Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Contemporary Tribulations
The 21st century has so far proven tumultuous for southern Italy. The so-called 'Scampia
feud' of late 2004 and early 2005 - a deadly turf battle fought out by rival Camorra clans in
Naples - saw an estimated 47 people gunned down in four months alone. In 2008 a
Camorra death squad shot seven men in Castel Volturno, northwest of Naples. Six of the
dead were West African migrants; the incident was seen as a warning to Nigerian criminal
clans who were attempting to muscle in on the city's lucrative drugs market.
Denis Mack Smith produced one of the most penetrating works on Mussolini in his biography,
Mussolini
. It
explores the life and career of the Italian dictator and his influence on Adolf Hitler.
In 2011, Italy replaced Greece as the main EU entry point for illegal immigrants. Ac-
cording to Frontex, the EU borders agency, 32,906 illegal immigrants reached Italian
shores in the first quarter of 2011 alone, mostly Tunisians and Libyans escaping political
upheaval. Of these, two-thirds landed on Lampedusa, a tiny island wedged between Sicily
and Tunisia. The seemingly endless waves of refugees, both arriving alive and drowned at
sea, provoked distress and frustration for residents, many of whom rely on tourism for their
livelihood.
Italy's ongoing financial crisis hasn't helped to lift southern morale either. The closure or
relocation of factories to wealthier northern regions has merely accelerated the
Mezzogiorno's already dire economic reality. Between 2007 and 2012, nearly 150,000 jobs
were lost in the south, with more than 1.3 million residents heading north in search of
work. In cities like Naples, scenes of shoppers collecting scraps left by market vendors
have become increasingly common. In the cultural sector, several high-profile museums
have cut staff, building maintenance and access to various galleries.
Adding further bitterness to the maelstrom of unemployment, high taxes and a seemingly
perpetual recession is Italy's ongoing political instability. Inconclusive elections in Febru-
ary 2013 led to lengthy post-electoral negotiations. From these, Enrico Letta, a member of
the Partito Democratico (PD), was named prime minister, forming an unlikely (and un-
wieldy) left-right coalition with Silvio Berlusconi's Freedom Party and centrists led by
former prime minister Mario Monti.
The growing disillusionment felt by many Italians led to 25% of the votes going to bur-
geoining Five Star Movement, a grassroots organisation demanding greater environmental-
