>
|publisher=Les Éditions Musae
|location=Montreal
|isbn=2-922621-00-6}}</ref>


According to Italian media, the Italian political party "Insorgenza Magnogreca" led by Luigi Lista and based in ] presents itself as a movement that represents, among others, the Greek identity of Southern Italy.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.corriereditaranto.it/2022/12/20/nasce-il-movimento-insorgenza/ | title=Nasce il movimento "Insorgenza" | date=20 December 2022 }}</ref>
===Risorgimento===
<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.lidentitario.com/2024/07/04/insorgenza-magnogreca-un-movimento-per-lautodeterminazione-dei-popoli-del-mediterraneo/?amp=1 | title=Insorgenza Magnogreca: Un Movimento per l'Autodeterminazione dei Popoli del Mediterraneo - | date=4 July 2024 }}</ref>
]
The association "Comitato provincia della Magna Graecia" chaired by Domenico Mazza was created with the aim of promoting the union of all the regions of South Italy into a new separate great region of Italy and developing a stronger connection with Greece.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://informazionecomunicazione.it/il-comitato-per-la-baia-della-magna-graecia-un-progetto-di-rinascita-territoriale/ | title=Il Comitato per la Baia della Magna Graecia: Un progetto di rinascita territoriale | date=30 September 2023 }}</ref>
{{Main|Italian unification}}
On May 11, 1860, Garibaldi and a cadre of about a thousand Italian volunteers landed near ] on the west coast of Sicily. Near ], Garibaldi's army attracted scattered bands of rebels, and the combined forces defeated the opposing army at ] on May 13. Within three days, the invading force had swelled to 4,000 men. On May 14, Garibaldi proclaimed himself dictator of Sicily in the name of ]. After a series of hard-fought battles, Garibaldi advanced upon Palermo. On May 27, the force laid siege to the Porta Termini of Palermo, while a mass uprising of street and barricade fighting broke out within the city.


In Greece, the far-right party "Hellenic world empire" (Ελληνική Κοσμοκρατορία), which officially seeks the secession of the Italian south, participated in the 2019 European elections in a joint descent with the ] party and the Patriotic Radical Union party of the independent MEP, elected with the ] of ] gathered the 1.23%.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://akromolio.gr/2019/04/%CE%AD%CF%80%CE%B5%CF%83%CE%B1%CE%BD-%CE%BF%CE%B9-%CF%84%CE%B5%CE%BB%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%AD%CF%82-%CF%85%CF%80%CE%BF%CE%B3%CF%81%CE%B1%CF%86%CE%AD%CF%82-%CE%B3%CE%B9%CE%B1-%CF%84%CE%B7/|title=Έπεσαν οι τελικές "υπογραφές" για την κοινή πορεία του Γ. Καρατζαφέρη και του Ελ. Συναδινού στις Ευρωεκλογές|date=21 April 2019|accessdate=25 February 2024}}</ref>
Neapolitan general Ferdinando Lanza, arriving in Sicily with some 25,000 troops, bombarded Palermo nearly to ruins. However, with the intervention of a British admiral, an ] was declared. The Neapolitan troops departed and the town surrendered to Garibaldi and his much smaller army. Six weeks later, Garibaldi attacked Messina. Within a week its citadel surrendered.
]


According to Greek media, the inhabitants of South Italy already have their own flag with the emblem of the ancient greek ] symbolizing the oracle of ] by ] that determined where the Greek colonies should be established in Italy, as well as an informal national anthem, created by the Greek soprano ].<ref name="newsbomb.gr"/><ref>{{cite web | url=https://verianet.gr/sti-napoli-o-neos-imnos-ellados-theodoridou/ | title=Στη Νάπολη ο νέος Ύμνος της Μεγάλης Ελλάδας σε σύνθεση Σόνιας Θεοδωρίδου (27/5/23) - Verianet | date=26 May 2023 }}</ref>
Having conquered Sicily, Garibaldi crossed the ]. The garrison at ] promptly surrendered. Progressing northward, the populace everywhere hailed him and military resistance faded. At the end of August Garibaldi was at ], and on September 5 at ], near ]. Meanwhile, ] had declared a state of siege, and on September 6 the king gathered the last 4,000 troops (with many mercenaries) still faithful to him and retreated over the ] river. The next day Garibaldi, with a few followers, entered Naples by train, whose people openly welcomed him as has happened before in Salerno and other southern cities<ref>{{cite book|first=Edgar |last=Holt|title=The Making of Italy 1815–1870|year=1971}}</ref>

==Post-unification unrest and first social improvements==
]
The newly united Kingdom of Italy of 1861 was very poor. The Borbons had left a southern Italy where there was little industry, bad roads, few railways, low literacy, and only a small percent of wealthy southern Italians had the right to vote. Most people in the '']'' (the former Two Sicilies) lived in extreme poverty.<ref name=smith/>

Because of the 'Garibaldini' war against the bands of Mafia criminals in the sicilian mountains, the economic situation in the island deteriorated in the mid 1860s and an anti-Savoy revolt pushing for Sicilian independence erupted in 1866 at ]. The city was soon bombed by the Italian navy. Fourteen battalions of Italian soldiers led by ] landed on 16 September, killing some civilian insurgents and quickly regaining possession of the island.<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=THD18661124.2.15&l=mi&e=-------10--1----0-all
|title=Italy
|publisher=The English Mail
|date=1866-10-05
|accessdate=2009-04-18}}</ref> A limited, but long guerrilla campaign against the unionists (1861–1871) took place throughout southern Italy, and in Sicily, inducing the Italian governments to a severe military response. These insurrections were unorganized, and were considered by the Government as operated by "brigands" (''brigantaggio''): but some historians pinpoint that they were ruled by the ] in Rome, as a form of defense until its fall in 1870 (when Rome was conquered by ], suddenly the brigantaggio disappeared). Ruled under martial law for several years, Sicily (and southern Italy) was the object of a harsh repression by the Italian army.

Many public works were initiated in southern Italy in order to build roads and railways that had been neglected by the Borbons. The schools were opened to all the poors, as well as a new sanitary health system with hospitals that boomed the population (infant mortality dwindled in 10 years from 1865 to 1875). The first steps toward the creation of a pension system for all the southern Italians were done, but its full implementation was completed only in the 1930s (while analphabetism disappeared gradually by the turn of the century).Some cities benefited of the early stages of industrialization, mainly shipbuilding in Naples and Taranto.

But faced with competition from northern industry, new forms of taxation and the new Kingdom's extensive military conscription, the economy of the Mezzogiorno partially collapsed, leading to an unprecedented ] related even to the demographic boom<ref name="modern">{{cite news
|url=http://www.oah.org/pubs/magazine/migrations/townsend.html
|publisher=OAH.org
|title=Italians around the World: Teaching Italian Migration from a Transnational Perspective
|date=7 October 2007
}}</ref> The rise of ] and ] organisations of workers and peasants known as the ] caused the Italian government to impose martial law again in 1894.<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20071018230534/http://www.geocities.com/capitolHill/rotunda/2209/Sicily.html
|publisher=Capitol Hill
|title=Sicily
|date=7 October 2007|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20071018230534/http://www.geocities.com/capitolHill/rotunda/2209/Sicily.html|archivedate=2007-10-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9033791/fascio-siciliano
|publisher=]
|title=fascio siciliano
|date=7 October 2007}}</ref>

An 1881 census found that over 1 million southern day-labourers were chronically under-employed and were very likely to become seasonal emigrants in order to economically sustain themselves. The ''1910 Commission of Inquiry into the South'' indicated that the Italian government had failed to ameliorate the severe economic differences and the limitation of voting rights to those with sufficient property allowed rich landowners to exploit the poor.<ref>{{cite book
|title=Darkest Italy: The Nation and Stereotypes of the Mezzogiorno, 1860-1900
|author=John Dickie
|isbn=9780312221683
|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan
|date=1999-11-01}}</ref><ref name="Clark">{{cite book
|last=Clark |first=Martin
|year=1984
|title=Modern Italy: 1871-1982
|location=London and New York
|publisher=Longman Group UK Limited
|pages=16–18
|isbn=0582483611}}</ref>

The ], a loose confederation of organised crime networks, grew in influence in the late 19th century. The ] regime began suppressing them in the 1920s with huge success, although the Mafia regained power in the aftermath of World War II.<ref name = "modern"/>

==The southern problem==
]
Many academics, politicians and other influential people have contributed to "Meridionalism" (''meridionalismo''), opinions, and research, analysis and policy proposals regarding the south of Italy. Historically concentrating only on the economic gap between the north and south of Italy, the southern problem is now seen in the broader context of Europe.

The historian ] (1827–1917), the politician ] (1847–1922) and the publicist ] ( 1847–1917) were among the first to study in depth the effect of annexation to the Kingdom of Italy. To some of them, the unification was a form of military and economic colonialism. The early Meridionalists, although conservative, did not hesitate to reveal the serious responsibility of the government and the ruling classes, especially landowners.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/9195/9195.intro.html
|title=The View from Vesuvius: Italian Culture and the Southern Question
|author=Nelson Moe
|publisher=University of California
|date=July 2002
|accessdate=2009-04-18}}</ref>

The solutions the Meridionalists proposed varied considerably due to their different viewpoints and political affiliations. For example the writer and politician Napoleone Colajanni (1847–1921), a positivist and socialist, supported state intervention in the south as the only way to develop the area.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Napoleone_Colajanni
|title=Napoleone Colajanni
|publisher=LoveToKnow 1911
|accessdate=2009-04-18}}</ref> On the other hand, ] (1858–1943), a liberal economist and radical deputy, accepted state regulation of "natural" monopolies, but believed in free trade and was hostile to state interventionism.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://siba2.unile.it/ese/search/details.php?id=&pubid=5&recid=2211&recs=10&pubcat=ese&single_pub=&pub_type=c&n_campo=
|title=The notion of market power in the Italian marginalist school De Viti de Marco and Pantaleoni
|publisher=Servizi Informatici Bibliotecari di Ateneo: Università degli Studi di Lecce
|author=Mosca, Manuela
|year=2004
|accessdate=2009-04-18}}</ref>

], (1868–1953) was an economist and political figure. A ], he served as the ] between 1919 and 1920. According to the ] ("''Theories of Overpopulation''"), Nitti (''Population and the Social System'', 1894) was a staunch critic of English economist ] and his Principle of Population.

] graduated in literature in ] in 1896. He taught History at the universities of ] (during the 1908 Messina earthquake he was the only survivor of his entire family), ] and ]. From 1919 to 1921 he served in ]. As member of the Italian Socialist Party he fought for ] for the moral and economic rebirth of Italy's Mezzogiorno (southern Italy), and against corruption in politics.

Don ] (1871–1959) was a ] priest and politician. Known in his lifetime as a "clerical socialist,"<ref>''Living Age''. 1922, May 13. "Clerical Socialist." Vol. 313, p. 374.</ref> Sturzo is considered one of the fathers of ].<ref>{{cite book
|author=Moos, Malcolm
|year=1945
|title="Don Luigi Sturzo--Christian Democrat
|journal=The American Political Science Review
|pages=269–292}}</ref> Sturzo was one of the founders of the ] in 1919, but was forced into exile in 1924 with the rise of ]. In exile in London (and later New York), Sturzo published over 400 articles (published posthumously under the title ''Miscellanea Londinese'') critical of fascism, and later the ].

==Fascism==
]
In 1922 the ] led by ] took power. The Fascist state undertook a serious program to develop the south. Through organizations such as the ] (Institute for Industrial Reconstruction) and Istituto Mobiliare Italiano, the government sponsored numerous public works projects in the most deprived areas of the country, gave employment to many people, and promoted trade and investment.

The government improved the ports of Naples and ], built new roads and railways, drained swamps and marshes, created canals and aqueducts in areas such as the ], rationalized and mechanized the grape and olive agricultural enterprises in Sicily. After the ], the Fascist government further increased its financial commitment in the south, founding new factories (particularly for war production industries), purchased agricultural machinery and doubled the size of the civil service. Colonial wars in Africa opened new markets and new lands for settlers, and the growth of the army provided a livelihood for many young people.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.mises.org/story/1935
|title=The Vampire Economy: Italy, Germany, and the US
|author=Jeffrey Herbener
|publisher=Mises Institute
|date=2005-10-13
|accessdate=2009-04-18}}</ref>

The Fascists seriously sought to eradicate the ]. Benito Mussolini launched a war without quarter against organized crime, often personally leading the operations. To do so he used harsh methods including torture, mass executions and special laws. He appointed ], called the "iron prefect" for his brutal methods, to the post of prefect of Palermo with extraordinary powers over the whole island. However, the Mafia was eradicated and only the top bosses survived escaping outside Italy, but the conflict with the Fascists led the Mafia (radicated in New York and Chicago) to ally with the Anglo-Americans during the Second World War.<ref>{{cite book
|author=Selwyn Raab
|title=Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires
|publisher=Thomas Dunne
|year=2005
|isbn=9780312300944}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
|author=John Dickie
|year=2007
|title=Cosa Nostra: A History of the Sicilian Mafia
|publisher=Hodder
|isbn=1403970424
|page=176}}</ref>

==World War II and Sicilian Independence Movement==
{{main|Sicilian Independence Movement|Movement for the Independence of Sicily}}

The Committee for the Independence of Sicily (''Comitato per l'Indipendenza della Sicilia'', ''CIS'') was founded in September 1942 during the struggle between the Italian/German Axis and the US/Russian/British Allies.

The Allied forces successfully invaded Sicily in July 1943, and in general were warmly embraced by the Sicilian population influenced by Mafia gangster like ].<ref name="modern">{{cite news
|url=http://www.bestofsicily.com/history3.htm
|publisher=BestofSicily.com
|title=The Modern Era
|date=7 October 2007}}</ref>

The CIS gained authority following the ] of 8 September 1943. In the spring of 1944, the CIS was disbanded and the ] (''Movimento Indipendentista Siciliano'', MIS) was founded. Although the ] prohibited any kind of political activity, they tolerated the existence of the MIS.

Italy ] in 1946 and as part of the ], Sicily was one of the five regions given special status as an ].<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.grifasi-sicilia.com/regione_sicilia_gbr.html
|publisher=Grifasi-Sicilia.com
|title=Sicily autonomy
|date=7 October 2007}}</ref> Both the partial Italian ] and special funding from the Italian government's '']'' (Fund for the South) from 1950 to 1984, helped the Sicilian economy improve.<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-27778/Italy#319101.hook
|publisher=]
|title=Italy - Land Reforms
|date=7 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.fcpp.org/images/publications/FB049ItalianEqualizationMarch07draft.pdf
|publisher=Frontier Center for Public Policy
|title=North and South: The Tragedy of Equalization in Italy
|date=7 October 2007
|format=PDF}}</ref>

However, the MIS remained active after the war.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.siciliaindipendente.org/
|title=Movimento per l'Indipendenza della Sicilia website
|publisher=Movimento per l'Indipendenza della Sicilia
|accessdate=2009-04-14}}</ref> One of the best-known members was ], who formed a band variously described as freedom fighters or bandits, evading capture until he was killed in 1950.<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,934976,00.html
|title=Bandit's End
|publisher=Time Magazine
|date=1950-07-17
|accessdate=2009-04-15}}</ref> Another early supporter was ], one of the most influential and legendary ] bosses of Sicily after World War II until his death in 1954, but Vizzini later shifted alliance to the ].<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.holycross.edu/departments/history/tmcbride/mafia1.htm
|title=The Mafia and Politics: The Italian State Under Siege
|publisher=Cornell Studies in International Affairs
|author=Judith Chubb
|year=1989
|accessdate=2009-04-15}}</ref>

]
The political arm of the movement today calls itself the ''Sicilian National Front'', (''Italian: Fronte Nazionale Siciliano, Sicilian: Frunti Nazziunali Sicilianu'') and is a socialist political party founded in 1964. Its Secretary General since 1976 is Giuseppe Naics. The movement is no longer a significant force. In the regional elections of 2006 the party obtained 679 votes in Palermo, or 0.2% of the vote.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.fnscatania.tk/
|title=Movimento per L'Indipendenza Della Sicilia
|accessdate=2009-04-15}}</ref>


==Current parties and groups== ==Current parties and groups==
{{update|section|date=September 2012}}
There continue to be various political parties and organizations who lobby for greater autonomy in the South, but they don't claim widespread support.


===Movement for the Autonomies===
There continue to be various political parties and organizations who lobby for greater autonomy in the South, but they no longer claim widespread support.
{{main|Movement for the Autonomies}}

The ] (''Movimento per le Autonomie'', MpA) is a minor ] ] ]. It demands economic development and greater autonomy primarily for ], but also for other regions of ]. The party is led by ], ]. In the 2008 general election, the party won 1.1% of the vote (7.4% in Sicily) and obtained 8 deputies and 2 senators through an alliance with ] and ] parties. After the election the MpA joined the Berlusconi coalition.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2009/aprile/03/Lombardo_allea_con_Storace_Intesa_co_8_090403025.shtml|title=Lombardo si allea con Storace "Intesa per superare il 4%"|publisher=Corriere della Sera|date=2009-04-03|accessdate=2009-04-14}}</ref>
===Movement for Autonomies===
{{main|Movement for Autonomies}}

The ] (''Movimento per le Autonomie'', MpA) is a minor ] ] ]. It demands economic development and greater autonomy primarily for ], but also for other regions of ]. The party is led by ], ]. In the 2008 general election, the party won 1.1% of the vote (7.4% in Sicily) and obtained 8 deputies and 2 senators through an alliance with ] and ] parties. After the election the MpA joined the Berlusconi coalition.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2009/aprile/03/Lombardo_allea_con_Storace_Intesa_co_8_090403025.shtml
|title=Lombardo si allea con Storace "Intesa per superare il 4%"
|publisher=Corriere della Sera
|date=2009-04-03
|accessdate=2009-04-14}}</ref>


===Sicilian Alliance=== ===Sicilian Alliance===
{{main|Sicilian Alliance}} {{main|Sicilian Alliance}}
The ] (''Alleanza Siciliana'') is a minor autonomist and ] ] in ], Italy. It was founded in 2005 and was led by ], an ] who was elected on the ]'s list.

On 7 October 2007, the party joined to ]'s ], although maintaining some of its autonomy as a regional section of the party, named the "Sicilian Alliance – The Right", often shortened as "The Sicilian Right".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ladestrasiciliana.it/|title=La Destra - Alleanza Siciliana|publisher=Alleanza Siciliana|accessdate=2009-04-14|archive-date=12 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190112034318/http://www.ladestrasiciliana.it/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
The ] (''Alleanza Siciliana'') is a minor autonomist and ] ] in ], Italy. It was founded in 2005 and was led by ], a ] who was elected on the ]'s list.
On 7 October 2007, the party joined to ]'s ], although maintaining some of its autonomy as a regional section of the party, named the "Sicilian Alliance – The Right", often shortened as "The Sicilian Right".<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.ladestrasiciliana.it/
|title= La Destra - Alleanza Siciliana
|publisher=Alleanza Siciliana
|accessdate=2009-04-14}}</ref>


===Neo-Bourbon Cultural Association=== ===Neo-Bourbon Cultural Association===
] ]
The ''Associazione culturale Neoborbonica'', or ''Neo-Bourbon Cultural Association'' is dedicated to restoring the history of the Bourbon kingdom, its glory, art, culture and identity, which they consider to have been maliciously falsified by the Piedmontese invaders. They aim to reconstruct the historical memory of the Two Sicilies, reconstruct their pride in being Southern Italian, and work towards the salvation of this ancient nation.<ref>{{cite web The ''Associazione culturale Neoborbonica'', or ''Neo-Bourbon Cultural Association'' is dedicated to restoring the history of the Bourbon kingdom, its glory, art, culture and identity, which they consider to have been maliciously falsified by the Piedmontese invaders. They aim to reconstruct the historical memory of the Two Sicilies, reconstruct their pride in being Southern Italian, and work towards the salvation of this ancient nation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neoborbonici.it/portal/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=227&Itemid=137|title=Associazione culturale Neoborbonica|accessdate=2009-04-14}}</ref> Passions are still high. When Prince Victor Emmanuel, head of the House of Savoy, returned to Italy in 2003 after a long exile he met hostility from both the neo-fascist ] and the Neo-Bourbon Movement in Naples in the form of posters, stickers and demonstrations.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/3308965/Italys-exiled-royal-family-shunned-as-they-return.html|title=Italy's exiled royal family shunned as they return|publisher=Telegraph Media Group|author=Bruce Johnston|date=2003-03-18|accessdate=2009-04-15}}</ref>
|url=http://www.neoborbonici.it/portal/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=227&Itemid=137
|title=Associazione culturale Neoborbonica
|accessdate=2009-04-14}}</ref> Passions are still high. When Prince Victor Emmanuel, head of the House of Savoy, returned to Italy in 2003 after a long exile he met hostility from both the neo-fascist ] and the Neo-Bourbon Movement in Naples in the form of posters, stickers and demonstrations.<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/3308965/Italys-exiled-royal-family-shunned-as-they-return.html
|title=Italy's exiled royal family shunned as they return
|publisher=Telegraph Media Group
|author=Bruce Johnston
|date=2003-03-18
|accessdate=2009-04-15}}</ref>


===Two Siciles Cultural Association=== ===Two Sicilies Cultural Association===
{{further|Two Sicilies}}
The ''Associazione Culturale Due Sicilie'', or ''Two Sicilies Cultural Association'' is a website / blog that publishes commentary on the news as it affects the south of Italy. It is highly critical of government treatment of the south, and describes itself as a forum for discussing independence. It supports a Bourbon restoration on the grounds that a monarch would be more impartial than current politicians.<ref>{{cite web
The ''Associazione Culturale Due Sicilie'', or ''Two Sicilies Cultural Association'' is a website / blog that publishes commentary on the news as it affects the south of Italy. It is highly critical of government treatment of the south, and describes itself as a forum for discussing independence. It supports a Bourbon restoration on the grounds that a monarch would be more impartial than current politicians.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.duesicilie.org|title=Associazione Culturale Due Sicilie|accessdate=2009-04-14}}</ref>
|url=http://www.duesicilie.org

|title=Associazione Culturale Due Sicilie
There is also a ].
|accessdate=2009-04-14}}</ref>


===Land and Liberation=== ===Land and Liberation===
Land and Liberation, or ''Terra e Liberazione'' is a pressure group founded in 1984 by a branch of the FNS that supports continued autonomy of Sicily with independent development of the economy. The group is politically far to the left, but has recently joined the Movement for Autonomy.<ref>{{cite web Land and Liberation, or ''Terra e Liberazione'' is a pressure group founded in 1984 by a branch of the FNS that supports continued autonomy of Sicily with independent development of the economy. The group is politically far to the left, but has recently joined the Movement for Autonomy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.terraeliberazione.org/|title=Terra e Liberazione|accessdate=2009-04-14}}</ref>
|url=http://www.terraeliberazione.org/
|title=Terra e Liberazione
|accessdate=2009-04-14}}</ref>


===Research Institutes=== ===Research Institutes===
Several specialized research institutes today study the southern Italian economy in an attempt to better understand the problem and develop well-targeted economic policies. These include the ''Associazione nazionale per gli interessi del Mezzogiorno d'Italia (ANIMO)'' based in Rome,<ref>{{cite web Several specialized research institutes today study the southern Italian economy in an attempt to better understand the problem and develop well-targeted economic policies. These include the ''Associazione nazionale per gli interessi del Mezzogiorno d'Italia (ANIMO)'' based in Rome,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.animi.it/|title=ANIMO Home Page|publisher=Associazione nazionale per gli interessi del Mezzogiorno d'Italia|accessdate=2009-04-17}}</ref> the ''Associazione per lo sviluppo dell'industria nel Mezzogiorno'' (SVIMEZ) also based in Rome,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.svimez.it/|title=SVIMEZ Home Page|publisher=Associazione per lo sviluppo dell'industria nel Mezzogiorno|accessdate=2009-04-17}}</ref> and the ''Associazione Studi e Ricerche per il Mezzogiorno'' (SRM) based in Naples.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.srmezzogiorno.it/|title=SRM - Associazione Studi e Ricerche per il Mezzogiorno Home Page|publisher=Associazione Studi e Ricerche per il Mezzogiorno|accessdate=2009-04-17}}</ref>
|url=http://www.animi.it/
|title=ANIMO Home Page
|publisher=Associazione nazionale per gli interessi del Mezzogiorno d'Italia
|accessdate=2009-04-17}}</ref> the ''Associazione per lo sviluppo dell'industria nel Mezzogiorno'' (SVIMEZ) also based in Rome,<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.svimez.it/
|title=SVIMEZ Home Page
|publisher=Associazione per lo sviluppo dell'industria nel Mezzogiorno
|accessdate=2009-04-17}}</ref> and the ''Associazione Studi e Ricerche per il Mezzogiorno'' (SRM) based in Naples.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.srmezzogiorno.it/
|title=SRM - Associazione Studi e Ricerche per il Mezzogiorno Home Page
|publisher=Associazione Studi e Ricerche per il Mezzogiorno
|accessdate=2009-04-17}}</ref>


===Other regionalist and independentist political parties===
==See also==
*] * ] (2009-2016)
* ]
*] (Io Sud, IS), is a centrist regionalist political party in Italy
* ] (2001-2008)
*]
*] * ] (-2008)
*] * ]
*] * ] (2006-2007)
* ] (1958-1963)
*]
* ]
*]
* ]
*]: article in the Italian Misplaced Pages on the "Southern issue"
*]: article in the Italian Misplaced Pages on "Meridionalism"
*]: article in the Italian Misplaced Pages on "Sicilian independentism"


==References== ==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}} {{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
*


] ]
] ]
] ]
] ]
] ]
] ]
] ]

]

Latest revision as of 17:33, 7 December 2024

Regionalist movement in Europe

The last southern Italian state before the Italian unification, the Kingdom of the two Sicilies

In Italy, there are some active movements and parties calling for autonomy or even independence for the areas comprised within the historical Kingdom of the two Sicilies: that is, Southern Italy and/or the region of Sicily. No political movement promoting these ideas has ever been successful in gaining traction among the population. The movement remains on the fringes with no representation in the Italian parliament.

The main regional languages of Southern Italy are from the Italo-Dalmatian family, being Neapolitan (dark turquoise) and Sicilian (dark purple).

Languages

Most of the languages traditionally spoken in southern Italy (historically the Kingdom of the two Sicilies) are grouped as dialects of the Neapolitan and Sicilian languages. Like the Gallo-Romance languages spoken in the north, these dialects are different from standard Italian, though the Neapolitan variants are similar to the central language group which includes the Tuscan language on which standard Italian is based. Sicilian has a very strong Greek-Arab substratum, which give the languages many distinct sounds and flavors not typical of Italian.

Southern Question

Main article: Southern question
Pasquale Villari

Many academics, politicians and other influential people have contributed to "Meridionalism" (meridionalismo), opinions, and research, analysis and policy proposals regarding the south of Italy. Historically concentrating only on the economic gap between the north and south of Italy, the southern question and problem is now seen in the broader context of Europe.

The historian Pasquale Villari (1827–1917), the politician Sidney Sonnino (1847–1922) and the publicist Leopoldo Franchetti ( 1847–1917) were among the first to study in depth the effect of annexation to the Kingdom of Italy. To some of them, the unification was a form of military and economic colonialism. The early Meridionalists, although conservative, did not hesitate to reveal the serious responsibility of the government and the ruling classes, especially landowners.

The solutions the Meridionalists proposed varied considerably due to their different viewpoints and political affiliations. For example, the writer and politician Napoleone Colajanni (1847–1921), a positivist and socialist, supported state intervention in the south as the only way to develop the area. On the other hand, Antonio De Viti De Marco (1858–1943), a liberal economist and radical deputy, accepted state regulation of "natural" monopolies, but believed in free trade and was hostile to state interventionism.

Francesco Saverio Nitti, (1868–1953) was an economist and political figure. A Radical, he served as the prime minister of Italy between 1919 and 1920. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia ("Theories of Overpopulation"), Nitti (Population and the Social System, 1894) was a staunch critic of English economist Thomas Robert Malthus and his Principle of Population.

Gaetano Salvemini graduated in literature in Florence in 1896. He taught History at the universities of Messina (during the 1908 Messina earthquake he was the only survivor of his entire family), Pisa and Florence. From 1919 to 1921 he served in Italian Parliament. As member of the Italian Socialist Party he fought for Universal Suffrage for the moral and economic rebirth of Italy's Mezzogiorno (southern Italy), and against corruption in politics.

World War II and Sicilian Independence Movement

Main article: Sicilian nationalism

The Committee for the Independence of Sicily (Comitato per l'Indipendenza della Sicilia, CIS) was founded in September 1942 during the struggle between the Italian/German Axis and the US/Russian/British Allies.

The Allied forces successfully invaded Sicily in July 1943, and in general were warmly embraced by the Sicilian population influenced by Mafia gangster like Lucky Luciano.

The CIS gained authority following the Armistice of Cassibile of 8 September 1943. In the spring of 1944, the CIS was disbanded and the Sicilian Independence Movement (Movimento Indipendentista Siciliano, MIS) was founded. Although the Allies prohibited any kind of political activity, they tolerated the existence of the MIS.

Italy became a Republic in 1946 and as part of the Constitution of Italy, Sicily was one of the five regions given special status as an autonomous region. Both the partial Italian land reform and special funding from the Italian government's Cassa per il Mezzogiorno (Fund for the South) from 1950 to 1984, helped the Sicilian economy improve.

However, the MIS remained active after the war. One of the best-known members was Salvatore Giuliano, who formed a band variously described as mafia-members or bandits, evading capture until he was killed in 1950. Another early supporter was Calogero Vizzini, one of the most influential and legendary Mafia bosses of Sicily after World War II until his death in 1954, but Vizzini later shifted alliance to the Christian Democrat party.

Emblem of the Fronte Nazionale Siciliano

The political arm of the movement today calls itself the Sicilian National Front, (Italian: Fronte Nazionale Siciliano, Sicilian: Frunti Nazziunali Sicilianu) and is a socialist political party founded in 1964. Its Secretary General since 1976 is Giuseppe Naics. The movement is no longer a significant force. In the regional elections of 2006 the party obtained 679 votes in Palermo, or 0.2% of the vote.

Autonomous Magna Graecia movement

Since the beginning of the 2010s, an online social movement has been launched to awaken the Greek consciousness of the inhabitants of Southern Italy and also to express an opinion that highlights the desire of a part of the inhabitants of the south for secession from the state of Italy, its union with the Hellenism of the Mediterranean Sea (and re-establishment of Magna Graecia and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies).

Griko-speaking areas in Salento and Calabria

Through pages on Facebook, historical issues are highlighted that have more to do with the Greek presence in Italy that begins with the migration of the Greek diaspora in the 8th century BC., the linguistic minority, known as Griko in Calabria, Apulia and Messina, the modern day Greeks of Italy and in general the inhabitants of the south who call themselves Great-Greeks (MagnoGreci).

Greek minority flag of Sicily

The largest Facebook page highlighting the specific issues called "Stato Magna Grecia - Due Sicilie", has over 270,000 followers, mainly Italians but also several Griko, expressing the need for the secession of Southern Italy, the so-called Mezzogiorno and its enosis with Greece and Cyprus. This page and other pages based in Italy highlight the achievements of ancient Magna Graecia and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies as well as the close relations that the people of Southern Italy have with Greece.

According to the administrators, the unification of Italy, in which Garibaldi's campaign in Sicily in 1860 played a decisive role, represents for many inhabitants of southern Italy the beginning of a form of colonialism, as for them the union was made on the terms of the Italian north, which essentially imposed its own powers, its language, and its culture, while the Italian South was more economically developed than the North, but this trend was reversed after unification. Thus emerge views interwoven with neo-bourbonism (Italian: Neoborbonismo) which is a form of nostalgia for the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, a term coined in 1960 and born with the creation of the separatist movements in Italy, while experiencing a significant increase in popularity around 2011 during the celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the Unification of Italy, the same decade of prominence of the movement of the re-Hellenization and independence of Greater Greece. The Neo-Bourbonist movement is supported by small political movements, amateur websites, leading the Italian newspaper Corriere del Mezzogiorno to report that "Neo-Bourbon revanchism is in vogue in recent years..."

On a political level, the administrators of the said Magna Graecia - Two Sicilies pages urged followers during the 2023 national elections in Greece to vote for political parties supporting the demand for independence of South Italy and union with Greece.

According to Italian media, the Italian political party "Insorgenza Magnogreca" led by Luigi Lista and based in Naples presents itself as a movement that represents, among others, the Greek identity of Southern Italy. The association "Comitato provincia della Magna Graecia" chaired by Domenico Mazza was created with the aim of promoting the union of all the regions of South Italy into a new separate great region of Italy and developing a stronger connection with Greece.

In Greece, the far-right party "Hellenic world empire" (Ελληνική Κοσμοκρατορία), which officially seeks the secession of the Italian south, participated in the 2019 European elections in a joint descent with the Popular Orthodox Rally party and the Patriotic Radical Union party of the independent MEP, elected with the Golden Dawn of Eleftherios Synadinos gathered the 1.23%.

An ancient Greek coin c. 330–300 BC. found in Croton, South Italy with the head of Apollo (left) and ornate tripod (right)

According to Greek media, the inhabitants of South Italy already have their own flag with the emblem of the ancient greek tripod symbolizing the oracle of Delphi by Pythia that determined where the Greek colonies should be established in Italy, as well as an informal national anthem, created by the Greek soprano Sonia Theodoridou.

Current parties and groups

This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (September 2012)

There continue to be various political parties and organizations who lobby for greater autonomy in the South, but they don't claim widespread support.

Movement for the Autonomies

Main article: Movement for the Autonomies

The Movement for the Autonomies (Movimento per le Autonomie, MpA) is a minor centrist regionalist political party in Italy. It demands economic development and greater autonomy primarily for Sicily, but also for other regions of Southern Italy. The party is led by Raffaele Lombardo, President of Sicily. In the 2008 general election, the party won 1.1% of the vote (7.4% in Sicily) and obtained 8 deputies and 2 senators through an alliance with The People of Freedom and Lega Nord parties. After the election the MpA joined the Berlusconi coalition.

Sicilian Alliance

Main article: Sicilian Alliance

The Sicilian Alliance (Alleanza Siciliana) is a minor autonomist and national-conservative political party in Sicily, Italy. It was founded in 2005 and was led by Nello Musumeci, an MEP who was elected on the National Alliance's list. On 7 October 2007, the party joined to Francesco Storace's The Right, although maintaining some of its autonomy as a regional section of the party, named the "Sicilian Alliance – The Right", often shortened as "The Sicilian Right".

Neo-Bourbon Cultural Association

Coat of arms of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies

The Associazione culturale Neoborbonica, or Neo-Bourbon Cultural Association is dedicated to restoring the history of the Bourbon kingdom, its glory, art, culture and identity, which they consider to have been maliciously falsified by the Piedmontese invaders. They aim to reconstruct the historical memory of the Two Sicilies, reconstruct their pride in being Southern Italian, and work towards the salvation of this ancient nation. Passions are still high. When Prince Victor Emmanuel, head of the House of Savoy, returned to Italy in 2003 after a long exile he met hostility from both the neo-fascist Italian Social Movement and the Neo-Bourbon Movement in Naples in the form of posters, stickers and demonstrations.

Two Sicilies Cultural Association

Further information: Two Sicilies

The Associazione Culturale Due Sicilie, or Two Sicilies Cultural Association is a website / blog that publishes commentary on the news as it affects the south of Italy. It is highly critical of government treatment of the south, and describes itself as a forum for discussing independence. It supports a Bourbon restoration on the grounds that a monarch would be more impartial than current politicians.

There is also a Two Sicilies national football team.

Land and Liberation

Land and Liberation, or Terra e Liberazione is a pressure group founded in 1984 by a branch of the FNS that supports continued autonomy of Sicily with independent development of the economy. The group is politically far to the left, but has recently joined the Movement for Autonomy.

Research Institutes

Several specialized research institutes today study the southern Italian economy in an attempt to better understand the problem and develop well-targeted economic policies. These include the Associazione nazionale per gli interessi del Mezzogiorno d'Italia (ANIMO) based in Rome, the Associazione per lo sviluppo dell'industria nel Mezzogiorno (SVIMEZ) also based in Rome, and the Associazione Studi e Ricerche per il Mezzogiorno (SRM) based in Naples.

Other regionalist and independentist political parties

References

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  13. ^ "Οι κάτοικοι της Νότιας Ιταλίας θέλουν να (ξανα)γίνουν Μεγάλη Ελλάδα!". 14 July 2023.
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  16. A. Leogrande (6 July 2017). "Neoborbonici a cinque stelle". Corriere del Mezzogiorno.
  17. "Nasce il movimento "Insorgenza"". 20 December 2022.
  18. "Insorgenza Magnogreca: Un Movimento per l'Autodeterminazione dei Popoli del Mediterraneo -". 4 July 2024.
  19. "Il Comitato per la Baia della Magna Graecia: Un progetto di rinascita territoriale". 30 September 2023.
  20. "Έπεσαν οι τελικές "υπογραφές" για την κοινή πορεία του Γ. Καρατζαφέρη και του Ελ. Συναδινού στις Ευρωεκλογές". 21 April 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  21. "Στη Νάπολη ο νέος Ύμνος της Μεγάλης Ελλάδας σε σύνθεση Σόνιας Θεοδωρίδου (27/5/23) - Verianet". 26 May 2023.
  22. "Lombardo si allea con Storace "Intesa per superare il 4%"". Corriere della Sera. 3 April 2009. Retrieved 14 April 2009.
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  25. Bruce Johnston (18 March 2003). "Italy's exiled royal family shunned as they return". Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 15 April 2009.
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  28. "ANIMO Home Page". Associazione nazionale per gli interessi del Mezzogiorno d'Italia. Retrieved 17 April 2009.
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  30. "SRM - Associazione Studi e Ricerche per il Mezzogiorno Home Page". Associazione Studi e Ricerche per il Mezzogiorno. Retrieved 17 April 2009.

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