Italy’s south spruces up its act

The southern region of Italy has its share of tourist spots like Cape Spartivento in southern Calabria, the Amalfi riviera, Capri and Ischia in Campania, and Naples and Pompeii. The Greek temples at Segesta, Selinunte and Agrigento in Sicily, and Palermo with its baroque monuments are also popular. But the majority of the time, foreign tourists prefer to give them, and a large swathe of southern Italy, the go by and this has been a cause of consternation  for local authorities and those in the tourism business.

 “Italy’s mezzogiorno, as the country’s south is known, is far away and hard to reach. But sadly it does not have the accompanying advantage of being less spoilt than other parts of Europe,” says The Economist.  Svimez, an organization that produces an annual report on industrial development in southern Italy, reported that of the 17m or so people who visit the south each year less than one third are foreigners, compared with one half of visitors to central and northern Italy. The government has not done enough to protect the south from ill-judged efforts to promote tourism according to The Economist.  The main casulaty has been the environment especially along the coastline. The infrastructural gaps in roads and railways have to be addressed as well as the lack of the most basic amenities. Reggio Calabria, a major city in Calabria has brackish water that is not fit for use. All these shortcomings have hampered the south’s efforts to draw visitors.

However, the silver lining as the Svimez report noted is that there has been a decrease in unemployment levels. The mezzogiorno shows an increase in investments and exports and the appearance of new business ventures has fostered the hope that the south’s economic fortunes might be on the upswing. The report stated that almost half of the 50 billion euros earmarked for special projects by the government would be used to promote promising projects in the south.

There is change taking place in the south. Farmers are transforming their farmhouses into agritourism inns. With efforts being made to promote the cultural and natural resources of the south, perhaps the famous cave dwellings of Matera in Basilicata, a UNESCO site that’s drawing attention from historians and archeologists all over the world, the historical town of Maratea known as the “City of the 44 Churches,” could very well be a must-see on the tourist map for visitors to Italy.