Southern Italy was in terrible shape prior to and during Giolitti 's tenure as Prime Minister . Four-fifths of southern Italians were illiterate and the dire situation there ranged from problems of large numbers of absentee landlords to rebellion and even starvation . Corruption was such a large problem that Giolitti himself admitted that there were places " where the law does not operate at all " . Natural disasters like earthquakes and landslides were a common source of destruction in southern Italy , often killing hundreds of people in each disaster , and southern Italy 's poverty made repair work very difficult to do . Giolitti 's small response to the major earthquake in Messina in 1908 was blamed for the high number of deaths which numbered at 50,000 people . The Messina earthquake infuriated southern Italians who claimed that Giolitti favoured the rich north over them . One study released in 1910 examined tax rates in north , central and southern Italy indicated that northern Italy with 48 % of the nation 's wealth paid 40 % of the nation 's taxes , while the south with 27 % of the nation 's wealth paid 32 % of the nation 's taxes
earthquake in Messina in 1908
1908 Messina earthquake
History of the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)