Campania is one of the leading regions in Italy for tobacco cultivation and processing. In the early 20th century, it was home to three of Italy's 18 state-owned tobacco factories. The region has long grown tobacco, with Cava dei Tirreni cultivating tobacco as early as the pre-unification period. Tobacco cultivation and processing expanded in Campania in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with new varieties being introduced from America. Mechanization increased in factories in the years before World War 1. Tobacco remained an important crop for the region between the World Wars, particularly in the province of Salerno. However, tobacco cultivation and processing has declined in Campania since the 2000s with factory clo