Southern Italy autonomist movements
[1] 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.
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.
[9] 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.
[14] 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.
[15] 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.
[13][21] There continue to be various political parties and organizations who lobby for greater autonomy in the South, but they don't claim widespread support.
[23] 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.
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.
[27] Several specialized research institutes today study the southern Italian economy in an attempt to better understand the problem and develop well-targeted economic policies.
