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Padania is the name given by the Italian Lega Nord ("North League") independentist party to the part of northern Italy they want to obtain independence or autonomy for. It includes the regions of Turin, Milan, and Venice, and extends southwards to the Apennine mountains. Separation of Padania as an autonomous political entity from the rest of Italy was advocated in 1996 by Umberto Bossi, a vociferous opponent of illegal (primarily African) immigration to Italy, via Sicily. The Lega Nord has often been identified as a racist and populistic force, with some traits of political violence. In particular, Padania has a paramilitary corp known as "Green Shirts", officially declared to be unarmed volunteers by their organizers, but yet with no clear purpose.

The name refers to the River Po, but the area includes places like Venice outside of its valley. In general, Padania has no precise boundaries, but is mostly a political issue in Lega Nord's politics. While militants of Lega Nord often recall Padanian "cultural roots" as a justification of secession, such an identity is far from recognized. Padania has an own "parliament", based in Mantua, recognized by nobody else than the Lega Nord. Mock elections were once arranged all over northern Italy.

The issue of secession of Padania from Italy has seemed to shift in urgency according to the political agenda of the Lega Nord, and after their participation in the second Berlusconi government requests of secession have virtually ceased. However, there is pressure exerted by Lega Nord to change the constitution in a decentralizing way. This is often called federalism in Italian politics, in contradiction with the original meaning of the word, where more countries are brought together, instead of one being split. This "federalism" has been a buzzword in Italian politics for a long time, but its propulsive thrust has seemingly reduced in face of electoral lack of interest.

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, MSDOS computer virus is also named Padania.

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