Holy Growth: Two Millennia of Regional Inequality in Italy Inferred from Church Construction

803/2026 Carla Salvo, Jacob Weisdorf

Northern Italy is markedly richer than the rest of the country. The origins of this regional divide have long been the subject of debate. We trace relative regional de velopment back to the end of antiquity using newly assembled data on ecclesiastical building activity as a proxy for economic performance. We identify two pre-modern “golden ages”—in the 10th–13th and 15th–16th centuries—both plausibly interrupted by major plague outbreaks. Our evidence suggests that the North–South gap emerged more than a millennium ago, around 900 CE, when the North pulled ahead and re tained its lead thereafter. We also find that Italian unification further amplified this northern advantage.

Global Economic History