The Deep South - The Story of Now

Background Information

Traditional life

Melfi lies in Basilicata, a province in southern Italy. For generations, the economy of the region has been rooted in agriculture. But in this unforgiving landscape of dry plains and arid peaks, farmers (helped today by complex irrigation systems) have struggled to grow food staples such as tomatoes, olives, herbs, and wheat.

Deforestation dating back to Roman times has caused widespread soil erosion. This is evident in the arid sculptured landscape, known as the badlands.

A better life beckoned from northern Italy. Huge migration to the industrial triangle of Genoa, Milan and Turin left ghost towns behind.

Migration, and early attempts to stem the flow

An obvious way out of rural poverty in the South was to migrate to the north or abroad, especially to the USA and South America. In an effort to slow down this migration, the Italian government poured funds into creating industrial centres in the South. They were trying to make the distribution of industry throughout the country more even.

Textile factories, steel works and natural gas plants have all been constructed in the hope that they would kick-start an industrial economy. A large and ambitious road-building programme was launched to improve communications.

In spite of all these efforts, a combination of bureaucracy and organised crime wiped out nearly all these projects, and one by one, the factories and complexes closed. They were laughed at by the Italian people, who called them 'cathedrals in the desert'.

Entrepreneurs from the North seem to be frustrated by the population's resistance to change. They feel that there is no enterprise culture and little ambition amongst many Southerners. A traditional saying sums up the southerners' viewpoint: 'The man who plays alone cannot lose.' Most are happy to follow the traditions of past generations.

The Fiat project

New hopes of long-lasting change for the South are focused on Fiat's decision to locate its most modern factory in the South.

The scheme is centred on the ancient town of Melfi, in northern Basilicata (a province on the 'instep' of the Italian 'boot'), far away from the organised crime of the big southern cities like Naples.

In 1993 Fiat, Italy's largest motor company, decided to build its new plant in the area. Many saw it as the South's last opportunity. If it failed, political pressure to stop aid to the South would be intense.

Fiat's Melfi plant is high-tech, as you might expect from one of the first European car companies to automate their production lines.

But even with robots, it still employs 7000 local men and women. It is a young workforce: the average age is 27. Fiat hopes that by employing lots of young people, many of them well qualified, it can foster more modern attitudes to work and stem the drain to the North.

The knock-on effects of Fiat's project

People are employed from all over the region. Basilicata is made up of remote hilltop towns, many dating back to the eighth century, each surrounded by secure walls to keep ancient enemies at bay. There are few opportunities for work in these places. Local builders are banking on the assumption that in five years many of Fiat's workers will have the motivation and money to move closer to the factory.

Several companies are planning to build large apartment blocks to meet the expected rise in demand for housing in Melfi. Fiat has employed people not only from Melfi and its neighbouring communities, but from all over Basilicata. Many people travel hundreds of kilometres, and homes need to be built for them. Fiat has created a major opportunity for development.

It means a large investment risk for these companies. Given the history of factory closures in the region, how confident can developers be that Fiat won't also become a 'cathedral in the desert'?

It seems that the Fiat programme is different from others because it was funded by private enterprise, not by the state. Private funders take great care to ensure that their investments are secure. The Fiat factory is an extremely modern plant, the envy of other car manufacturers, especially in Japan, so it is unlikely to become a 'cathedral in the desert'.