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Inequality and culture: geographical differences in the access to cultural enrichment in Italy (1863–1992)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 August 2011

PAOLO RASPADORI
PAOLO RASPADORI
Affiliation:
Department of Historical Sciences, University of Perugia.
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Abstract

Based on the processing of statistical data concerning population and the major cultural infrastructures in the Italian regions from 1863 on, this article aims to demonstrate that the inhabitants of the ‘Mezzogiorno’ have had not only lesser incomes than those of the inhabitants of the Central and Northern regions, but also smaller chances to make use of Italy's cultural assets, considered in a broad sense. In the long run these disadvantages have strengthened the already high social disparities between the Centre, North and South of Italy and help to explain the roots of the dualism between the two parts of the country.

Inégalité et culture. géographie de l'accès différentiel à l'enrichissement culturel en italie (1863–1992)

Reposant sur le traitement de données statistiques concernant la population et les principales infrastructures culturelles disponibles au niveau local à partir de 1863 dans les régions italiennes, cet article vise à démontrer non seulement que les habitants du Mezzogiorno ont disposé de revenus inférieurs à ceux des habitants des régions du Nord et du centre de l'Italie mais que leurs chances furent toujours moindres de profiter des biens culturels italiens, au sens large. Sur le long terme, ces handicaps ont renforcé les disparités sociales déjà fort marquées entre le Centre, le Nord et le Sud de l'Italie et contribuent à expliquer les racines de ce dualisme qui différentie les deux parties du pays.

Ungleichheit und kultur. geographische unterschiede im zugang zu kulturgütern in italien (1863–1992)

Auf der Grundlage statistischer Daten zur Bevölkerung und kulturellen Infrastruktur der italienischen Regionen ab 1863 versucht dieser Beitrag zu zeigen, dass die Bewohner des „Mezzogiorno“ nicht nur geringere Einkommen als die Bewohner der mittleren und nördlichen Regionen hatten, sondern auch geringere Chancen, die Kulturschätze Italiens zu nutzen. Diese Nachteile haben langfristig die bereits hohen sozialen Ungleichgewichte zwischen der Mitte, dem Norden und dem Süden Italiens verstärkt und tragen zur Erklärung der Wurzeln des Dualismus zwischen den beiden Landesteilen bei.

Type
Research Article
Information
Continuity and Change , Volume 26 , Issue 2 , August 2011 , pp. 219 - 241
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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References

ENDNOTES

1 For an overview of the history of the Italian Risorgimento and Italian history until the 1914–1918 war, see G. Pécout, Il lungo Risorgimento. La nascita dell'Italia contemporanea (1770–1922) (Milan, 1999).

2 See Table 1; also see J. Cohen and G. Federico, Lo sviluppo economico italiano. 1820–1960 (Bologna, 2001), 23–4. It should be noted that the data in Table 1 are not really comparable and that the estimates for the period prior to 1951 are not perfect. However, the reconstruction of the framework they provide is essentially reliable and confirmed by historians.

3 The United Nations' decision to adopt the HDI as an analytical instrument as from 1990 was due to the abandonment of the prevailing view of growth as essentially based on per capita income. See S. L. Engerman, ‘The standard of living debate in international perspective: measures and indicators’, in Richard H. Steckel and Roderick Floud eds., Health and welfare during industrialization (Chicago and London, 1997), 33–4.

4 See Conte, L., Torre, G. Della and Vasta, M., ‘The human development index in historical perspective: Italy from political unification to the present day’, Quaderni del Dipartimento di Economia politica dell'Università degli studi di Siena 491, Jan. (2007), 1–30Google Scholar.

5 See P. Bevilacqua, Breve storia dell'Italia meridionale dall'Ottocento a oggi (Rome, 1993), 40–4 and 118–31; Banti, A.M., ‘Il Sud come problema della storia italiana’, Società e storia XVIII, 68 (1995), 341–52Google Scholar.

6 See Bevilacqua, Breve storia, 55–8, 91–5 and 130–42.

7 For a brief review of these studies, see Bevilacqua, Breve storia, 36–9 and 74–8; Pezzino, P., ‘L'oggetto misterioso: Mezzogiorno d'Italia e revisionismo storiografico’, Società e storia XVIII, 68 (1995), 373–84Google Scholar.

8 Trigilia, C., ‘Le condizioni “non economiche” dello sviluppo: problemi di ricerca sul Mezzogiorno d'oggi’, Meridiana. Rivista di storia e scienze sociali II, 2 (1988), 167–85Google Scholar.

9 See R. D. Putnam, La tradizione civica nelle regioni italiane (Milan, 1993), 135–216.

10 Intended as a combination of shared rules, norms, knowledge and expectations about patterns of interaction that groups of individuals apply to recurring tasks.

11 See T. P. Lyon, ‘Capitale sociale e crescita economica in Italia (1970–1995)’, in Marco Moroni ed., Lo sviluppo locale. Storia, economia e sociologia (Bologna, 2007), 229–59.

12 See P. Botta, Qualità della vita e cultura nelle province italiane (Rome, 1986); Gattei, S., ‘Evoluzione del divario Nord-Sud nelle condizioni civili e sociali nel periodo 1951–1987’, Rivista economica del Mezzogiorno III, 4 (1989), 817–58Google Scholar; F. Gleria, ‘Le differenziazioni territoriali della produzione culturale nazionale’, in Marco Santoro ed., Fare cultura. La produzione culturale nel Mezzogiorno (Bologna, 1995), 43–89.

13 The sources used for these studies are the cultural statistics prepared by national bodies in Italy such as Istat (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica; National Institute of Statistics), SIAE (Società Italiana degli Autori ed Editori; Italian Society for Authors and Publishers), AIE (Associazione Italiana Editori; Italian Publishers Association) and others. Some authors consider the growth of structural indicators (number of libraries, cinemas, theatres, museums, publishers, radio and television broadcasters), others the growth of production indicators (books and journals published, number of musical and theatrical performances and film screenings).

14 See A. Sen, Commodities and capabilities (Amsterdam, 1985), 58–60 and 73–98; Il tenore di vita. Tra benessere e libertà (Venice, 1998), second edition, 49–53; La disuguaglianza. Un riesame critico (Bologna, 2000), second edition, 211–36.

15 See Scitovsky, T., ‘What's wrong with the arts is what's wrong with society’, American Economic Review LXII, 2 (1972), 62–9Google Scholar; D. Throsby, Economia e cultura (Bologna, 2005), 73–110.

16 The statistical relationship between population and phenomenon examined does not take into account the differences in income, gender and status which are found in a modern society. See Slesnick, D. T., ‘Empirical approaches to the measurement of welfare’, Journal of Economic Literature XXXVI, 4 (1998), 2108–65Google Scholar; G. Vecchi, ‘Il benessere dell'Italia liberale (1861–1913)’, in Pierluigi Ciocca and Gianni Toniolo eds., Storia economica d'Italia, vol. 3, Industrie, mercati, istituzioni, vol. 1, Le strutture dell'economia (Rome and Bari, 2003), 71–98.

17 The survey of libraries conducted in 1893, for example, included every type of library. Surveys conducted in 1863 and 1927 omitted ecclesiastical, military and private libraries and libraries attached to hospitals, conservatories, academies and chambers of commerce.

18 See P. Traniello, Storia delle biblioteche in Italia. Dall'Unità a oggi (Bologna, 2002), 25–6 and 90.

19 In 1861 the illiteracy rate was 54 per cent in Liguria, Piedmont and Lombardy, 90 per cent in Sardinia, 89 per cent in Sicily and 86 per cent in Calabria and Basilicata. Twenty years later, those had become, respectively, 44 per cent, 32 per cent and 37 per cent in Liguria, Piedmont and Lombardy, 80 per cent, 81 per cent and 85 per cent in Sardinia, Sicily, and Calabria and Basilicata. See D. Forgacs, L'industrializzazione della cultura italiana (1880–1990) (Bologna, 1992), 24.

20 After 1861 the free trade policy adopted by the Italian ruling class swept away the few, weak manufacturing firms present in the South. When protectionism was adopted in 1887, a decision taken by the political forces of left-wing liberals who had come to power nine years earlier, the absence of a complex banking system and the limited domestic market, unlike the situation in the North, prevented the formation of mid-sized and large firms ready to meet international or state-fuelled demand. See V. Zamagni, Dalla periferia al centro. La seconda rinascita economica dell'Italia. 1861–1981 (Bologna, 1990), 101–14; Bevilacqua, Breve storia, 48–54.

21 See Bevilacqua, Breve storia, 59–62.

22 See Traniello, Storia delle biblioteche in Italia, 183.

23 See Zamagni, Dalla periferia al centro, 450–1; M. G. Tavoni, ‘Disomogeneità del paesaggio bibliotecario’, in Simonetta Soldani and Gabriele Turi eds., Fare gli italiani. Scuola e cultura nell'Italia contemporanea, vol. II, Una società di massa (Bologna, 1993), 169–209; Traniello, Storia delle biblioteche in Italia, 230–50.

24 See Tavoni, ‘Disomogeneità del paesaggio’, 206–9; Gleria, ‘Le differenziazioni territoriali’, 54 and 72–3; Traniello, Storia delle biblioteche in Italia, 323–30.

25 See E. Decleva, ‘Un panorama in evoluzione’, in Gabriele Turi ed., Storia dell'editoria nell'Italia contemporanea (Firenze, 1997), 225–98; M. I. Palazzolo, ‘Geografia e dinamica degli insediamenti editoriali’, in Turi, Storia dell'editoria, 11–41.

26 Between 1891 and 1991 GDP per capita in the South fell by 16 index points compared with that of Italy as a whole, while GDP per capita increased by 10 index points in the North-West and by 7 in the Centre and North-East. Between 1887 and 1991 the number of books published per 100,000 residents in the South fell by 8.9 index points compared with that of Italy as a whole, while the same parameter in the North-West increased by 78.9 index points.

27 See Zamagni, Dalla periferia al centro, 253–58 and 302; M. Vasta, ‘Capitale umano e ricerca scientifica e tecnologica’, in Franco Amatori, Duccio Bigazzi, Renato Giannetti and Luciano Segreto eds., Storia d'Italia. Annali, vol. 15, L'industria (Turin, 1999), 1041–124.

28 See F. Benhamou, L'economia della cultura (Bologna, 2001), 26–30; Throsby, Economia e cultura, 164–6.

29 See Vasta, ‘Capitale umano e ricerca’, 1055; Raspadori, P., ‘Aspetti culturali della qualità della vita in Italia in prospettiva storica’, Ricerche Storiche XXXIV, 2–3 (2004), 369–403Google Scholar.

30 See Forgacs, L'industrializzazione della cultura, 32–3 and 63–4; Palazzolo, M. I., ‘L'editoria verso un pubblico di massa’, in Soldani and Turi, Fare gli italiani, vol. II, 287–317Google Scholar; A. Gigli Marchetti, ‘Le nuove dimensioni dell'impresa editoriale’, in Turi, Storia dell'editoria, 115–63; Raspadori, ‘Aspetti culturali della qualità della vita’, 380.

31 See Forgacs, L'industrializzazione della cultura, 48–60.

32 See V. Castronovo, ‘Stampa e opinione pubblica nell'Italia liberale’, in Valerio Castronovo et al., La stampa italiana nell'età liberale (Rome and Bari, 1979), 5–154; P. Murialdi, La stampa del regime fascista (Rome and Bari, 1986), 79–101; G. Bechelloni and M. Peltretti, ‘L'industria dell'editoria quotidiana e periodica’, in Carla Bodo ed., Rapporto sull'economia della cultura in Italia. 1980–1990 (Rome, 1994), 705–57.

33 See Castronovo, ‘Stampa e opinione pubblica’, 62–5 and 138–54; Murialdi, La stampa del regime fascista, 104–25; Bechelloni and Peltretti, ‘L'industria dell'editoria quotidiana’, 710–29; P. Murialdi, La stampa italiana dalla Liberazione alla crisi di fine secolo (Rome and Bari, 1995), 132–41 and 166–73.

34 See Forgacs, L'industrializzazione della cultura, 167–78 and 215–22.

35 It should be considered that evasion of the licence fee is widespread in the South, meaning that the true extent of radio and television use is underestimated in those areas. See C. Spada, ‘La televisione’, in Bodo, Rapporto sull'economia della cultura, 549–600.

36 See Forgacs, L'industrializzazione della cultura, 18 and 270.

37 See Ortoleva, P., ‘Linguaggi culturali via etere’, in Soldani and Turi, Fare gli italiani, vol. II, 441–88Google Scholar.

38 See Nicolodi, F., ‘Il teatro lirico e il suo pubblico’, in Soldani and Turi, Fare gli italiani, vol. I, La nascita dello stato nazionale, 257–304Google Scholar; I. Piazzoni, Spettacolo, istituzioni e società nell'Italia postunitaria (1860–1882) (Rome, 2001), 17–26 and 324–39.

39 See G. Pedullà, Il teatro italiano nel tempo del fascismo (Bologna, 1994), 40–58 and 349; L. Trezzini, ‘Il quadro di riferimento dello spettacolo dal vivo’, in Bodo, Rapporto sull'economia della cultura, 367–83.

40 See S. Gorelli, ‘Caratteristiche e andamento della domanda e dell'offerta’, in Bodo, Rapporto sull'economia della cultura, 394–407.

41 See Scitovsky, ‘What's wrong with the arts’, 67–8; Benhamou, L'economia della cultura, 129–53.

42 In 1936, 60.4 per cent of theatre performances were given in the North, 14.9 per cent in the Centre and 24.66 per cent in the South. By 1984, those values had become, respectively, 45.9, 32.5 and 21.7 per cent. In 1952, 11,767,000 tickets out of a total of 19,206,000 tickets sold for theatre performances had been sold in the provincial capitals; in 1984, the figures were 16,260,809 out of 23,448,624. See Raspadori, ‘Aspetti culturali della qualità della vita’, 396.

43 In 1999, 363,052 tickets per 100,000 inhabitants were sold in the provincial capitals compared with 102,125 in other cities and performance days per 100,000 inhabitants were 2,234 in the former and 844 in the latter. See Raspadori, ‘Aspetti culturali della qualità della vita’, 399.

44 See Forgacs, L'industrializzazione della cultura, 73–8, 101–7 and 178–90; G. P. Brunetta, Cent'anni di cinema italiano (Rome and Bari, 1995), second edition, vol. 1, 26–40 and 127–36; vol. 2, 4–17 and 155–61.

45 See A. Marcotulli, ‘Il cinema’, in Bodo, Rapporto sull'economia della cultura, 621–60; Brunetta, , Cent'anni di cinema, vol. 2, 378–84Google Scholar.

46 See Gattei, ‘Evoluzione del divario Nord-Sud’, 820.

47 See Putnam, La tradizione civica, 108–15; Conte, Della Torre and Vasta, ‘The human development index’, 17–18.

48 In 1971, 2.43 per cent of weddings in the South were celebrated with a civil ceremony, compared with 4.7 per cent in the Centre and the North. Ten years later the percentages had become, respectively, 9.7 and 15.1. In the same period, a high positive correlation between the number of civil weddings per 1,000 inhabitants and the number of theatre and cinema tickets sold in the North was found, against a low negative correlation between the same phenomena in the South. See Botta, Qualità della vita e cultura, 71 and 75.

49 See, for example, the ratios of theatres or radio and television licences to residents in the South, or the diffusion of newspapers in the North-West.