Topic summary
Mezzogiorno
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Southern Italy.
Etymology of Mezzogiorno
In a similar fashion to France's Midi ("midday" or "noon" in French), the Italian term "Mezzogiorno" refers to the intensity and the position of sunshine at midday in the south of the Italian Peninsula. The term came into vogue after the annexation of the BourbonKingdom of the Two Sicilies by the mainland-based SavoyardKingdom of Sardinia, and the subsequent Italian unification of 1861.