Italy's underdeveloped southern regions, which for years have held back the national economy, are finally showing signs of closing the gap with the rich north, Bank of Italy Governor Fabio Panetta said on Thursday. Over recent decades per capita gross domestic product in the south has been little more than half that of the rest of the country, Panetta said in a speech in the Sicilian city of Catania.

However, since the COVID-19 pandemic, the economy of the so-called "Mezzogiorno" has rebounded faster than the national average, and employment growth has been stronger. Between 2019 and 2023 GDP has risen by 3.7% in the south versus 3.3% in the centre-north, Panetta said, while exports have grown by 13% against 9%, and employment has increased by 3.5% compared with 1.5%.