While Venice made headlines around the world this week, with the Italian government declaring a state of emergency, the southern Italian city of Matera was also devastated by wild weather but received far less attention from the media.
The local council has now approved a resolution calling for the declaration of a state of emergency “due to the exceptional atmospheric event. Mayor Raffaello De Ruggieri estimated the financial cost of the damage at €8 million.The declaration of €20 million in state funding for Venice, combined with global media coverage and international funding campaigns, has led to much discussion on social media of a “north-south divide” in Italy.
The controversial topic has drawn in Italy’s foreign minister and leader of the populist Luigi Di Maio, who posted on Facebook: “Other cities and regions have been overwhelmed by bad weather. I think of Basilicata with Matera, the European capital of culture, I think of Puglia, Calabria, Sicily. And nobody talks about it.”
