It experienced a phase of decline in the 1860s, the years of the post-unification period, followed by a partial regrowth in the following decade; it was abolished in 1927, when the provincial capital was renamed Agrigento.

[8] The law and order crisis arose right around the time Giuseppe Garibaldi landed in Sicily to liberate the island from Bourbon rule.

The following is a testimony by Onofrio Guggino, Commander of the Militia of the Bivona district, submitted to the Councilor of Public Safety on March 1, 1861:[8]The district was in a state of complete anarchy, harassed [...] by the false squads of Don Francesco Riggio of Cianciana and the brothers Captain Padella of S. Stefano and by a hamlet of malefactors said to depend on a squad of Santo Meli.

[11] On August 26, 1860, the decree for the administrative reorganization of Sicily was passed, to make the island's legislation similar to that of the Kingdom of Savoy:[12] with the exclusion of the provinces, the old territorial districts changed their names, while keeping their geographical boundaries unchanged.

Alessandro Della Rovere, lieutenant of the king, noting the marginalization of the area, considered the Bivona district as a suitable place to send there "for punishment any intendant who deserves a severe measure from the government.

[18] Within the district a series of contributing factors (the immense difficulties in restoring public order; the large number of draft dodgers and deserters who fled to the countryside - particularly to Burgio - to avoid military conscription; the clergy's firm opposition to the laws confiscating property and suppressing religious congregations; hostility toward the "Piedmontese" who had come to Sicily to fill important administrative and political roles)[18] escalated into very strong opposition to the government and the establishment of a pro-Bourbon committee (in Bivona), which was also joined by employees of the local subprefecture.

[18] Beginning in the spring of 1870, a critical period began for the Bivona subprefecture, due to the continuous turnover of its incumbent[19] and the failure to fill its staff (in the same year the employees went from seven to five; in 1874 they became only three).

[21] The subprefects of this period emphasized the importance of public education, improvement of road conditions and agriculture with a view to a prompt redemption of the district; they also urged the citizens to a more active political life.

[24] The development of the mafia was fostered by the participation in it of well-known members of the economically and socially prominent social strata[25] and by the fear and omertà of the population;[26] in 1870, Bivona sub-prefect De Luca stated:[26] There is more belief in the power of malfeasance, the so-called Mafia, than that of the government; whereupon it follows that the aggrieved or robbed never push complaints to the judicial or public safety authority for fear of greater harm.The armed gangs that continued to operate up to this period were also joined by escapees from the Bivona district prisons, many of whom operated in the area of San Biagio Platani, "committing robberies, kidnappings, rapes and other serious crimes.

[28] However, after a few months marked by an experience that was able to awaken the almost resigned spirits of the peasants and workers, on January 3, 1894, Francesco Crispi, a native of the Bivona district, requested and obtained from the Council of Ministers the authorization for the establishment of the state of siege, proclaimed by General Morra di Lavriano.

In fact, ties between S. Stefano, Cianciana, Lucca Sicula, Bivona, Raffadali, etc., were very frequent and Lorenzo Panepinto was the leader recognized and loved by all.Panepinto's murder shook even more the entire surrounding area, which had already been a victim of the Mafia for some time: among the members of the underworld, political figures also stood out, including Baron Domenico De Michele Ferrantelli,[34] mayor of Burgio and deputy of the Bivona constituency, who in 1909 procured an alibi for Vito Cascio Ferro,[35] believed to be the main culprit in the murder of Italian-American policeman Joe Petrosino.

1/1927 of January 2, 1927 (Reorganization of provincial districts), backed by Benito Mussolini with the collaboration of King Victor Emanuel III and Alfredo Rocco, all the sub-prefectures of the Kingdom of Italy were abolished:[36] Bivona ceased to be the capital and, along with the other twelve municipalities that formed the administrative district, continued to be part of the same province, renamed as the province of Agrigento from that year.

[37] The left section (coat of arms of Girgenti) depicts three naked women with their feet on a plain, intent on supporting a structure with three medieval towers topped by a consecrated host.

The coat of arms of the province of Girgenti (later to become "of Agrigento") was approved by the National Heraldic Council and legalized by royal decree on April 15, 1938, assuming the appearance it still retains to this day.

[43] A number of works have been published that directly or implicitly discuss the Bivona district, especially its relationship with Piedmontese government officials or the development of the Mafia within it: