IN A mass rebellion fuelled by local pride — not least gastronomic — hundreds of Italian towns and villages are exploiting a little-known law to move from one region to another.

Last month voters rejected a national referendum granting devolution to the regions, partly because of fears that it would aggravate the North-South divide.

Now, however, local authorities are opting for “do-it-yourself devolution” by asserting their right under an obscure law to transfer to another region for reasons of “local identity”. The way was paved by Lamon (population 3,500), which is in the Veneto region — or, at least, it was until last weekend, when the centre-left Government of Romano Prodi quietly approved a measure granting its request to move to Trentino-Alto Adige.

Lamon is famous for its beans, traditionally made into the robust pasta e fagioli (pasta and beans) or zuppa d’orzo e fagioli (barley and bean soup). Lamon residents assert that this aligns them with the cuisine of the formerly Austrian South Tyrol, rather than with the seafood and risotto of Veneto.

Franco Vicini, the head of a campaign to move 16 towns and villages from Marche to Emilia-Romagna, said that food was the key there, too. The local favourite food is the piadina, a flat, pitta-style bread filled with meat or cheese, which is the “national dish” of Emilia-Romagna.

“According to the law we are in Marche,” Signor Vicini said. “According to our stomachs we are in Emilia-Romagna.” He said that tourism was also affected by towns and villages being misplaced, not least the resorts of the Adriatic Riviera.

“Everyone knows about Rimini, which is in Emilia-Romagna,” he said. “But Pesaro, which has beaches just as good, is in Marche, and many foreign tourists have never heard of it.”

In some cases the motive is financial rather than gastronomic. Domenico Delli Carpini, the Mayor of Gallo Matese (population 1,000), in Campania, said that it wanted to move to Molise because the authorities there had promised to build an aqueduct and picnic area. Thirty Campania councils have applied to join Molise, which was made a region in 1963 and is keen to expand.

Gianfranco Galan, the president of the Veneto region, acknowledged that the twelve Veneto councils applying to join Friuli-Venezia Giulia and the six wanting to move to Trentino-Alto Adige hoped to benefit from lower local taxes and higher injections of regional subsidies from Rome. “Perhaps the whole of Veneto should move to Trentino-Alto Adige,” Signor Galan said.

Since the law did not specifically state that councils wishing to move had to be on a regional border, there was nothing to prevent towns in the depressed South from moving to Lombardy or Piedmont, Corriere della Sera noted, adding, however, that “one hopes common sense will prevail”.

Local identity remains powerful in Italy, which was united only in 1870. The patchwork of former duchies, kingdoms and principalities is held together by national pride — not least over football — but allegiance to the central state is often weak.

The procedure for moving from one region to another begins with a local referendum, which must be carried by more than 50 per cent of the inhabitants. The result must then be approved by the Supreme Court, the President, the Ministry of the Interior and, finally, the Cabinet. If a local referendum fails, another cannot be held for five years.

The referendum on constitutional reform held last month was proposed by Silvio Berlusconi, the former Prime Minister. The turnout was high, at 53.6 per cent, with 61.7 per cent voting against the reforms.

The rejected reforms would have devolved greater powers to the regions in health, education and policing. Many voters, however, perceived a threat to fragile national unity and objected to measures that would have increased the powers of the Prime Minister at the expense of the President.

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