Italy and Its Provinces: Quality of Life and Political Demand

Testo disponibile solo in lingua inglese.
The essay uses an original indicator to pinpoint differences in quality of life among the Italian provinces. The indicator is constructed by synthesising eight potential demands which citizens ought, ideally, to address to their respective political classes. The picture which emerges is one of an Italy in which two thirds of citizens – and probably also of electors – are potentially unhappy with the quality of life offered to them in the provinces in which they reside. Differences from area to area are sharp enough to allow classification of provinces into 11 homogeneous groups, each with its own distinctive socio-economic characteristics. The classification highlights not only traditional divisions between North and South, but also between the Adriatic and Tyrrhenian seaboards and between large and small towns. The author, finally, attempts a few preliminary conclusions on the possible political consequences of these differences.