Kingdom of the South

Strictly speaking, the term is used with reference to the period between September 1943, when King Victor Emmanuel III and the government fled Rome to Brindisi in the aftermath of the Armistice of Cassibile until Rome was liberated by the Allies in June 1944 and resumed its function as capital of Italy. However, its use is often extended to cover the period up to 1945 and the end of the war, that is, the entire period that Italy remained divided, during which time the Italian government, although it had re-established itself in Rome, still did not have full control of its nominal territory or local, police and military bodies. Administrative, military and political activities, and their documentation, were split between those managed by the government of Rome, by the Italian Social Republic, by the partisan forces and by the armies in the field.

History

After the landing of the Allies in Sicily, the Armistice of Cassibile, its announcement on 8 September and the flight of the king from Rome, the Badoglio Government, established in Brindisi, maintained the constitutional structure of the Kingdom of Italy, trying to reconstruct the state administration, since almost all the officials and ministerial employees had remained trapped in the capital.

On the evening of 10 September, King Victor Emmanuel III announced, in a recorded message broadcast by Radio Bari, the reasons that had prompted him to leave Rome:

"For the supreme good of the fatherland, which has always been my first thought and the purpose of my life, and with the intent of avoiding more serious suffering and greater sacrifices, I have authorized the request for an armistice. Italians, for the safety of the Capital and to be able to fully fulfil my duties as King, with the Government and the Military Authorities, I have moved to another point of the sacred and free national soil. Italians! I confidently rely on you for every event, as you can count, to the ultimate sacrifice, on your King. May God assist Italy in this grave hour of its history."

King Victor Emmanuel III on Radio Bari, 10 September 1943

For the Allies, it was necessary that in liberated Italy there was a government capable of exercising a legitimate power to counter that of the Italian Social Republic established in Salò. For this reason, already on 19 September the Apulian provinces of Bari, Brindisi, Lecce and Taranto and Sardinia were not placed under the control of the Allied Military Administration of the Occupied Territories (AMGOT) but were recognised as independent and entrusted to the government of Badoglio, albeit under the strict control of the Allied Control Commission.

One of the first acts of the government established in Brindisi was the signing of the so-called long armistice, integrated by the short armistice signed in Cassibile on 3 September. While making the principle of unconditional surrender effective, the Allies committed themselves to softening the conditions in proportion to the help that Italy would provide in the fight against the Nazis.

On 13 October the government declared war on Germany. From a political point of view, this declaration was very important, since it placed Italy within the Allied forces, albeit with the qualification of co-belligerent. From this moment the Italian government slowly began to acquire greater autonomy. In this first phase, only Sardinia and the provinces of Puglia were under the control of the government, while the rest of the liberated territory remained under the control of the Allied Military Administration.

At its formation in September 1943, the Kingdom of the South only controlled Apulia, Sardinia, and parts of Basilicata and Calabria. Sicily, then under the AMGOT administration following its capture during Operation Husky in the summer of 1943, was returned to the control of the Italian government in February 1944. More territories came under the control of the Kingdom of the South as the Allies advanced northwards along the Italian Peninsula. The king and government initially established their seat in Brindisi, although the city was never officially designated as the capital of Italy. The de facto sovereignty of the kingdom was limited, as it was subject to the Allied Control Commission for Italy.

The transfer of the government to Salerno

On 11 February 1944, the Allies transferred jurisdiction over Sicily, which had been under Allied Military Administration since July 1943, and over the provinces of southern Italy already occupied and those that were gradually being liberated to the Italian government. The jurisdiction of AMGOT was thus reduced to Naples, to the areas close to the front and to those of particular military interest.

Also in February 1944, the government moved to Salerno, which thus became the provisional capital of Italy. The so-called Salerno turning point allowed a compromise to be found between the anti-fascist parties, the monarchy and Marshal Badoglio that allowed the formation of a government of national unity with the participation of all the political forces present in the National Liberation Committee, temporarily setting aside the political and institutional disagreements that arose after the fall of fascism. On 22 April 1944, the second Badoglio government took office, politically supported by a coalition of the recently reconstituted Italian parties.

Transfer of the government to Rome

On 4 June 1944, Rome was liberated and the following day Victor Emmanuel III appointed his son Umberto as Lieutenant of the Kingdom, retiring to private life. Umberto took office at the Quirinale and, on the proposal of the CLN, entrusted the task of forming the new government to Ivanoe Bonomi, an elderly political leader who had been Prime Minister before the advent of fascism. The new government thus took office in July in the capital.