Representations of the Italian South An explorer who told lies would bring disaster on the books of the geographer… one requires the explorer to furnish.

Representations of the Italian South

“ An explorer who told lies would bring disaster on the books of the geographer… one requires the explorer to furnish proofs.”

St Exupery, The Little Prince

Research

Research questions:

• How is the South of Italy represented?

• How can we explain this?

• What are the implications?

Methodology:

• Analysis of content, photographs, text and activities in four textbooks and one Italian atlas

Texts

• Key Stage 3 Textbooks• Waugh, D & Bushell, T. (2006) Key Geography: New Interactions.

NelsonThornes• Hillary, M, Mickelburgh, J & Stanfield, J. (2001) Think Through

Geography 2, Longman• Bowen, A. and Pallister, J (2005) Geography 360° Core Book 2,

Heinemann Core Book, Heinemann

• Atlas• (2006) Atlante Geografico di Base de Agostini per la scuola

primaria, Instituto Geografico de Agostini,

Contents: section headings

Key Geography• Climate• Farming• Industry• Tourism• Rural problems

Think Through Geography• North/south divide• Landscape/climate• Farming• Industry• Core and periphery

Geography 360°• Does Italy have N and S?• (unemployment, income)• Why is the South Poor• Can the gap between N and S be closed?• Italy as tourist destination (Pompei and

Etna)

Italian primary school atlasCampania; Puglia; Basilicata; Calabria;

Sicily; Sardinia• The land• Population• Agriculture and fishing• Industry• Tourism.

Photographs of Settlements

There are 5 photographs of settlements in

the three textbooks

• All show hill villages

Settlement: Text (textbooks)

Key Geography• ‘Most people still live in hilltop villages in rural areas. The

few towns, which are on the coast…’• ‘Village lacking modern amenities (label)’

Geography 360°• ‘More and more settlements are perched on hilltops

surrounded by rocky slopes. Can people make a good living here?’

• ‘Why don’t more people live on the flatter lowlands?’• ‘What are the difficulties of living on the top of a hill?’

Agriculture: in textbooks

Key Geography: 1 photograph• Farmer with sheep on hillsideThink through Geography: 2 photographs• Hilly area, with caption: Is it being well

farmed?• Hilly landscape with inset of person

saying, “In the South of Italy many farms are small and provide just enough food to feed my family”

Agriculture in textbooks

Geography 360°• Drawings of landscape in 1950 and 1990• 1950 - includes labels: outdated farming

methods; low yielding vineyards• 1990 - labels include: mechanised farming;

irrigation channels; greenhouses growing salad crops

• Photograph of agricultural landscape in Sardinia (activity to note features shown in 1990 drawing)

Explanation of agriculture in textbooks

Key Geography• High, steep land• Not enough money for

fertilisers, irrigation• Summer drought• Little soil on hills because

of erosion• Few farmers own land• Away from urban markets• Animals used instead of

modern machinery

Think through Geography• Steep slopes• Hot dry weather• Poor thin soils• Very small farms• Difficult to use machinery• Lack of money for

investment• Poor roads and

communications

Agriculture: textbooksKey Geography• Most farms are very small. Farming is at a subsistence level.• Farming methods are still traditional• Outdated farming methods• Disadvantages of farming in the south (title for photograph)

Think Through Geography• In the South of Italy many farms are small and provide just enough

food to feed my family. People call this subsistence farming

Geography 360°• Problems experienced by companies in South. The workers are too

tired to work after working on their farms before and after work.

Industry: textbooks

Key Geography• Only partial success in introducing new industry

Think Through Geography• Naples is the only large centre of industry in the south

Geography 360°• Industries never arrived in numbers• Low output from workers not used to factory work• Some businesses failed• Long history of crime and corruption

Activity from Key Geography

You work for the new Cassa per il Mezzogiorno orFund of the South organisation. You have beengiven the task of seeking funds for the improvement schemes and have been asked to give a presentation to the EU and World Bank.

• Draw a star diagram to show the main problems of the south

• Show how life in rural areas may be improved.• Which schemes do you think would bring most benefit?

Activity from Think Through Geography

Writing frame• What is the future for the South of Italy?• The South of Italy is different from the North in

several ways…• The South suffers from many problems both

physical and human• Farming in the South could be improved by…• Industry in the South could be improved by…• The main problem with the South is…• Unless these problems are solved then…

Activity from Geography 360°

Lack of wealth in the South: physical and human causes.Can you separate the human factors from the physical?

(Each factor is expanded through bullet points)

• Old fashioned farming methods• Climate• Drainage• History• Lack of modern industry• Relief• Land ownership• Rock type and soils

Key messages about the Italian South from the textbooks

• Most people live in hill towns which makes life difficult

• Farming in the South of Italy is very difficult• Most farming is subsistence farming• There is little industry• Industry has not been successful• Southern Italy is a problem• Southern Italy needs to be improved

Photographs of settlement in Italian atlas

All photographs are of coastal settlements

and include:

• Gulf of Naples

• Piazza del Plebiscito in Naples

• Positano

• Guardini-Naxos, a coastal resort in Sicily

Text about settlement in Italian atlas

Campania• The internal area is sparsely populated in

contrast to the dense population in the areas near Naples and Salerno

Puglia• Population is concentrated in Bari and other

townsCalabriaIn the mountain zone the population is very sparseSicily• Strong development of coastal cities

Images of agriculture in Italian atlas

Maps

• For each region there is a map showing distribution of commercial agriculture

Photographs include:

• Tomatoes in Campania

• Olive groves and vines in Puglia

• Orange orchards in Sicily

Text related to agriculture (in Italian atlas)

Campania

• The Romans called it ‘happy Campania’ because of the fertility of its plains and the gentleness of its climate

Puglia

• Blessed with a good Mediterranean climate and characterised by a landscape almost without hills

Industry in Italian atlas

For each region

• A map showing the distribution of industries which include: chemicals; engineering; food processing; timber and paper; textiles

Activity in Italian atlasData providedFor eleven different agricultural products the top six Italian regions are ranked according to thequantity of production.

Example of data

Tomatoes• Puglia• Em. Romagna• Campania• Sicily• Calabria• Basilicata

Task• For each product give points to

each region, 6 points for the top region, 5 to the next and so on. Mark these on a map. Add up the points. List the six most productive regions and shade them on a map. List the six most productive regions of Italy.

(From this task, the six most productive regions in Italy, inorder of the points total are: Emilia Romagna; Puglia; Sicily; Veneto;Lombardy; and Campania.NB 3 of these are in the South

Key messages of the Italian atlas

• Most of the population of Southern Italy lives in the coastal areas

• The climate favours agriculture

• Southern Italy is very important for commercial agriculture

• There is a variety of industries

Meridionalismo (southernism)

‘Europe ends at Naples and ends badly. Calabria, Sicily and all the rest belong to Africa’ Creuze de Lesser, 1806

• Anti-Meridionalismo: An attitude of north towards the south.

• Often in the North of Italy the south is compared unfavourably with the North.

• There are negative stereotypes in Italy about the South• South has been considered ‘backward’, ‘barbaric’• Mezzogiorno as a construct, as a series of images and

perceptions: southern Italy presented as a problem• This image of the south is being challenged now and

representations of the south are being questioned

The effects of looking at Southern Italy through a negative lens

Leads to an over-emphasis on:• disadvantages of Southern Italy for farming and industry• failures of industry• failures of the pastAffects the selection of:• photographs• statistics• activities for studentsTendency to generalise and present stereotypesInaccurate representations

Common inaccuracies

• Most farming is subsistence farming

• Most people live in hill top towns

• Transport is poor

• There is no money for investment

• The birth rate is high

• There are a lot of old people

Positive aspects not mentioned

• Rich cultural heritage

• Very high life expectancy

• Well developed motorway network

• High rate of car ownership

• Mild winter growing season

• FIAT at Melfi, Basilicata

Southern Italy in the UK

Products from Southern Italy canbe found in most supermarkets inEngland. Typical products are:

• Wine from Sicily and Puglia• Olive oil from Puglia, Sicily, Calabria• Citrus fruits from Sicily and Calabria• Tinned tomatoes from Campania and Puglia• Pasta from Puglia (pasta shapes called

‘orrechiette’)

Some questions

• What is the role of comparisons in studying places in geography?

• How can we be more aware of the lenses through which we are studying places?

• How could places be better represented in textbooks?

• Could textbooks be sources for enquiry learning rather than sources of ‘information’?