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Revision as of 15:09, 15 October 2005
Padania's flag, the Sun of the Alps, proposed by the Northern League
Padania is a name used to indicate a not-well-defined area of Northern Italy. Its usage has today strong political implications, and is associated with the Northern League, an Italian political party.
Territory
In the narrowest sense, Padania refers to the valley of the River Po (In Latin, Padus). The term was however used sparingly if at all, since pianura padana was preferred in most geography textbooks and in atlases.
When the Northern League decided to push for secession of richer Northern Italy from the rest of the country, the League's leader Umberto Bossi gave the region the name Padania. The new "country" had a flag, a national anthem, a newspaper (La Padania), a "parliament" in Mantua, and held elections (recognized by no one except the Northern League).
The actual boundaries of Padania, in this political meaning, are unclear, and vary with the political stance taken by the League from time to time. Whereas most League supporters would expect Padania to include Emilia-Romagna and possibly Tuscany, these regions have a long history of support for left-wing parties, and the League has a negligible presence there. The League has its strongest electoral base in Lombardy (especially Bossi's native Varese province, where the League began), and in Veneto.
Previous Existence of the Name
Supporters of the Northern League are adamant that Padania is not a word invented by Umberto Bossi, but one that was and is currently used . The term Padania was present in Italian before, but was so rare that most people (including Northern Italians) had never heard of it, and most assumed it was made up by the Northern League. The term padano ("Padanian"), previously a neutral adjective for the pianura padana, can today be used to indicate people or issues close to the Northern League. A Google search for Padania indicates that most referenced pages are associated with the Northern League in one way or another.
Popular Support
The Northern League currently controls only 2 of over 100 Italian provinces, namely Sondrio in Lombardy and Treviso in Veneto. Based on the League's electoral results, if a referendum for the independence of Padania (in any of its likely geographic configurations) were to be held, it would be voted down.
National Anthem
Many have mocked the Northern League for choosing the "Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves" from Verdi's Nabucco, Va' pensiero, which was originally written as a song for Italian unification, whereas the League's objective is exactly the opposite.
Computer virus
A file-infecting computer virus from 1999 also bears the name Padania, and carries a pro-Padania message in its code. An earlier, significantly less important, MS-DOS computer virus is also named Padania.