Italy

Abstract

Italy is perceived as a young state, yet it is no younger than today’s Germany. It is perceived as a country divided into a South and a North, often thought of with secessionist pressures. In this work, we will see how internal differences have characterised the Italian peninsula since ancient times. Its division between North and South is important and more visible than ever but it is not connected to regionalism. For this reason, I will show how the division into Regions of Italy, even if it refers to ancient representations, is extremely recent and moreover it does not refer to any particular identity, neither political nor cultural. Its management of the territory is undermined by an unfortunate reform which Italy has struggled against since 2001 and from which the country has never left. Added to this is the reform of the provinces of 2014 which increased the operational difficulties on the Italian territorial organisation.