South Italy

The Kingdom of Italy (Italian: Regno d'Italia) is a country located in the the Italian Peninsula. It covers the southern half of the peninsula, along with the islands of Sicily and Sardinia and a large enclave in the north-west, encompassing the regions of Piedmont, Liguria and the Aosta Valley. The north-east is controlled by the Socialist Republic of Italy, more commonly known as North Italy. The Kingdom of Italy (especially the southern sectors of the peninsula) has typically suffered from one of Europe's highest crime rates and rampant levels of government corruption, although there are vast differences in terms of living standards between the poorer, more rural south (or "Two Sicilies" region) and the industrialized, wealthy north-west around Piedmont. The capital, Rome, lies in the region of Lazio, directly north of but considered culturally and historically distinct from the southern Two Sicilies region, and with higher living standards and economic development. The North-South divide in Italy dates back to well before the partition of Italy following World War II, and was a major factory in the Allied forces insisting on the north-west remaining part of the Kingdom rather than the Socialist Republic during the post-war negotiations between the Allies and the Comintern.

The country is a member of the Alliance of Free States.