Name: 義大利為何成為歐洲最分裂的國家？！🌍 (How Italy Became the Most Divided Country in Europe)
Uploaded: 2026-02-06T17:06:46.000Z
Duration: 29 min 11 s

There is today no other country in Europe that is more heavily divided between two different regions than Italy.

歐洲沒有哪個國家比義大利更明顯地抽成兩個不同區域了。

程度副詞

It seems that nearly no matter what kind of map you show over Italy, the country is sharply divided between its north and its south.

看起來，無論你拿出什麼樣的義大利地圖，國家都會明顯地被抽成北部和南部。

情態副詞

Here's a map of Italy's population density from 2011 that shows significantly closer together major population centers in the north of Italy than in the south.

這張是 2011 年義大利人口密度的地圖，顯示北部的義大利主要人口中心比南部更密集。

Here is a map that shows all of the major modern highways of Italy, which again shows a much more dense network of highways and infrastructure built up in the north of Italy than in the southern half of the country.

這張地圖顯示了義大利所有主要的現代高速公路，再次顯示北義的公路和基礎設施網絡比南部更密集。

Here is a more recent map from 2021 that shows the percentage of residents in each Italian region who attend a place of worship at least once per week, where you can again see a quite clear divide between the north and the south of the country, with a level of religious attendance being higher in the south than further north.

這是一張 2021 年的最新地圖，顯示義大利各區域每週至少去一次宗教場所的居民比例，你又可以看到南北之間有明顯的區隔，南部的宗教參與度比北部高。

Or how about these two maps that show the voter turnout rates across Italy during the country's general elections in 2001 and 2013, that show again a clear divide between how many people participate in elections in the north and the south of the country?

或者看看這兩張地圖，顯示 2001 年和 2013 年義大利全國性選舉的選民投票率，再次顯示北部和南部參與選舉的人數有明顯的差異？

There's really almost endless kinds of these maps that show stark differences between the north and the south of Italy.

真的有幾乎無限種這類的地圖，顯示義大利南北之間有明顯的差異。

But two of the most useful variables to measure the gulf of differences between them today are their differences in Human Development Index or HDI scores and their differences in GDP per capita.

但今天衡量它們之間差異鴻溝的兩個最有用的變數是它們在人類發展指數或 HDI 分數上的差異，以及它們在每人 GDP 上的差異。

HDI is a score between 0 and 1 that's measured by the United nations that considers a region's access to healthcare, access to education, income levels and overall living conditions as factors that affect the overall score, with a 0 being the lowest and a 1 being the absolute highest.

HDI 是由聯合國測量的一個 0 到 1 的分數，它考慮了地區的醫療保健、教育、收入水平和整體生活條件作為影響總體分數的因素，0 是最低分，1 是最高分。

And this is the map of Italian regions by HDI score in 2017, which again shows a clear difference in scores and development between the north and the south of the country.

這張圖顯示的是 2017 年義大利各區域的 HDI 分數，一樣可以看到國家南北之間在分數和發展上有著明顯的差異。

The further south you go in Italy, the less developed it becomes.

你往義大利南部走得越遠，發展就越落後。

Now, before we get much further though, it's important to clarify that while there is a significant disparity between northern and southern Italy in terms of development and economic output, that's not to say that southern Italy is exactly poor or highly underdeveloped.

不過，在我們深入探討之前，很重要的一點是，雖然義大利南北在發展和經濟產出上有顯著的差距，但這並不代表義大利南部就非常貧窮或高度開發不足。

The HDI scores that were recorded in even the least developed regions of Italy and Calabria and Sicily were measured at a 0.859, which are underdeveloped by the standards of anywhere else in Western Europe, but

即使在義大利最不發達的卡拉布裡亞和西西里地區，HDI 分數也測得 0.859，以西歐任何其他地方的標準來看，這確實是開發不足，但

are still quite high globally, coming out to about the same as the average HDI score seen in Places like Argentina, Chile or Turkey, and

在全球範圍來看，分數還是相當高，大約跟阿根廷、智利或土耳其的平均 HDI 分數差不多，

But when it comes to GDP per capita in Italy, the differences are also starkly visible between the north and the south, as shown in this map, which details the GDP per person as a percentage of the nationwide Italian average as recently as 2021.

但說到義大利的每人 GDP，南北之間的差異也同樣顯著，這張地圖就顯示了 2021 年時，每人 GDP 相較於義大利全國平均的百分比。

Here you can see that all across southern Italy, the economic output of its citizens is significantly lower than the output of Italians across the north of the country.

在這裡你可以看到，在整個義大利南部，其居民的經濟產出遠低於義大利北部居民的產出。

Southern Italy, usually defined as everything south of this line on the map, consists of about one third of Italy's total territory and about one third of Italy's total population, but

義大利南部，通常定義為地圖上這條線以南的所有地區，佔義大利總領土約三分之一，總人口也約佔三分之一，但

also only represents about one fourth of Italy's total gdp.

也只佔義大利總 GDP 的四分之一左右。

And this situation has led to some economists, such as the former Italian Prime Minister, Mario Draghi, who resigned in 2022, to describe the whole region of southern Italy as the largest and most populated underdeveloped region in the euro area.

而且這種情況讓一些經濟學家，像是 2022 年辭職的前義大利總理 Mario Draghi，將整個義大利南部地區形容為歐元區最大且人口最多的開發不足地區。

The southernmost and least developed regions of Italy, Calabria and sicily, have nominal GDP per capitas as of 2022 that are about on a par with Uruguay and Greece.

義大利最南部、發展最落後的地區，像是卡拉布裡亞 (Calabria) 和西西里 (Sicily)，在 2022 年的名目人均 GDP 大約跟烏拉圭和希臘差不多。

The while northern regions like Lombardy and Trentino have GDP per capitas that are even higher than Germany and the uk the economic disparity extends perhaps even more clearly into the realm of employment in maps like this one, where you can clearly see how much more southern Italians struggle with employment than their peers in the north do.

而像倫巴第 (Lombardy) 和特倫提諾 (Trentino) 等北部地區的人均 GDP 甚至比德國和英國還高，這種經濟差距在就業方面可能更明顯，這張地圖可以清楚看到，義大利南部居民在就業方面比北部居民掙扎得多。

In the southern regions of Sicily, Calabria and Campania, unemployment rates as recently as 2023 were each more than 16% of their total labor forces, four times the unemployment rate seen in some northern regions like Lombardy and Veneto, and

在西西里、卡拉布裡亞和坎帕尼亞 (Campania) 等南部地區，截至 2023 年的失業率都超過了總勞動力的 16%，是倫巴第和威尼託 (Veneto) 等一些北部地區失業率的四倍，

on a par with some of the worst unemployment rates seen globally anywhere in the world today, approaching the level seen in much more geopolitically troubled corners of the world, like Kosovo or Libya.

而且與科索沃或利比亞等地緣政治較為動盪的地區相比，失業率接近全球一些最嚴重的水準。

The overall economic disparities between northern and southern Italy have grown so wide by this point that it's often been said that they now even exceed the differences within Germany between the former communist east and capitalist west of the country.

到目前為止，義大利北部和南部之間的整體經濟差距已經非常大，甚至有人說，這種差距現在已經超過了德國前共產主義東部和資本主義西部之間的差異。

So why does this huge chasm of a difference exist in nearly all aspects of economic and social life within Italy today?

那麼，為什麼義大利今天在幾乎所有經濟和社會生活的方面都存在如此巨大的差距呢？

There are many, many potential explanations.

But one of the most peculiar things about Italy's regional economic divide, compared to pretty much any other country in the world, is the way in which it has persisted around for literally hundreds of years.

但與世界上幾乎任何其他國家相比，義大利地區經濟差距最奇特的一點是，這種差距已經持續了字面上的數百年。

By this point, in a way that's lingered around for far longer than nearly any other countries, regional divide has existed for.

這種差異存在的時間，比世界上幾乎任何其他國家都要長久許多。

And in many ways, it's a divide that has been getting worse in recent times than most other countries regional divides have, such as east and West Germany.

而且在很多方面，這種差距近年來比大多數其他國家的地區性差距，像是東西德之間的差距，變得更嚴重了。

One of the most immediate sources of the divide that you can spot by studying the map simply stems from the differences in geography between the north and the south that have existed throughout human history in Italy, going back for thousands of years now, and

只要研究地圖，就能發現最直接造成這種差距的來源，就是義大利北部和南部之間自古以來就存在的地理差異，這可以追溯到數千年前，而且

how geography generally tends to favor the north.

地理因素普遍地對北部比較有利。

The single most remarkable geographic feature in the whole of the Italian peninsula is this huge low lying plain in the north that's either referred to as the Paddon Plain or as the Po Valley, named after the Po river that flows almost through the center of the plain.

在整個義大利半島上，最引人注目的地理特徵是北部這片廣闊的低窪平原，它被稱為帕達納平原或波河谷地，名稱來自流經平原中心的波河。

Fed by its many tributaries that begin in the Alps mountain range to the north and from the Apennine mountain range to the south.

許多發源於北部的阿爾卑斯山脈和南部的亞平寧山脈的支流，滋養了這片平原。

The Po Valley, as I'll call it from here on out, is the largest continuous area of flat land that can be found anywhere in the whole of Southern Europe.

從現在開始我會稱它為波河谷地，這是整個南歐地區最大的連續平坦土地。

At least if you define the geographic extent of Southern Europe as the same area that the United nations does.

至少，如果我們定義南歐的地理範圍與聯合國定義的相同的話。

Southern Europe is generally rugged, hilly and mountainous pretty much everywhere outside of the Po Valley, and

除了波河谷地之外，南歐大部分地區都崎嶇、多丘陵且多山，

this remains true within Italy, with the massive Alps enclosing the valley to the north and the west, and

在義大利境內也是如此，巨大的阿爾卑斯山脈在北部和西部圍繞著這個谷地，

the Apennine Mountains enclosing it to the south that stretches clear across the Italian peninsula all the way to the south, forming the so called spine of Italy.

南部的亞平寧山脈環繞著它，一路延伸到義大利半島的南端，形成了所謂的義大利之脊。

The Po river itself that flows through the valley is also the longest river that can be found in Italy, and

流經這個山谷的波河本身也是義大利境內最長的河流，

it's generally regarded as the country's most navigable river for commerce and trade as well, with the lower reaches of the river extending from about modern day Cremona out towards the Adriatic Sea being regarded as the most navigable section of river in all of Italy due to its usual year round deep and calm waters.

而且它通常被認為是這個國家最適合商業和貿易航運的河流，河段從現代的克雷莫納（Cremona）向亞得裡亞海延伸，由於全年水深且平靜，是義大利境內最適合航運的河段。

In terms of overall area, the Po Valley is a little larger than the Netherlands, and

就總面積而言，波河谷地比荷蘭稍大一些，

they have nearly identical populations and urban densities today as well.

而且兩地今天的人口和都市密度也幾乎相同。

With 17 million people, or about a third of modern Italy's population, all residing in the valley, the Po Valley offers up a larger, flatter area to build cities in and to develop infrastructure for more cheaply than anywhere else in Italy does.

波河谷地有1700萬人口，約佔現代義大利總人口的三分之一，他們都居住在這個山谷裡，相較於義大利其他地方，波河谷地提供了更大、更平坦的區域來建造城市和發展基礎設施，而且成本更低。

Where the mountains of the Alps to the north and the Apennines to the south and the hills surrounding them make development and infrastructure more time consuming and expensive to construct.

而北部的阿爾卑斯山脈、南部的亞平寧山脈以及周圍的山丘，使得開發和基礎設施的建設更加耗時且昂貴。

But that's far from the Po Valley's only geographic advantages over anywhere else in Italy.

但這遠不是波河谷地相較於義大利其他地方的唯一地理優勢。

The valley is located directly adjacent to the huge freshwater reserves found in the towering Alps to the north that flow down throughout the Po Valley in its rivers and streams, which means that the Po Valley simply has better access to more freshwater resources than can be found in southern Italy.

這個山谷直接毗鄰北部高聳的阿爾卑斯山脈龐大的淡水儲備，這些水源透過河流和溪流流淌到整個波河谷地，這意味著波河谷地比義大利南部擁有更多更好的淡水資源。

This map, based on data that was collected by the European environment agency in 1995, shows the levels of water stress seen throughout Italy, with a clear divide between northern Italy and southern Italy, with levels of severe water stress being much more acutely visible in the south than in the north.

這張地圖是根據歐洲環境署在1995年收集的數據繪製的，顯示了義大利各地區的水壓力水準，北義大利和南義大利之間有明顯的區別，南部地區的水壓力問題比北部地區更為嚴重。

Moreover, this more recent map compiled by the World wildlife fund in 2022, shows the risk of water scarcity developing across Italy by 2050, which essentially confirms what was shown by the data that the previous map from 1995 showed.

此外，這張由世界野生動物基金會於2022年編製的較新地圖，顯示了義大利到2050年可能面臨的水資源匱乏風險，這基本上證實了1995年那張地圖數據所顯示的內容。

Southern Italy is at a substantially greater risk of developing acute water scarcity conditions than northern Italy is.

義大利南部面臨嚴重水資源匱乏的風險，遠高於義大利北部。

Southern Italy has therefore faced worse prospects of drought throughout its history than northern Italy has, and

是以，義大利南部歷來比義大利北部面臨更嚴峻的乾旱前景，

with its significantly larger open fields throughout the Po Valley, fertilized by glacial runoff coming in through the many rivers and streams down from the Alps, the Po Valley became the most obvious site in the whole peninsula for large scale intensive agriculture to be performed in, which gave rise to many of Italy's largest and most powerful cities emerging within the valley, like Turin, Milan, Bologna, Padua, Verona and Venice, along with major satellite cities located very nearby to the plain, with their own synergizing geographic advantages like Trieste, Florence and Genoa.

而波河谷地擁有更廣闊的開闊田野，透過阿爾卑斯山脈眾多河流溪流匯集的冰川融水施肥，波河谷地成為整個半島發展大規模集約農業最明顯的地點，這也催生了許多義大利最大、最繁榮的城市在此谷地出現，例如杜林、米蘭、波隆那、帕多瓦、維羅納和威尼斯，以及鄰近平原的衛星城市，它們也擁有各自的地理優勢，如的裡雅斯特、佛羅倫斯和熱那亞。

Still to this day, in 2024, the biggest and busiest ports in Italy in terms of gross tonnage are the ports of Trieste and Genoa, which have each been majorly important ports to Italy for centuries now, owing to their large, natural and easily defensible deep water harbors located so nearby to the large population centers that arose within the Po Valley, and

時至今日，2024年，義大利總噸位最大的港口是的裡雅斯特港和熱那亞港，這兩個港口數世紀以來對義大利都非常重要，因為它們擁有大型、天然且易於防禦的深水港，靠近波河谷地發展起來的主要人口中心，

their ability to all serve as a crossroads of sorts to facilitate trade routes between the Mediterranean region and inland Europe.

並且它們都能作為連接地中海地區與歐洲內陸貿易路線的十字路口。

Southern Italy has several very good natural deepwater harbors and ports as well, and

義大利南部也有幾個非常好的天然深水港和港口，

many of these handle significant amounts of cargo today as well, but

其中許多今天也處理著大量的貨物，但

none of them as much as Trieste and Genoa do, which flank the Po Valley on the east and the west.

沒有一個港口能與的裡雅斯特港和熱那亞港相比，這兩個港口分別位於波河谷地的東側和西側。

Moreover, the Po Valley in northern Italy is simply geographically much closer to the rest of Europe than southern Italy is, which makes the Po Valley the natural region of southern Europe to serve as the crossroads of trade between the Mediterranean and deeper into Europe like Germany.

此外，義大利北部的波河谷地在地理位置上比義大利南部更靠近歐洲其他地區，這使得波河谷地成為南歐連接地中海與德國等歐洲內陸地區的天然貿易十字路口。

And the advantages still don't stop there for the north either.

This is a tectonic map of Italy that shows the risk of earthquakes taking place throughout the country in a given 50 year period.

這是一張義大利的地質構造圖，顯示了在給定的 50 年期間，全國各地發生地震的風險。

Overall, the spine of the Apennine Mountains that stretches through central and southern Italy is the most geologically active part of the Peninsula and is a major fault zone which exposes southern Italy to a much greater degree of risk to earthquakes and other seismic events than northern Italy is exposed to, save for this small corner of the northeast of Italy.

總體而言，橫貫義大利中部和南部的亞平寧山脈是半島上地質活動最活躍的部分，也是一個主要的斷層帶，這使得義大利南部比義大利北部更容易遭受地震和其他地震事件的風險，除了義大利東北部這個小角落。

Over the timespan of centuries, this means that southern Italy has been rocked by many more economically destructive earthquakes than northern Italy has been, which has further contributed to the region's economic disadvantages relative to the north.

幾個世紀以來，這意味著義大利南部經歷了比義大利北部多得多的破壞經濟的地震，這進一步加劇了該地區相對於北部的經濟劣勢。

And earthquakes aren't the only natural disasters in Italy that the south is more exposed to either, because there's also the threat of devastating volcanoes, volcanic eruptions as well.

而且地震並不是南部更容易遭受的義大利唯一自然災害，因為還有毀滅性火山和火山爆發的威脅。

This is a map of every currently active volcano in Italy, and

這是一張義大利所有現存活躍火山的地圖，

as you can see, none of them are located in the north of Italy.

正如你所見，沒有一座位於義大利北部。

Notably, the volcanoes that are located on the boot part of Italy are the only active volcanoes located on the entirety of mainland Europe, with the rest of Europe's volcanoes being located on islands rather than on the mainland.

值得注意的是，位於義大利靴子部分的火山是整個歐洲大陸上唯一活躍的火山，歐洲其他地區的火山都位於島嶼上，而不是大陸上。

Four of Italy's volcanoes have erupted recently in the past 150 years.

義大利的四座火山在過去 150 年內最近曾爆發過。

Vulcano and Stromboli in the Aeolian Islands to the north of Sicily.

位於西西里島北部的愛奧尼亞群島上的 Vulcano 和 Stromboli。

And much more infamously indestructive Mount Vesuvius near modern day Naples, and

還有更臭名昭著、破壞力驚人的維蘇威火山，就在現代拿坡里附近，

Mount Etna in eastern Sicily, right next to the city of Catania.

還有位於西西里島東部的埃特納火山，就在卡塔尼亞市旁邊。

Each of these volcanoes offer up some important advantages towards a civilization, like rich volcanic soil and the potential for geothermal energy, which is part of the explanation for why the areas immediately adjacent to the volcanoes are some of the most densely populated areas that can be found in southern Italy.

這些火山中的每一座都為文明帶來了一些重要的優勢，例如肥沃的火山土壤和地熱能源的潛力，這也解釋了為什麼火山旁邊的區域是義大利南部人口最稠密的地區之一。

But of course, their disadvantages compared to northern cities are that the volcanoes can just blow up and wreck the settlements next to them.

但當然，與北部城市相比，它們的缺點是火山可能會爆發並摧毀旁邊的聚落。

The most infamous example of this was when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE and wiped out the neighboring Roman city of Pompeii.

其中最臭名昭著的例子是西元 79 年維蘇威火山爆發，摧毀了附近的羅馬城市龐貝。

But it also erupted again in 1631 and killed thousands of people in neighboring Naples in that eruption too.

但它在 1631 年再次爆發，在那次噴發中也殺死了鄰近拿坡里數千人。

Today, the volcano remains dangerously active and it hangs over the heads of the around 3 million plus people who live in Naples and other cities nearby, who close enough to be affected by a potential eruption, which, along with the tectonic risks and earthquake chances in the region, would make any business owner second guess the risks of establishing themselves in the area versus in the north, where the natural disaster risks are substantially lower overall.

如今，這座火山仍然危險地活躍著，籠罩著住在拿坡里及附近其他城市約三百萬以上居民的頭頂，他們離潛在的噴發太近了，可能會受到影響，再加上該地區的構造風險和地震機率，這會讓任何企業主在考慮在該地區建立據點的風險時，與北部相比，北部的自然災害風險總體上要低得多。

Moreover, because the north contains the Po Valley that's located directly south of the Alps, which are much, much higher mountains than the southern Apennines are, they also have access to all of the rivers and streams that plunge down the mountains on their way down the valley, which grants them access huge amounts of hydroelectricity potential in addition to their freshwater access.

此外，由於北部有位於阿爾卑斯山正南方的波河谷，阿爾卑斯山比南部的亞平寧山脈高得多，它們還可以利用流經山脈匯入山谷的河流和溪流，除了淡水資源外，還能獲得巨大的水力發電潛力。

I mean, just look at this map that showcases the maximum hydroelectric potential that can be found across Italy.

看看這張展示義大利水力發電潛力的地圖就知道了。

And once again, you can see that the north possesses significantly more available access to hydropower than the south does.

再一次，你可以看到北部擁有的水力發電資源遠比南部多。

Italy is overall the 18th largest producer of hydroelectricity in the world today, and

義大利目前是全球第 18 大水力發電生產國，

about 14.5% of their total nationwide electricity is generated through hydrogen.

大約 14.5% 的全國總電力是透過氫能產生。

But nearly all of that generation takes place in the north of the country.

但幾乎所有這些發電都發生在國家北部。

The northern regions of Piedmont, Bombardy and Trentino Alto Adige alone produce more than 60% of the whole country's hydroelectricity today, which again, only further exacerbates the inherent geographic advantages to development seen in the north of Italy relative to the south.

北部的皮蒙特、倫巴底和特倫提諾-上阿迪傑地區單獨生產的發電量就佔了全國的 60% 以上，這再次加劇了義大利北部相較於南部在發展上固有的地理優勢。

Overall, these many geographic advantages that the north possesses to development from the large expanse of flatland in the Po Valley fed by rich glacial runoff from the Alps that enabled it to become Italy's agricultural powerhouse, to the large natural deep water harbors nearby, to the Po Valley in Genoa and Trieste that made it the ideal crossroads for trade and commerce between the Mediterranean and the European interior, to the dramatically lower risks of natural disasters from earthquakes and volcanic eruptions that the south is more exposed to, to the significantly more rugged terrain that is harder to develop and build upon in the south, to the abundance of cheap and plentiful hydropower in the north that was largely absent in the south.

總體來說，北部在發展上擁有許多地理優勢，包括阿爾卑斯山冰川融水滋養的波河谷廣闊平坦的土地，使其成為義大利的農業重鎮；鄰近大型天然深水港；熱那亞和的裡雅斯特的波河谷，使其成為地中海與歐洲內陸之間貿易和商業的理想十字路口；南部更容易遭受地震和火山爆發等自然災害的風險顯著較低；南部崎嶇的地形更難開發和建設；北部擁有豐富且廉價的水力發電資源，而南部則相對匱乏。

All combined to ensure that Italian industry would also more heavily concentrate within the Po Valley in Italy's north rather than in its south.

這些因素共同確保了義大利的工業也會更集中在義大利北部的波河谷，而不是南部。

For example, this map that was created in 1972 shows the concentrations of various different kinds of industries within Italy at the time, with the larger circles and segments indicating relatively larger importance.

例如，這張 1972 年製作的地圖顯示了當時義大利境內各種不同產業的集中情況，較大的圓圈和區塊表示相對較大的重要性。

As you can see, already by the early 1970s, the north of Italy, with all of its advantages I just explained above, had way, way, way more concentrated industry going on there than in the south, with the only really notable industrial area in the south at all at the time being Naples.

你可以看到，早在 1970 年代初期，義大利北部就因為我剛才解釋的所有優勢，其產業集中度遠高於南部，當時南部唯一真正值得注意的工業區是拿坡里。

Nearly two decades later, in 1989, northern Italy's massive concentration of industries led to a group of French geographers led by Roger Brunet, to come up with the concept of the Blue Banana in modern Europe, which Brunet and his team described as the industrial and urban backbone of modern Europe, encompassing the continent's most densely populated, heavily urbanized and industrial regions, stretching from Liverpool and Manchester in the UK through London, the Benelux States, the Rhineland in Germany, Switzerland, and

近二十年後，也就是 1989 年，義大利北部龐大的產業集中度促使由 Roger Brunet 領導的一群法國地理學家提出了現代歐洲的「藍香蕉」概念，Brunet 及其團隊將其描述為現代歐洲的工業和城市脊樑，涵蓋了歐洲人口最稠密、城市化程度最高、工業化程度最高的地區，從英國的利物浦和曼徹斯特，經過倫敦、比荷盧經濟聯盟國家、德國的萊茵蘭地區、瑞士，以及

the heavy industries located throughout the Po Valley in northern Italy, which again, as a concept shows just how much more geographically connected and integrated northern Italy is with the rest of Europe than southern Italy is, which enables northern Italy to more easily trade with the rest of Europe for more cheaply than southern Italy is able to do, which enables northern Italy to retain higher amounts of capital through trade than southern Italy is capable of doing.

義大利北部波河谷遍佈的重工業。這個概念再次顯示了義大利北部與歐洲其他地區的地理連接和整合程度遠高於義大利南部，這使得義大利北部能夠比義大利南部更輕鬆、更便宜地與歐洲其他地區進行貿易，從而使義大利北部能夠從貿易中保留比義大利南部更多的資本。

And yet there are other factors at play that potentially influence the north south divide in Italy besides geography as well.

不過，除了地理因素之外，還有其他可能影響義大利南北差異的因素。

One of the other principal factors that has to play at least some kind of influence is the peninsula's history and how the peninsula's geography helped to shape that history.

另一個至少會產生一些影響的主要因素，是這個半島的歷史，以及這個半島的地理是如何塑造了那段歷史。

For nearly all of Italy's modern history, from the collapse of the Roman empire in the 5th century CE to the unification of Italy nearly 1400 years later in 1861, the Italian peninsula was divided between several different powers, both external and internal, who had wildly different ideas concerning government types and institutions, a situation that lasted for so long and that was so deeply ingrained in Italy that Clemens von Metternich, the most famous Austrian statesman of the 19th century, once described Italy as a mere geographical expression.

在義大利的近代史中，從西元五世紀羅馬帝國滅亡，到近一千四百年後的西元一八六一年統一義大利為止，義大利半島一直被國內外不同勢力分割統治，這些勢力對於政府類型和制度有著截然不同的想法。這種情況持續了這麼久，根深蒂固，以至於十九世紀最著名的奧地利政治家克萊門斯·馮·梅特涅曾將義大利描述為一個純粹的地理概念。

While the French and the Austrians each ruled over large sections of northern Italy at various times throughout that history, the extent of foreign rule from beyond the Italian peninsula was substantially longer lasting and more deeply entrenched in the south of Italy than in the north.

雖然法國和奧地利在歷史上都曾統治過義大利北部的廣大地區，但來自義大利半島以外的FOREIGNER統治，在義大利南部比在北部更持久、更根深蒂固。

After the fall of the Roman Empire, parts of southern Italy were ruled by the Greek dominated Byzantine Empire intermittently for centuries between 553 and 1130.

羅馬帝國滅亡後，南義大利的部分地區在西元五五三年至一一三零年間，斷斷續續地被希臘主導的拜占庭帝國統治。

The Arabs conquered Sicily in 827 CE, which lasted for another two and a half centuries until the Normans, another group of outsiders, conquered Sicily from them again in 1091, and

阿拉伯人於西元八二七年征服了西西里島，又過了兩個半世紀，直到一零九一年，另一批外來者諾曼人再次從他們手中征服了西西里島，

then they stuck around for about another century.

然後他們又在那裡待了一百年左右。

The Spanish crown of Aragon eventually managed to conquer Sicily by 1282 and then extended their control over the Kingdom of Naples on the Italian mainland by 1442, which ushered in centuries of direct Spanish control over the whole of southern Italy that lasted all the way up until the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, after which the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily were handed over to the Austrian Habsburgs for a couple of decades up until 1735, when each of the kingdoms of Sicily and Naples were both taken back over by the Spanish again, and

阿拉貢的西班牙王室最終於一二八二年征服了西西里島，然後在西元一四四二年將勢力擴展到義大利大陸的拿坡里王國，這開啟了西班牙直接統治整個南義大利數百年的時期，一直持續到一七一三年烏特勒支條約為止。之後，拿坡里王國和西西里王國被交給了奧地利的哈布斯堡王朝統治了幾十年，直到一七三五年，西西里王國和拿坡里王國又再次被西班牙人奪回，

a Spaniard named Charles VII from the Bourbon dynasty rose to become their king, who was a guy who actually lived in Naples during his reign and was notably the first king to reign over southern Italy, who actually lived there personally in about 230 years.

來自波旁王朝的西班牙人查理七世成為了他們的國王，他是一位在位期間實際居住在拿坡里的君主，也是近兩百三十年來第一位親自居住在南義大利的國王。

The long reign of foreign powers throughout southern Italy established a culture of absentee landlords large landholdings worked by peasants, and

外來勢力長期統治南義大利，建立了地主缺席、由農民耕作的大片土地的文化，