9781422277447

11

Getting Here

Italy has a wide variety of terrain, from mountains in the north, to foothills farther south, and to beaches and Mediterranean climates.

bad. But in southern Italy, bad was outpacing good. And bad was getting worse. Peasants in favor of unification had hoped that the newpolitical struc- turewouldbring fairer laws. Instead, thenewgovernmentwas levyinghigh taxes on the people who could least afford to pay them. Meanwhile, olives and grapes, two crops that were important to the country’s agricultural industry, were suffering from attacks of disease and insects. Farmers who grew citrus fruits like oranges and lemons were competing with