The South of Italy and the Cassa Per il Mezzogiorno

• Date: 01 December 1955
• DOI: 10.1177/106591295500800403
• Author: Andrew Galbraith Carey,Jane Perry Clark Carey
• Published date: 01 December 1955
• Subject Matter: Articles

THE SOUTH OF ITALY AND THE
CASSA PER IL MEZZOGIORNO
JANE PERRY CLARK CAREY
AND
ANDREW GALBRAITH CAREY
Rome, Italy
HE
SOUTH of Italy, or the Mezzogiorno -
midday, the time when
t the sun is highest -
as the South is generally called, is beginning to
’*’
awaken from its long slumber of underdevelopment and depression.’
There are many ferments at work to stir the South from its past lethargy;
and the Communist attempt to win this section -
which rose to a climax
in the Sicilian elections of June 5, 1955 -
cannot lightly be dismissed.2
2
Probably the most notable among the economic and political factors causing
this change is the program of the Italian government, especially its vast
project of public works tied to agriculture and carried on through the Fund
for the South, the Cassa, per il Mezzogiorno.3
3
The idea of governmental
action to rescue the southern area is not new. Activities such as tax and
customs exemptions have been renewed or begun as fresh programs since
the end of World War II. Notable work for the whole country is being
carried on in the South under the land reform program. This program is
supplemented by the regular activities of various ministries of the govern-
ment such, for example, as the reforestation program of the Ministry of
Agriculture and Forestries and the public works activities of the Ministry
of Public Works. Today, however, the chief emphasis of the government
is on the new program of the Cassa, which is entrusted with the expendi-
ture of more than two billion dollars over a twelve-year period.
The present essay is concerned primarily with the work of the Cassa.
Before trying to understand or in any measure assess this program, it is
necessary to know something of the multitude of problems that beset the
South and that have caused the establishment of this great new govern-
mental activity.
1
For definition of underdeveloped areas, cf. Eugene Staley, The Future of Underdeveloped
Countries (New York: Harper & Bros., 1954), p. 13.
2
The political situation is beyond the scope of this paper. For discussion of the political
trends in the South, cf. Francesco Campagna and Vittorio de Caprariis, "Contributo
alla geografia delle elezioni italiane," Il Mulino, Vol. XXVII (January, 1954), discussing
the results of the 1953 general elections in Italy. For particular emphasis on pre-
election trends in Sicily in 1955, cf. Romeo, "Lotte politiche in Sicilia," Nord e Sud,
Year II (January, 1955), and Francesco Campagna, "La Prova Generale," Il Mondo,
Year VII (May 31, 1955), p. 1.
3
Its full title is Cassa per opere straordinarie di pubblico interesse nell’ Italia meridionale,
but it is usually referred to as the Cassa.
569

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570
The term &dquo;southern Italy&dquo; or the Mezzogiorno is applied to an area
extending from a line slightly south of Rome down to the Straits of Messina
and including the islands of Sicily and Sardinia4 - a grouping based on
present-day economic similarities rather than historical evolution.
The differences between North and South are similar to those in many
other countries; but in Italy there is a more marked cleavage, the two sec-
tions forming more sharply differentiated units than in other countries.5
5
This separation is due to the forces of history,, geography, topography,
population pressures, differences in economy and means of communication,
and other factors. There are also marked cleavages within the South itself.
For instance, Campania, the region of Naples, is the most densely populated
section in Italy, while Sardinia is so sparsely inhabited that it is possible
to travel for miles in its picturesque countryside without seeing anyone.’
Italy’s southern areas have in common their underdevelopment and
depression. In fact, the South may be regarded not only as the largest
underdeveloped area within any European state,$ but also as being as
severely depressed as any other area. It has chronic mass poverty, obsolete
methods of production and social organization, a large proportion of its
population employed in agriculture, a high level of unemployment because
of lack of industry, and a low per capita income.9
Poor natural resources and agricultural conditions and the lack of low-
cost power and transportation are among the many factors which contribute
to this underdevelopment and depression. Some scholars maintain that the
levels of development, particularly as regards industry, were about the same
in both northern and southern Italy when the country was unified, but that
the standards of the South have fallen since then. It would appear to be
more accurate to say that although there has been considerable progress in
the economic and social situation in the South since unification, the gap
between North and South is continuously widening specially with regard
to such matters as per capita income and unemployment.10
4
For definition, cf. Informazioni SVIMEZ (Associazione per lo sviluppo dell’ industria nel
Mezzogiorno), Year III (1950), pp. 739 ff. For description of the region, cf. "Ter-
ritorio, Clima, Sismicita," Statistiche sul Mezzogiorno d’Italia, 1861-1953, Vol. I
(Rome: SVIMEZ, 1954).
5
Carlo Sforza, Contemporary Italy (New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., 1944), chap. xii, "The
Problem of The South," passim, esp. pp. 94-95.
6
The historical aspects of the problem are beyond the scope of the present discussion.
7
Cf. p. 574 for variations in southern population density.
8
Cf. Pasquale Saraceno, "Le Développement Économique du Mezzogiorno," Conférences
au Centre d’Études Industrielles (Geneva, February 3-4, 1954), p. 1.
9
For definitions of depressed areas with special reference to southern Italy, cf. Alessandro
Molinari, Aspetti e misura della depressione del Mezzogiorno, Cassa per il Mezzo-
giorno, Studi e Testi (undated), passim, esp. pp. 3 ff.
10
Cf. Bruno Foa, "The Italian Economy: Growth Factors and Bottlenecks," Banca
Nazionale del Lavoro Quarterly Review, No. 27 (October-December, 1953), p. 1;

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571
Certainly both the topography and the climate are disadvantageous
to the South.&dquo;’ Eighty-five per cent of the area is mountainous or hilly. 12
These mountains, save for the Great Sila in Calabria, while not high
enough to keep winter snows, have been so badly deforested that the hill-
sides and neighboring lowlands suffer from uncontrolled erosion; this situa-
tion has been made worse by the ploughing of the steep slopes. The great
plains below, such as Catania in Sicily, are rich, and could be made pro-
ductive with the topsoil washed down from the mountains: but even these
plains are inundated periodically by the rushing swollen river torrents.
Small wonder that throughout the South &dquo;in the uplands of the interior
one comes face to face with a sun-baked, treeless and waterless soil which
in its asperity and poverty seems to defy the will of man - a will which,
if present, is sometimes malevolent and bent upon the perpetration of
grave social injustice.&dquo; 13 Towns and villages throughout the South have
long been largely devoid of water. Although along the rich coast there are
miles of orange and lemon groves watered from wells or by streams coming
down from the mountains, they are not sufficient to raise the general level
of agricultural productivity for the South as a whole any more than is the
rich vegetable growing area of Campania, around Naples.
There have been few roads, and the resultant isolation of towns not
widely separated from each other is reflected in the mental isolation of the
peasants. There has been little mechanization of agriculture, and the
notable lack of fertilizer has been worse since World War II, both because
of the loss of cattle - sources of natural fertilizer - and of plants manu-
facturing the commodity chemically. All these problems, however, can
be rectified by modern methods of soil cultivation, cattle-raising, road-build-
ing, irrigation, and industrialization.
Only recently has it been realized that the inventories of the natural
resources of the South are not complete. 14 The discovery of oil in Sicily
in the fall of 1953 and in the Abruzzi later, the opening of the Sicilian
Carlo Rodanò, Mezzogiorno e Sviluppo Economico (Bari, 1954), chap. vi, "Le Due
Sicilie prima e dopo il 1860"; Raffaele Ciasca, Il problema del Mezzogiorno come
fondamentale problema italiano, Cassa per il Mezzogiorno, Studi e Testi (undated),
passim ; Alessandro Molinari, "Southern Italy," Banca Nazionate del Lavoro Quarterly
Review (January-March, 1949), passim, esp. pp. 34 ff.; Economic Survey of Europe
in 1954, United Nations, Research and Planning Division, Economic Commission for
Europe (New York: Columbia University Press, 1955), pp. 142, 144.
11
Cf. J. C. and A. G. Carey, "The South of Italy, Old Despair and New Hope," South
Atlantic Quarterly, January, 1955, for discussion of southern economic conditions
today.
12

Survey of Southern Italian Economy (Rome: SVIMEZ, 1950), p. 5.
13
Mario Einaudi, "The Italian Land: Men, Nature and Government," Social Research,
XVII (March, 1950), 9.
14

Economic Survey of Europe in 1953, United Nations, Economic and Social Council,
Research and Planning Division, Economic Commission for Europe (New York:
Columbia University Press, 1954), p. 167.

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572
wells for production, and the great political battle for control of oil indicate
the importance of this formerly unknown resource. If the methane gas
discovered in Catania proves to be only partially as important as that in
the North, it will still be a great addition...