Italy has a strong north/south cultural and wealth divide, much like the US (at least before the recent cultural reconfiguration). Northern Italy has always been at the forefront of industry, AFAIU, but Italian diaspora largely came from the poorer, southern regions, giving rise to many negative stereotypes of Italians generally outside of Italy; stereotypes many Northern Italians also hold of the southern regions. Of course, free from various structural and cultural barriers these people were eventually able to thrive, just like anyone else.
