  Specifically, it was southern Italy which was slow to get television and thus had a tremendous demand for movies into the 70s.  Mikel Koven in La Dolce Morte talks in some depth about this phenomenon and how it nurtured several genres of movies, among them the spaghetti western.  Quite a fascinating look at the class issues inherent between the north and the south at that time and how it affected the arts being created for each one.    