Mezzogiorno, economically underdeveloped region in Italy roughly coextensive with the former Kingdom of Naples (see Naples, Kingdom of); in current Italian administrative usage, it is a mainland subregion consisting of the modern southern Italian regions of Abruzzi, Molise, Campania, Puglia, Basilicata, and Calabria and an insular subregion composed of Sicily and Sardinia. Mezzogiorno is the Italian term for “midday” or “noon,” and southern Italy is known as the Mezzogiorno because of the intensity of sunshine there at midday.

The Normans ruled southern Italy between 1130 and 1198 and were succeeded by the German Hohenstaufen. The French Angevins ousted the Hohenstaufen in 1266 and greatly expanded the power of the feudal nobility. Alfonso V of Aragon conquered southern Italy between 1420 and 1442 and established the Dogana della Mene delle Pecore (“Custom of the Sheep”) to levy taxes on sheep and other livestock. The Dogana reduced the number of small farmers and agricultural labourers in southern Italy by favouring the conversion of cropland to pasture.

Southern Italy and Sicily were established as an independent kingdom under the Spanish Bourbons in 1734; only limited reforms were introduced, and most southern Italians were tied to some form of feudal obligation as late as 1786. Small-scale land reform was implemented near Manfredonia in Puglia in 1806 and was followed by a series of projects to reclaim marshland and improve drainage.

The Mezzogiorno continued to be dominated by the owners of large estates after the unification of Italy in 1861, and the social and economic backwardness “backwardness” of the south became the subject of the Letteratura Meridionalista (“Southern Literature”) in the late 19th century. Large-scale land reform was not implemented in southern Italy until 1946, and many large estates remain intact. The Cassa per il Mezzogiorno, a development fund for the south, was established as a separate ministry of the Italian government in 1950 and receives ; it received funds from the parliament to invest in the social and economic development of southern Italy, Sicily, and Sardinia. Private investment in the industrial development of the south is has been channeled through the Association for the Development of Industry in the Mezzogiorno, which was created in 1946.

Southern Italy is dominated by the Apennine Range, and up to one-half of the land is too steep for any form of cultivation. Coastal plains are generally narrow and poorly drained and are limited to the environs of the cities of Naples and Salerno, Foggia, and Taranto. Malaria was prevalent in the marshy plains well into the 20th century and was not fully eradicated until after World War II. Limestone and other soft rocks susceptible to erosion predominate in the Apennines; centuries of overcutting and overgrazing forests and scrubland have stripped topsoil from the mountains and hills and have left behind a raw landscape of steep slopes and deeply eroded gullies. Annual precipitation rarely exceeds 20 inches (510 mm) and falls almost entirely in torrential winter downpours that further intensify soil erosion. Irrigation and hydroelectric development are limited because most rivers dry up during the summer.

Southern Italy’s population is concentrated in the coastal towns, which have grown at the expense of villages in the Apennines. Rows of small new houses have been built throughout the lowlands reclaimed from marsh. The southern Italian population’s rate of natural increase exceeds that of northern Italy but has been offset in large part by the immigration of workers to industrial centres in northern Italy, France, Switzerland, and Germany.

The standard of living and per capita income of southern Italy lags lag behind that of northern Italy, and agriculture continues to employ a disproportionately high percentage of the southern work force. Land reform has favoured sharecroppers and labourers previously employed on large estates and has been was accompanied by the creation of agricultural cooperatives and subsidiary rural roads throughout the Mezzogiorno; thousands of new farmhouses have also been were built. Chief crops in this the region include wheat, olives, grapes, peaches, apricots, pears, and various vegetables.

The Cassa has ministry invested heavily in reforestation and the expansion and modernization of irrigation, roads, railways, and harbours. Four dozen industrial centres have been were established with assistance from the Cassa; the European Investment Bank of the European Economic Community also has also subsidized the industrialization of the Mezzogiorno. Economic planners have favoured the development of heavy industries in the south; such industries, however, employ relatively few workers, and they have been unable to attract ancillary industries. Iron, : iron, steel, machine tools, agricultural machinery, and petrochemicals are have been produced in the industrial triangle of Bari, Brindisi, and Taranto; . More diversified industries around Naples are more diversified and produce have produced textiles and various consumer goods, iron, steel, Olivetti office machinery, Pirelli cables, Alfa Romeo automobiles, and ships. Relatively few industries have been located in the Apennine Range. Tourist facilities are concentrated along the coast. Illiteracy is fairly common in the Mezzogiorno and is highest in Calabria, where it is several times higher than the national average. The standard of living in southern Italy lags behind that in northern Italy, and thousands of households lack motor vehicles, telephone service, and other modern conveniences. Workers on large estates commonly live in a corte, or cortile, which is an agglomeration of crowded tenements around a rectangular courtyard; stables and barns are at ground level, and several stories of tenements rise above. Farmsteads are usually built of stone on a rectangular plan of two stories and are roofed at a slight angle with tile or slate. The traditional farmstead of Apulia is the conical trullo traditional farmsteads of Apulia, the conical trulli, built of stone from a cylindrical base. Cave dwellings are common in Matera province, attract many sightseers. The historic cave dwellings of Matera province also draw tourists.

Numerous towns in Calabria were settled by Albanians and host celebrations in honour of Skanderbeg, the national hero of Albania. The Primavera albanese, the Albanian springtime, is widely celebrated in Cosenza province. Calabrian dialects preserve a number of Greek words. Apulian cuisine shows Spanish influences and relies heavily on olive oil and fine wines.