Southern Italy autonomist movements
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In
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, 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 The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ( it, Regno delle Due Sicilie) was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1860. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by population and size in Italy before Italian unification, comprising Sicily and a ...
: that is,
Southern Italy Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion of the Italian Republic consisting of its southern half. The term ''Mezzogiorno'' today refers to regions that are associated with the peop ...
and/or the region of
Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...
. 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.


Languages

Most of the languages traditionally spoken in southern Italy (historically the
Kingdom of the two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ( it, Regno delle Due Sicilie) was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1860. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by population and size in Italy before Italian unification, comprising Sicily and a ...
) are grouped as dialects of the
Neapolitan Neapolitan means of or pertaining to Naples, a city in Italy; or to: Geography and history * Province of Naples, a province in the Campania region of southern Italy that includes the city * Duchy of Naples, in existence during the Early and Hig ...
and Sicilian languages. Like the
Gallo-Romance languages The Gallo-Romance branch of the Romance languages includes in the narrowest sense the Langues d'oïl and Franco-Provençal. However, other definitions are far broader, variously encompassing the Occitano-Romance, Gallo-Italic, and Rhaeto-Roman ...
spoken in the north, these dialects are different from standard
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
, though the Neapolitan variants are similar to the central language group which includes the
Tuscan language Tuscan ( it, dialetto toscano ; it, vernacolo, label=locally) is a set of Italo-Dalmatian varieties of Romance mainly spoken in Tuscany, Italy. Standard Italian is based on Tuscan, specifically on its Florentine dialect, and it became the lan ...
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.


The Southern Question

Many academics, politicians and other influential people have contributed to "
Meridionalism Meridionalism ( it, meridionalismo) is the study and research of the economical and social issues of Southern Italy. It started in the 19th century, after the annexation of the former Kingdom of the Two Sicilies during the process of Italian uni ...
" (''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
Pasquale Villari Pasquale Villari (3 October 1827 – 11 December 1917) was an Italian historian and politician. Early life and publications Villari was born in Naples and took part in the risings of 1848 there against the Bourbons and subsequently fled to Floren ...
(1827–1917), the politician
Sidney Sonnino Sidney Costantino, Baron Sonnino (11 March 1847 – 24 November 1922) was an Italian statesman, 19th prime minister of Italy and twice served briefly as one, in 1906 and again from 1909 to 1910. In 1901, he founded a new major newspaper, ''Il Gior ...
(1847–1922) and the publicist
Leopoldo Franchetti Leopoldo Franchetti (; 31 May 1847 – 4 November 1917) was an Italian publicist, politician, and patron. He was a deputy in the Italian Chamber of Deputies and later became a Senator. He was very active in promoting education and concrete solution ...
( 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 Francesco Saverio Vincenzo de Paolo Nitti (19 July 1868 – 20 February 1953) was an Italian economist and political figure. A Radical, he served as Prime Minister of Italy between 1919 and 1920. According to the ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' (" ...
, (1868–1953) was an economist and political figure. A
Radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...
, he served as the
prime minister of Italy The Prime Minister of Italy, officially the President of the Council of Ministers ( it, link=no, Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri), is the head of government of the Italian Republic. The office of president of the Council of Ministers is ...
between 1919 and 1920. According to the
Catholic Encyclopedia The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...
("''Theories of Overpopulation''"), Nitti (''Population and the Social System'', 1894) was a staunch critic of English economist
Thomas Robert Malthus Thomas Robert Malthus (; 13/14 February 1766 – 29 December 1834) was an English cleric, scholar and influential economist in the fields of political economy and demography. In his 1798 book '' An Essay on the Principle of Population'', Mal ...
and his Principle of Population.
Gaetano Salvemini Gaetano Salvemini (; 8 September 1873 – 6 September 1957) was an Italian Socialist and antifascist politician, historian and writer. Born in a family of modest means, he became an acclaimed historian both in Italy and abroad, particularly in ...
graduated in literature in
Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
in 1896. He taught History at the universities of
Messina Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in ...
(during the 1908 Messina earthquake he was the only survivor of his entire family),
Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...
and
Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
. From 1919 to 1921 he served in
Italian Parliament The Italian Parliament ( it, Parlamento italiano) is the national parliament of the Italian Republic. It is the representative body of Italian citizens and is the successor to the Parliament of the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1943), the transitiona ...
. As member of the Italian Socialist Party he fought for
Universal Suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stanc ...
for the moral and economic rebirth of Italy's Mezzogiorno (southern Italy), and against corruption in politics.


World War II and Sicilian Independence Movement

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 Charles "Lucky" Luciano (, ; born Salvatore Lucania ; November 24, 1897 – January 26, 1962) was an Italian-born gangster who operated mainly in the United States. Luciano started his criminal career in the Five Points gang and was instrumenta ...
. The CIS gained authority following the
Armistice of Cassibile The Armistice of Cassibile was an armistice signed on 3 September 1943 and made public on 8 September between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was signed by Major General Walter Bedell Smith for the Allies and Brig ...
of 8 September 1943. In the spring of 1944, the CIS was disbanded and the
Sicilian Independence Movement The Movement for the Independence of Sicily ( it, Movimento per l'Indipendenza della Sicilia, scn, Muvimentu pâ Nnipinnenza dâ Sicilia, MIS) was a separatist Sicilian political party originally active in Sicily from 1943 to 1951. Its best e ...
(''Movimento Indipendentista Siciliano'', MIS) was founded. Although the
Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
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 The Constitution of the Italian Republic ( it, Costituzione della Repubblica Italiana) was enacted by the Constituent Assembly on 22 December 1947, with 453 votes in favour and 62 against. The text, which has since been amended sixteen times, ...
, Sicily was one of the five regions given special status as an
autonomous region An autonomous administrative division (also referred to as an autonomous area, entity, unit, region, subdivision, or territory) is a subnational administrative division or internal territory of a sovereign state that has a degree of autonomy ...
. Both the partial Italian
land reform Land reform is a form of agrarian reform involving the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution, generally of agricultural ...
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 Calogero "Don Calò" Vizzini (; 24 July 1877 – 10 July 1954) was a Sicilian Mafia boss of Villalba in the Province of Caltanissetta, Sicily. Vizzini was considered to be one of the most influential and legendary Mafia bosses of Sicily after ...
, one of the most influential and legendary
Mafia "Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...
bosses of Sicily after World War II until his death in 1954, but Vizzini later shifted alliance to the
Christian Democrat party __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social ...
. 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.


Current parties and groups

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

The
Movement for the Autonomies The Movement for Autonomy ( it, Movimento per l'Autonomia, MpA) is a regionalism (politics), regionalist, Christian democracy, Christian-democratic list of political parties in Italy, political party in Italy, based in Sicily. The MpA, whose found ...
(''Movimento per le Autonomie'', MpA) is a minor
centrist Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to the l ...
regionalist
political party in Italy This article contains a list of political parties in Italy since Italian unification in 1861. Throughout history, numerous political parties have been operating in Italy, and since World War II no party has ever gained enough support to govern ...
. It demands economic development and greater autonomy primarily for
Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...
, but also for other regions of
Southern Italy Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion of the Italian Republic consisting of its southern half. The term ''Mezzogiorno'' today refers to regions that are associated with the peop ...
. The party is led by
Raffaele Lombardo Raffaele Lombardo ; (born 29 October 1950, in Catania) is an Italian politician who was President of Sicily and former Member of the European Parliament for Islands with the Movement for the Autonomies and has sat on the European Parliament's Com ...
,
President of Sicily This is the list of all the presidents of Sicily since 1947. There has been 24 elected presidents by Regional Council (1947-2001), and 4 directly elected presidents since 2001. ;Elected by the Regional Council (1947–2001) ;Directly-elected p ...
. 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 The People of Freedom ( it, Il Popolo della Libertà, PdL) was a centre-right political party in Italy. The PdL, launched by Silvio Berlusconi on 18 November 2007, was initially a federation of political parties, notably including Forza Italia a ...
and
Lega Nord Lega Nord (; acronym: LN), whose complete name is (), is a right-wing, federalist, populist and conservative political party in Italy. In the run-up of the 2018 general election, the party was rebranded as (), without changing its official n ...
parties. After the election the MpA joined the Berlusconi coalition.


Sicilian Alliance

The
Sicilian Alliance The Sicilian Alliance ( it.: ''Alleanza Siciliana''; sic.: ''Allianza Siciliana'') was 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 ...
(''Alleanza Siciliana'') is a minor autonomist and
national-conservative National conservatism is a nationalist variant of conservatism that concentrates on upholding national and cultural identity. National conservatives usually combine nationalism with conservative stances promoting traditional cultural values, ...
political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
in
Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...
, Italy. It was founded in 2005 and was led by
Nello Musumeci Sebastiano "Nello" Musumeci (born 21 January 1955) is a right-wing Italian politician. Musumeci is serving as Minister for Civil Protection and Sea Policies since 22 October 2022 in the government of Giorgia Meloni. He previously served as Presi ...
, an MEP who was elected on the National Alliance's list. On 7 October 2007, the party joined to
Francesco Storace Francesco Storace (born 25 January 1959 in Cassino, Lazio) is an Italian politician and journalist. Biography He began his career at the right-wing newspaper ''Il Secolo d'Italia'', until entering the ranks of the neo-fascist party Italian Socia ...
'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

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 The Italian Social Movement ( it, Movimento Sociale Italiano, MSI) was a neo-fascist political party in Italy. A far-right party, it presented itself until the 1990s as the defender of Italian fascism's legacy, and later moved towards national ...
and the Neo-Bourbon Movement in Naples in the form of posters, stickers and demonstrations.


Two Sicilies Cultural Association

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 The national football team of the Two Sicilies is the football team of the Two Sicilies, which are a territory formed by the southern part of Italy without the Island of Sicily although the name suggests otherwise . The team is controlled by the ...
.


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

* I the South (2009-2016) *
Lega Sud Ausonia Lega Sud Ausonia (''Southern League Ausonia'') is a minor independentist political party in Italy. The party was founded in 1996, as the sister-party of Lega Nord in Southern Italy, and is led by Gianfranco Vestuto. Similarly to Lega Nord's ...
*
New Sicily New Sicily ( it, Nuova Sicilia, NS) was a regionalist social-democratic political party based in Sicily. Its founder and leader was Bartolo Pellegrino. It was composed mainly by former members of the regional section of the Italian Socialist Par ...
(2001-2008) *
Pact for Sicily Pact for Sicily (''Patto per la Sicilia'', PpS) was a political party in Italy, based in Sicily. It emerged in 2005 by the split from New Sicily,https://oaj.fupress.net/index.php/qoe/article/download/10165/8958 a mainly social-democratic party ...
(-2008) *
Southern Action League The Southern Action League (''Lega d'Azione Meridionale'', LAM) is a regionalist far-right Italian political party active in Apulia, especially in Taranto. Its leader Giancarlo Cito, former member of the neo-fascism, post-fascist Italian Soci ...
*
Southern Democratic Party The Southern Democratic Party ( it, Partito Democratico Meridionale, PDM) was a centrist political party in Italy based in Calabria. The Southern Democratic Party was founded in 2006, as a split from the regional organisation of Democracy is Freed ...
(2006-2007) * Social Christian Sicilian Union (1958-1963) *
We the South We the South ( it, Noi Sud, NS), whose complete name is Freedom and Autonomy - We the South ( it, Libertà e Autonomia - Noi Sud), is a regionalist political party in Italy based in the Campania but seeking to represent the whole South. Histo ...
* Party of the South


References

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External links


Associazione culturale Neoborbonica
Independence movements Separatism in Italy Kingdom of the Two Sicilies House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies History of Sicily Italian unification
Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ( it, Regno delle Due Sicilie) was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1860. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by population and size in Italy before Italian unification, comprising Sicily and a ...