The debate on Italian regionalism has received renewed impetus from the disintegration of the First Republic and the emergence of the Northern League. In this important study, leading scholars of Italian history, politics, sociology and linguistics examine the nature of Italian regionalism since the formation of the modern Italian nation state. This is the first English-language book to explore the Italian concept of regionalism in all its ramifications.Topics include: the nature and problems of Italian regionalism in context; the historical background of the period up to 1945; critical overviews of regionalism since the establishment of the Republic; the relationship between dialect, language and Italian regionalism; and an examination of the origins of the Northern Leagues, their growing power, and their contribution to the crisis of the Republic. Contributors: Adrian Lyttelton, John Davis, Anna Laura Lepschy, Giulio Lepschy, Martin Clark, Percy Allum, Ilvo Diamanti, Joseph Farrell, David Hine, Anna Cento Bull, Miriam Voghera