Official division of the Italian regions

[Detfri]

I write this thread becouse Kosovo Je Sjrbia is continuing to use them wrong, spreading wrong informations consequently also about my region.

Italy is divided in a North, a Centre, a South and the major Isles. The three parts are so divided:



Northern regions: Valle D'Aosta/Valée D'Aoste, Piedmont, Lombardy, Ligury, Trentino-Alto-Adige, Friuli-Venezia-Giulia, Veneto and Emilia-Romagna.

Central regions: Tuscany, Umbria, Marche, Lazio, Abruzzo and Molise.

Southern regions: Apulia, Campania, Calabria, Basilicata.

Isles: Sicily and Sardinia (both indipendent).


Sometimes, for historical reasons, some regions that geographically lye in one of these areas have been influenced by the near regions. Romagna is Northern Italy but its history and traditions are more central. Abruzzo, Southern Lazio, Southern Marche and Molise are almost totally Southern economically and linguistically (except Western Abruzzo for what concerns the language and Southern Marche for economy) while other traditions and geography link them to the centre.

The economical and linguistic differences depend mostly on the historical division of Italy in three macro-areas: the little Northern Italian States and towns, the State of the Church and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Sometimes these ex States didn't respected totally the geographical borders.

I specify this becouse these 3 geographical areas are very different in lanscapes, climates, etc.etc. and it's time that people who are ignorant about Italy stop to waffle about us.

[Arthur Scharrenhans]

Very accurate post!
Even many Italians aren't fully aware of where the borders between those areas run...

[Peyrol]

Good post Veleda.

Only two "corollaries": Lombardia is composed bu two historical regions: Insubria, that have Milano as a core city, and the Orobia/Orobica, that comprend Bergamo, Cremona and Brescia provinces.
Emilia Romagna is composed by two historical regions; Aemila, that have Bologna as core city, and Romagna, that is the land near Ravenna and Rimini (also the independent Republic of San Marino is part of the historical Romagna).

[Comte Arnau]

It basically coincides with my perception of regional Italy, although I personally include Sicily in the Southern region and consider Sardinia an independent fourth region on its own.

Oh, and Corsica is Central Italy too.

[Peyrol]

HISTORICAL ITALIAN REGIONS UNDER FOREIGNER'S ADMINISTRATIONS

Corsica (Cossiga in corsian language)


Savoia (Savoie in french, peimonteis, franco-provencal and occitanian)


Nizza


Istria


Dalmazia

[Ouistreham]

Corsica (Cossiga in corsian language)

"Cossiga", what is that????

A Corsica si dice "Corsica" in lingua corsa, 'un si chjama altrimente!

[Magister Eckhart]

I find it interesting that Naples-Sicily roughly corresponds to the original borders of the Kingdom, but almost everything else has been completely re-arranged. I mean, does Tuscany really belong in the same region as Venice and Piedmont, culturally speaking? And why are traditionally Neapolitan Abruzzo and Molise lumped in with Papal Lazio?

It just seems to me three divisions are too few - I'm not saying split the peninsula up into a dozen pieces, but I'd say at least 5 divisions is necessary to truly capture the divisions of the Italians as I've encountered them as a historian.

[Peyrol]

"Cossiga", what is that????

A Corsica si dice "Corsica" in lingua corsa, 'un si chjama altrimente!

Ahahahah in the Italian wikipedia is written this definition

[Peyrol]

I find it interesting that Naples-Sicily roughly corresponds to the original borders of the Kingdom, but almost everything else has been completely re-arranged. I mean, does Tuscany really belong in the same region as Venice and Piedmont, culturally speaking? And why are traditionally Neapolitan Abruzzo and Molise lumped in with Papal Lazio?

It just seems to me three divisions are too few - I'm not saying split the peninsula up into a dozen pieces, but I'd say at least 5 divisions is necessary to truly capture the divisions of the Italians as I've encountered them as a historian.

"Linguistic" yes, but not culturally, because they weren't actually completely different peoples, but variations of the same culture. If you read writers like Dante and Machiavelli, you realize that the Italian peninsula was culturally united , with very strong trade and and exchange of intellectuals, writers and artists between one region and another, since the Middle Ages, and the idea of ​​a united Italy was born precisely in the ambeints of Guelph (Papacy VS Empire).

It should also be understood that the boundaries of the Italian states were very variable.

[Detfri]

Southern Italy

With Southern Italy are meant those areas of Italy that geographically lie, approximately, Southmore than Lazio and Molise (although some include Molise in the South). This exlude the whole Abruzzo and the two major isles : Sicily and Sardinia.

Mezzogiorno

Those regions that have an economy of "Southern type" but that are not necessarly Southern geographically, I.E.: Calabria, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania, Molise, Abruzzo, Southern Lazio, Sardinia.
This area approximately corresponds to the ex State of the Two Sicilies and are also called "Meridione".

The isles

Both Sicily and Sardinia have very peculiar characterist that make them different from the continent and from the rest of Italy. Sardinia, in the specific, is settled by an ethnic group (The Sards) which is different from Italians. Sicily has an own history that makes it a very mediterranean country, with strong links with Greece and the rest of the Mediterranean Sea.

Regions with a special status

The regions with a special status are those regions that are settled mostly by minority ethnic groups or that have a situation of effective bilinguism or have strong cultural differences respect to Italy. In the specific to hold a special status are: Sudtirol (but not Trentino) considering its strong German presence and the bilinguism Italian/German; Friuli-Venezia-Giulia, as it has always been a transit-region and has huge slavic and germanic minorities, besides in the region are found minoritarian languages such as German, Resian, Furlàn; Sicily, Sardinia and Valle D'Aosta, for the strong French presence and for the bilinguism Italian/French.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regions...pecial_statute

Autonomous regions with special statute
Autonomous regions with special statuteArticle 116 of the Italian Constitution grants to five regions (namely Sardinia, Sicily, Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Aosta Valley and Friuli-Venezia Giulia) home rule, acknowledging their powers in relation to legislation, administration and finance. They keep between 60% (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) and 100% (Sicily) of all levied taxes.[3] In return they have to finance the health-care system, the school system and most public infrastructures by themselves. Sicily gets additional resources from the Italian state in order to finance all services.[3]

These regions became autonomous in order to take into account linguistic and cultural differences, such as the linguistic minorities in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Aosta Valley, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Sicily and Sardinia. Moreover the government wanted to prevent their secession from Italy after the end of the Second World War.

Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol constitutes a special case. The region itself is nearly powerless and the powers granted by the region's statute are mostly exercised by the two autonomous provinces within the region, Trentino and South Tyrol. In this case, the regional institution plays a merely coordinating role.