Up to the end of 18.th century, the Kingdom of Naples and the Kingdom of Sicily were in fact independent of each other, under a personal union of the crowns: the administrative models were distinct, different monetary system, different models of development and social situation, different legislation.
With the establishment of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies as a unitary state, Sicily lost its traditional autonomy, centuries old; from that, ensued strong resentment toward Naples and a strong drive to recover lost autonomy that explains the attempted secession of 1847 and the support given to Garibaldi in 1860.
Gianluca di Castri (IdeaConsult) 