Italian Nationalism

Italian Revolution@Suggestedkeywords.com 

Nationalism, oh, nationalism. What a somewhat wonderful yet somewhat idiotic concept. The flags, the festivals, the overtaking of majority of Europe; yes, that is our dear nationalism. Nationalism is that sweet and sometimes restricting feeling that people have of being loyal to and proud of their country, often tied to the belief that it’s better and more important than other countries. According to Zakaria, these feelings can often lead to tension between nations and make them less likely to work together.

Italians have a weird relationship with nationalism. Coming into the beginnings of World War 2, Italy saw the rise of Benito Mussolini, who had the belief that if he could unite the Italian states into one then he could mold them into a second Roman Empire. He formed the right-winged fascists partyFasci di Combattimento (FightingBands) that advocated for Italian nationalism and superiority. I could go on with this story, but quite frankly, I think we all know how this ended for Mussolini and the Italians.

Italian's Surrendering to Allies@History.com

After World War 2, nationalism in Italy took a back seat due to the bad residual feeling that it left on many Italians. Italy saw little peaks of it due to former Mussolini supporters, but nationalism never really took off in Italy the way it did during the mid 20^th century. In the modern era, nationalism really only sees support from right-winged parties in Italy.

However, Italy seems to have moved towards a more sub-nationalistic approach- which Zakaria notes as a smaller form of nationalism that centers around loyalty to things like tribes or religions instead of your country of origin- where instead if it being Italy against the world, the divide lies between Northern and Southern Italians, especially when it comes to income inequality.

Last semester in my Elementary Italian class, my Sardegnian (Italian spelling. English spelling is Sardinian) teacher took a few moments to address the North-South divide of her country. In the midst of a huge African migration that is overwhelming Southern Italy and not helping the crippled agricultural-economy that the South depends on, Southern Italians are often moving north for job opportunities. However, they’re being met with tension and elitism from the richer, Northern Italians.

The income inequality between northern and southern Italy is dividing the country. Many Southern Italians are becoming angry and the lack of relief given by the Italian government. In the video presented, Carlo Borgomeo- the President of the Southern Foundation- says that “…we continue to see that the Italian state neglects the South...” which he then goes on to also put blame on the Southern Italians who don’t make efforts either.

The income divide is severe. In 2010, the real GDP per capita data showed that cities further North like Milan make almost twice as much cities in the South.

This has prompted many people to speak out. Roberto Saviano, an influential Neapolitan writer, wrote an open letter to the Prime Minister Matteo Renzi that “urged the prime minister to ‘take action’ and ‘admit that nothing has been done’ to stop the ‘desertification’ of the south.” (Site used for translation. Original piece can be found here.)

Many have suggested that the divide stems from the Unification of Italy in the 1860’s. The polices put into place then have determined the outcome.

The tensions are so high that there are Northerners who- fed up with the constant subsidizing of the southern economy- support the Lega Nord (page is in Italian) movement that advocates for Northern succession. The right-winged party is currently making huge gains in Italy due to their anti-immigration platform.

Italian Regions Stereotypes@CulturalKinetics.wordpress.com

I believe that as the divide continues to grow between the two parts of Italy, we’ll either see major reforms that will help turn the economy in the South around and join Italy once again, or we’ll see that the divide will become so big that the succession idea will win out, once again breaking Italy into autonomous states instead of one unified nation.