Around the fringe of Europe lies a "green ring" of countries which have followed different pathways into modernity from the industrial core of the continent and have, until recently, been characterized by a strong agrarian presence in their politics, economy and culture. This chapter of the book wants to achieve a better understanding of the Mediterranean tradition of rurality and to trace the way it has evolved in Central and Southern Italy after WWII and especially in the last25 years of the XX century, when the interest in rural development has been revived by European Union policies
