.svg)
Venetian nationalism (alsoVenetism,[1] from theVenetian/Italian name,venetismo) is anationalist, but primarilyregionalist, political movement active mostly inVeneto,Italy, as well as in other parts of the formerRepublic of Venice.
Generally speaking, Venetists promote the distinct Venetian identity and the rediscovery of the Republic of Venice's heritage, traditions, culture, and language, and/or demand more autonomy or even independence for Veneto from Italy.[2][3][4] According to journalistPaolo Possamai, Venetism is "the strain of Veneto and Venetians toward the recognition of their identity and autonomy".[5] Venetism is a broad movement,[6] which includes Venetist parties, notablyLiga Veneta, but also encompasses people from other political parties. In 1982Goffredo Parise, a writer and journalist, wrote: "Veneto is my fatherland. [...] Even if a Republic of Italy exists, this abstract idea is not my Fatherland [...]. We Venetians have travelled throughout the world, but our Fatherland, that for which we would fight if it were necessary to fight, is Veneto. [...] When I see "River sacred to the Fatherland" written on the bridges spanning thePiave, I am moved, not because I think of Italy, but rather because I think of Veneto."[7][8]
Most Venetists consider Veneto a nation distinct from Italy and some refuse the validity of the result of the referendum through which Veneto (or, better,Venetia) was united with Italy in 1866.[9][10][11][12] Some of them have long proposed a re-edition of that referendum and campaign for the independence ofVenetia, a country that would be composed of the territories of the historical Venetian Republic, covering Veneto,Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and large chunks ofLombardy (theprovince of Brescia, theprovince of Bergamo, the area aroundCrema, and part of theprovince of Mantua).[13] The proposal, regarding to Veneto alone, has more recently gained the support of Liga Veneta, theGovernment of Veneto, and the majority of theRegional Council of Veneto, which endorsed a bill aimed at organising the referendum in 2014. TheConstitutional Court ruled that referendum out as contrary to theConstitution, but authorised anautonomy referendum, which took place on 22 October 2017: 57.2% of Venetians participated in the referendum and 98.1% voted "yes". Consequently,President of VenetoLuca Zaia started a negotiation with the Italian government.
Although it usually refers to the whole Venetian autonomist movement,[14] the term "Venetism" is sometimes used to identify specifically culture-oriented Venetists, hardline Venetists or those Venetists who refuse the concept ofPadania, a proposed country byLega Nord /Lega, of which Liga Veneta (the most successful Venetist party so far) has been the "national/regional" section in Veneto.Alberto Gardin, a pro-independence publisher and later self proclaimed 121st Doge[15] who supports the boycott of Italian elections, offers another interpretation by considering "Venetism" a "partisan concept, that is part of the Italian political system (Venetists, asSocialists,Communists,PD,PdL, etc.)".[16]
TheVenetian Republic existed for 1100 years, from 697 to 1797 (submitted toByzantium until the 9th century), and was one of the world's first modern republics. After defeating theRepublic of Genoa in aseries of wars, it became the most powerfulMediterranean maritime power, and at its height extended its rule from large parts of thePo Valley to the coastal regions and islands of present-daySlovenia,Croatia,Bosnia and Herzegovina,Montenegro,Albania, andGreece. Venice was a leading power of the Western world in the 15th and 16th centuries. In 1797, after a long decline, through theTreaty of Campo Formio,Napoleon traded what remained of the Republic with Austria in exchange for other territories. In 1848, Venetians, led byDaniele Manin, rebelled against Austrian rule and established theRepublic of San Marco. Manin, who opposed the proposed unification by some Venetians with theKingdom of Sardinia, resigned, but returned to lead the opposition against Vienna in 1849.[17]
Venetian territories with the former Duchy of Mantua and Friuli were annexed to Italy in 1866, five years afterItalian unification and the creation of theKingdom of Italy under theHouse of Savoy in 1861. Veneto's unification with Italy resulted from theAustro-Prussian War, won by thePrussians, Italy's allies. In the Italian unification process, the conflict is known asThird War of Independence. Austria lost Venetia, ceded toNapoleon III of France, who in turn ceded it to Italy. Austria refused to give Venetian territories directly to Italy because the Austrians had crushed the Italians during the war, defeating them on land during theBattle of Custoza (24 June) and on sea during theBattle of Lissa (20 July).Giuseppe Garibaldi'sHunters of the Alps had some success against the Austrians at theBattle of Bezzecca (21 July), but the Italian government ordered Garibaldi to withdraw when Prussia and Austria concluded an armistice. With thePeace of Prague (23 August), Austria agreed to Venetia's incorporation into the Kingdom of Italy. The same point was repeated in theTreaty of Vienna (12 October), achieved with the mediation of France.[18]
Austria first ceded the Venetian territory to France (under a treaty signed by GeneralKarl Moering, on behalf ofFranz Joseph I of Austria, and GeneralEdmond Le Bœuf, on behalf of Napoleon III) as a compensation for French neutrality during the war. According to the treaty, France ceded Venetia to Italy "under the reservation of the consent of the people duly consulted". Whether an option other than becoming Italian was available is unclear, nor was the treaty precise on how to consult the people. Venetia was already under Italian control after the French government renounced it on 19 October.[19]
This increases doubt about the real importance of theplebiscite, and leading historians suggest that the referendum in Venetia was held under military pressure,[20] as a mere 0.01% of voters (69 out of more than 642,000 ballots) voted against annexation and a mere 0.1% (567 ballots) were null, and that it was ultimatelyrigged.[9][10][21] Some historians, who investigated into the historical archive of the Austrian foreign ministry, also suggest that the referendum was a mere administrative affair to Italy, just to formalise the sovereignty on a territory already under its possession, and that the local population had no real choice.[22] The plebiscite could have been a mere demonstration[23] to gain legitimacy after Italy's bad conduct during the so-called Third War of Independence.
The Kingdom of Italy adopted Italian as the official language. Venetians, like several other regional communities, largely rejected that and continued to use theVenetian language. Linguistic nationalism became part of Venetian culture, and during the last decades of the 19th century, some revolts againstsouthern Italian bureaucrats occurred.[when?][citation needed] After its incorporation into Italy, Venetia was so poor that millions of Venetians had to emigrate to theAmericas, especiallyBrazil andArgentina (three million left their homeland from 1870 and 1910),[24][25][26][27] without losing their heritage, so even today, many Venetian descendants inLatin America, most notably in two Brazilian southern states,Rio Grande do Sul andSanta Catarina, speak Venetian as their mother tongue.[17]
Right afterWorld War I, the economic and political situation in Veneto was critical, so that a formerPrime Minister and native ofVenice,Luigi Luzzatti, wrote to Prime MinisterVittorio Emanuele Orlando and told him there could be a "Venetian Ireland", in parallel to the simultaneousIrish War of Independence, while the prefect ofTreviso signalled the risk that a separatist movement aimed at separating Veneto from Italy might flourish in the province ofTreviso.[28][29][30]
Precursors of the present-day Venetist movement date back to beforeWorld War II and were both left- and right-wing. In 1920La Riscossa, a Venetian newspaper close to theSocialists and theRepublicans, espoused the need for a "united elective governorate with autonomous and competent technical and administrative organs" as an alternative to the "central political rule"[31]Guido Bergamo, a Republican member of the Chamber of Deputies elected in Veneto, wrote that "the Venetian problem is so acute that from today on we will preach the rebellion of Venetians. Citizens, let's not pay taxes, not recognise the central government in Rome, chase away prefects, retain the money from direct taxes in Veneto".[28][29][30][32] Shortly afterItalico Corradino Cappellotto, a member of the Chamber of Deputies for theItalian People's Party, launched the first Venetist party forth of the1921 general election: theLion of Saint Mark won 6.1% of the votes in the province of Treviso.[33][34]
After thetakeover ofBenito Mussolini, who among other things proposed to eradicate the local languages in favour of Italian language widespread, the rise of Fascism, World War II, and the birth of theItalian Republic, Venetist ideas lost ground, in an era in which the "myth of the indivisibility and the unity" of the country was strong even in Veneto.[34] However, the campaign of Mussolini to eradicate regional languages was largely unsuccessful in the region,[17] which soon became a stronghold of theChristian Democracy (DC) party due to the leading role of theCatholic Church in the region.[35] In the1948 general election Christian Democrats won 60.5% of the vote in Veneto.[36]
Since 1919, Venetia plus the newly annexed territories from Austria, which includedTrentino andSouth Tyrol, were called the Three Venices (Tre Venezie, whereofTriveneto), meaningVenezia Euganea (Veneto plus large chunks ofFriuli),Venezia Giulia (the eastern part of currentFriuli-Venezia Giulia) andVenezia Tridentina (Trentino and South Tyrol).[17] However, under theConstitution of Italy adopted in 1948, onlyTrentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol and Friuli-Venezia Giulia were granted of the status ofspecial-statute autonomous region and the connected special privileges, mainly including fiscal autonomy. Hence, the proposals by some groups of unifying Veneto with the two regions cited above (or with Trentino alone)[37] or giving also Veneto an autonomous statute.
Venetist ideas made a comeback in the 1960s, when theVenetian Regionalist Autonomous Movement (MARV) campaigned for the institution of theordinary regions (including Veneto), prefigured by the Italian Constitution.[34][38] The ordinary regions were finally instituted in 1970.
Since the 1970s, Veneto experienced a dramatic economic boom due to a new production model based on small enterprises. The high burden of taxes and bureaucracy, associated with the increasing frustration with the inefficient and overstaffed Italian government in Rome, that continued to channel northern taxes as massive development aid to the corrupt and backward southern regions, was the key element, along with linguistic and historical claims, that led to the formation ofLiga Veneta (LV) in January 1980.[17] The opening speech of the first congress of the party in December 1979 recited: "Today for Venetians the moment has come, after 113 years of Italian unitary colonisation, to take their natural and human resources back, to fight against the wild exploitation that has brought emigration, pollution, and rooting out from their culture".European integration through theEuropean Union (EU) was seen as an opportunity to give back to Veneto its autonomy.[33][39]
One of the regional leaders ofChristian Democracy (DC),Antonio Bisaglia, early understood Veneto's demand of more autonomy and that his party, the dominant force inVenetian politics since 1946, would have been the main victim of the rise of LV as both parties competed for the support of the middle class. He thus proposed the evolution of the DC into a regional party on the model of theChristian Social Union in Bavaria. In 1982, Bisaglia tellingly declared, "Veneto would be mature for a federalist state, but this state, centralist and bureaucratic [as it is], will never concede autonomy to my region".[40] Opposition from Rome and Bisaglia's sudden death in 1984 stopped the plan of a regional DC on the "Bavarian model".[39][41]Giancarlo Galan, regional leader ofForza Italia andPresident of Veneto from 1995 to 2010, made a similar proposal in 2008, taking example mainly from theSouth Tyrolean People's Party,[42][43][44] but his "Forza Veneto" remained just an idea.
The LV, whose leader in the 1980s and early 1990s wasFranco Rocchetta, made its main electoral debut in the1983 general election, when it garnered 4.3% in Veneto, resulting in two elects to theItalian Parliament. The party suffered many splits in its first decade of life and became a large political force only after its federation with other regional leagues, notably includingUmberto Bossi'sLega Lombarda, which resulted inLega Nord (LN) in 1991: in the1996 general election, the party was Veneto's largest with 29.3%. However, clashes between Bossi and hardcore Venetists led to several splits; in 1994, Rocchetta left in protest, but more damaging was the 1998 split led byFabrizio Comencini andAlessio Morosin, who launchedLiga Veneta Repubblica (LVR). As a result, in the2001 general election, the LV garnered a mere 10.2% of the vote, its worst score since 1987, while the LVR gained 4.9%. As the latter faded, the LV returned to gain ground in the2005 regional election, despite the meteoric success ofNorth-East Project (PNE).[45] More recently, a string of separatist parties, notably includingVenetian Independence (IV), emerged.
Both in 1992 and 2000 the ItalianConstitutional Court rejected proposals for an autonomy referendum, brought forward by theRegional Council of Veneto.[46][47]
In the2010 regional election the LV, in steady rise since 2001, was by far the largest party in the region with 35.2% of the vote, while its leaderLuca Zaia was elected President of Veneto by a landslide 60.2%. The combined result of Venetist parties was 37.6%, the highest so far.[45]
In the2015 regional election, the LV set another record by winning 40.9% of the vote (combined result of party list, 17.8%, and Zaia's personal list, 23.1%) and Zaia was re-elected President of Veneto with 50.1% of the vote and a more coherently Venetist coalition. Separatist parties (Venetian Independence,Independence We Veneto and Veneto Confederal State) obtained 5.4% of the vote, while other regionalist and/or Venetist parties (Tosi List for Veneto, LTV's sponsoredIl Veneto del Fare list,North-East Union, andAutonomous Veneto Project) another 8.0% of the vote. Consequently, a majority of regional councillors adhered, at least to some extent, to Venetism.[48]
In the2020 regional election, the LV set one more record by winning 61.5% of the vote (combined result of party list, 16.9%, and Zaia's personal list, 44.6%) and Zaia was re-elected President by a landslide 76.8% of the vote, more than any other candidate in any other region of Italy. Minor Venetist lists and parties (Venetian Autonomy List — sponsored by the LV and includingLiga Veneta Repubblica —, theParty of Venetians,Venetian Left and Veneto for the Autonomies) obtained a further 4.1% of the vote. As a result, 34 out of 51 seats in the Regional Council were controlled by Venetists, 33 by LV members.
While support for afederal system, as opposed to a centrally administered state, receives widespread consensus in Veneto, support for independence is less favoured. Recent polls show a rise of independentism. According to an opinion poll made in December 2011, 50% of Venetians support the independence of Veneto.[49] More strikingly, an opinion poll published onIl Gazzettino in January 2012 put those favoring independence at 53.3% (with the support from foreign-born Venetians at 55.0%).[50][51] According to the same pollster, the support for independence rose to 56.7% in January 2013.[52][53]
According to a February 2014 poll by Ixè, in a hypothetical referendum on independence, 47% of Venetians would vote yes and 26% no.[54] According to a March 2014 poll byIlvo Diamanti's Demos&Pi, 55% of Venetians favoured independence, 39% opposed it and the remaining 6% did not answer.[55][56] According to a similar poll conducted by Istituto Piepoli, 64% of Venetians would vote in favour of more autonomy with 19% against, and 51% would vote for independence with 32% against.[57] According to a Demos&Pi poll taken in October 2014, 53% of Venetians favoured independence, thus making Veneto the most separatist region in Italy, followed bySardinia (45%) andSicily (44%).[58][59] In March 2015 Demos&Pi found that 57% of Venetians (including 83% ofLiga Veneta–Lega Nord's voters) favoured independence.[60][61]
In 2012Venetian Independence (IV), notably includingLodovico Pizzati,Gianluca Busato andAlessio Morosin, collected more than 20,000 signatures in support for a referendum on independence and presented them to PresidentLuca Zaia.[62][63] Zaia informed theRegional Council and its PresidentClodovaldo Ruffato asked an opinion to the legal office,[64] which explained that such a referendum was not legal under theConstitution of Italy.[65] On 6 October IV organised a march in Venice, during which it proposed a resolution (44/2012) for a consultative referendum on independence to be approved by the Regional Council: the text of the resolution was given toGiovanni Furlanetto, LV regional councillor, who supported the proposition.[66][67][68] Another Council member,Mariangelo Foggiato ofNorth-East Union (UNE), officially presented the resolution in the Council.[69][70] On 17 October a total of 42 regional councillors out of 60 officially asked a discussion on the issue.[71][72][73][74]
On 28 November the Council approved the resolution, in which "independence" was replaced by "self-determination", with 29 votes in favour, 2 against and 5 abstentions. Those in favour included Foggiato, LV's entire group, most councillors ofThe People of Freedom,Pietrangelo Pettenò of theCommunist Refoundation Party–Federation of the Left,Diego Bottacin ofToward North and independent councillorSandro Sandri, who had expounded the resolution at the start of the session, while the entire group of theDemocratic Party left the floor in protest, but proclaimed their support for a special statute for Veneto. The document required Zaia and Ruffato to urgently open talks with theEuropean Union (EU) and theUnited Nations in order to come up with a referendum proposal that will establish the will of the Venetian people on its self-determination. To achieve this goal, the two Presidents would have benefited from the help of a special commission of jurists.[75][76][77]
On 10 January 2013 a delegation of IV submitted to theEuropean Commission inBrussels a petition, signed by 50,000 European citizens, mainly Venetians, to endorse the referendum on self-determination.[78] The collection of signatures for the petition was also supported byDomà Nunch inLombardy.[79][80] According to IV leaders, the EU should support the referendum and guarantee its result,[81] a notion which was contradicted by the attitudes of EU institutions toward the2014 Scottish referendum.
In March an appeal by international academics in support of resolution 44 was issued. The declaration, promoted byMarco Bassani, was signed byFrank Van Dun,Hans-Hermann Hoppe,Donald Livingston,Ralph Raico,Xavier Sala-i-Martin, andPascal Salin, along withPaolo Bernardini,Carlo Lottieri andAlessandro Vitale. According to the appeal, "the self-determination process" of Veneto "will be an important step toward a better Europe and men of goodwill have to do everything possible to ensure that the electoral process leading to the independence referendum takes place without tension and with respect for all the people involved".[82] In Lombardy Bassani, Lottieri and several intellectuals aroundL'Indipendenza newspaper formed theLombard Committee for Resolution 44.[83][84]
After a hunger strike by two members of IV, in March 2013 Zaia and Ruffato implemented the first step mandated by resolution 44 by appointing the special commission of jurists who would examine the referendum issue. The commission was composed of six experts, including IV'sLuca Azzano Cantarutti.[85][86]
On 2 AprilStefano Valdegamberi, floor leader of theUnion of the Centre, who had abstained on Resolution 44 in November 2012, introduced a bill (342/2013) in order to call a referendum on independence by the end of the year.[87][88][89][90][91] By 7 June the bill was endorsed by more than 15 regional councillors, sufficient to convene a special session of the Council on the issue.[92][93] The Council discussed it on 30 July and 17 September, but in both cases no decision was taken.[94][95]
On 5 AprilCastellavazzo,Belluno (mayor:Franco Roccon,The People of Freedom) was the first municipality to pass a motion in support of bill 342.[96][97][98] Since then, more than 180comuni (out of 581), led by mayors of different parties and representing about 1,800,000 Venetians (out of approximately 4,860,000), expressed their support for it; they notably includeVerona,Rovigo,Bassano del Grappa,Castelfranco Veneto,Vittorio Veneto,Arzignano,Legnago,Montebelluna,Jesolo,Montecchio Maggiore,Oderzo andCittadella. Among provinces,Padua,Verona,Treviso andVenice, for a total of about 3,510,000 inhabitants, endorsed the bill.[99][100]
In February 2014 Liga Veneta–Lega Nord launched its own campaign for a referendum on independence.[101][102]
On 1 April 2014 a committee of the Regional Council put forward bills calling for a referendum on independence and on more autonomy for the region. The move was supported by the representatives of Liga Veneta,Forza Italia (the minority faction),New Centre-Right,Popular Future, Union of the Centre and North-East Union, with the opposition of the Democratic Party,Italy of Values and the Federation of the Left.[103][104] The day after, all the floor leaders of the parties (but the federation of the left) represented in the council officially asked the Italian government to give Veneto the status of aspecial-statute autonomous region and fiscal autonomy.[105] The final document was approved by Liga Veneta, Forza Italia (both fations), New Centre Right, Union of the Centre, Italy of Values and North-East Union.[106]
On 10 June the Regional Council discussed and passed a law concerning five referendum questions concerning special autonomy. On 12 June the same legislative assembly passed Valdegamberi's bill 342/2013 in order to hold a referendum on the independence (question: "Do you want Veneto to become a sovereign and independent republic?") with 30 yeas, 12 nays and 3 abstentions.[107] A year later theConstitutional Court ruled the independence referendum out as contrary to theConstitution, but authorised one of the five autonomy referendums ("Do you want the Region of Veneto to be granted of further forms and special conditions of autonomy?").[108][109] The event was unique as the Court had previously rejected proposals for similar referendums brought forward by the Regional Council of Veneto.[46][47]
Plebiscite 2013 (P2013), a non-partisan committee organisedPlebiscito.eu, an onlineindependence referendum, with no official recognition, for 16–21 March.[110][111][112] P2013 had been launched by a group of splinters from IV, led by Lodovico Pizzati and Gianluca Busato, in July 2013.
According toPlebiscito.eu's staff, 2.36 million Venetians (63.2% of all eligible voters) participated in the online referendum and 89.1% of them (that is to say 56.6% of all eligible voters) voted yes.[113][114] This was enough for P2013 to proclaim Veneto's independence from Italy inTreviso on the night of 21 March.[115][116][117] Voters approved also the adoption of theEuro (51.4% yes), EU membership (55.7% yes) andNATO membership (64.5% yes).[113][114]
The event was covered by several international media. During an interview with foreign journalists on 19 March, President Zaia announced that he too had voted (yes) in the poll, promised that he would bring bill 342 again to the discussion of the Regional Council and explained that he would seek "total independence" for Veneto.[118][119][120]
On 28 April, during a visit in Veneto, Minister of InteriorAngelino Alfano acknowledged that "there is a Venetian question, which will be central in the government's relation with regions". In reference to what he called "Agenda Veneto", he said: "We think that Veneto could be the laboratory for a form of strong and advanced federalism. [...] We cannot close our eyes in front of independentist risings. [...] The answer is dual: enhancing autonomy and improving the government's services". For his part, Zaia explained to Alfano the "legitimate request of Venetians" for autonomy and independence, and that "the issue of autonomy and the desire of independence of Venetians cannot be resolved with an aspirin", concluding that "if Rome continues to sleep, it is inevitable that Veneto will organise by itself".[121][122]
In March 2016 President Zaia announced that he had written toPrime MinisterMatteo Renzi in order to start the negotiation both on the organisation of the referendum on autonomy and the devolution of further powers to Veneto according to article 116 of the Constitution.[123] Zaia proposed the referendum to be held on the very same day of the2016 constitutional referendum (which would reduce the regions' powers—article 117, while expanding the powers that can be devolved to regions according to article 116 and creating a regionalised Senate), a notion deemed legally impossible by undersecretaryGianclaudio Bressa,[124] and the negotiation started in May.[125][126]
According to an opinion poll taken in June, 78.5% of Venetians would take part to the autonomy referendum, 78.4% would vote yes, 3.5% no and 18.1% did not know. According to the same poll, 70.7% of voters would participate also in the constitutional referendum, 41.3% would vote yes, 22.2% no and 36.5% did not know.[127][128]
Contextually, two bills calling for an independence referendum were introduced in the Regional Council, one by Liga Veneta'sMarino Finozzi,Gabriele Michieletto,Alessandro Montagnoli andLuciano Sandonà,[129] with the support ofRoberto Ciambetti (President of the Council),[130][131][132] and the other byAntonio Guadagnini.[133]
In April 2017 Zaia announced that theautonomy referendum would take place on 22 October,[134][135] along with a similarreferendum inLombardy.[136] 57.2% of Venetians participated in the referendum and 98.1% voted "yes". Consequently,President of VenetoLuca Zaia started a negotiation with the Italian government.
Prominent Venetists have includedGoffredo Parise,Franco Rocchetta (founder ofLiga Veneta),Ettore Beggiato (who wrote a book titled1866: la grande truffa, meaning "1866: the great swindle"),Sabino Acquaviva (who prefaced the book by Beggiato),Gian Paolo Gobbo,Fabrizio Comencini,Alessio Morosin,Fabio Padovan,Giorgio Lago,Flaminio De Poli,Giampaolo Borsetto,Ivone Cacciavillani,Manuela Dal Lago,Luca Zaia,Flavio Tosi,Giorgio Vido,Giorgio Panto,Lodovico Pizzati,Antonio Guadagnini,Patrik Riondato,Loris Palmerini, and, to some extent,Giancarlo Galan,Massimo Cacciari andMario Rigoni Stern.
In November 2009 theCorriere del Veneto, the regional edition of theCorriere della Sera in Veneto, published a broad overview of what it described as "Venetist galaxy". The newspaper counted around 20 notable Venetist organisations: along the four major Venetist parties of the time (Liga Veneta–Lega Nord,Liga Veneta Repubblica,North-East Project andVenetian National Party), a large variety of minor political parties, movements, cultural associations and trade unions were listed.[137]
A prominent Venetist cultural association isRaixe Venete (Venetian Roots), which organises every year the well-knownFesta dei Veneti[138] inCittadella.[139][140] The association has strong links with separatists from all over Europe and especially from theBasque Country. At theFesta dei Veneti, Venetists of every political colour, politicians of different political parties (including non-Venetist, both right and left), Venetist associations, actors, comedians, flag-wavers, musicians (notably includingHerman Medrano), rock bands, and many people meet at the beginning of September every year.[141] In November 2009Raixe Venete organised a demonstration in Venice in support of the teaching of Venetian in schools: a wide range of people took part, fromRoberto Ciambetti, leader of Liga Veneta–Lega Nord in theRegional Council of Veneto, toLuca Casarini, a former far-leftanti-globalisation activist and leader of theTute Bianche in Veneto.[142]
TheEuropean Federalist Free Entrepreneurs (LIFE) was formed in 1994 by a group of Venetist entrepreneurs (Fabio Padovan,Diego Cancian, etc.) who opposed the "fiscal and bureaucratic oppression" of the "Venetian people" by Italy and demandedfiscal federalism and autonomy for the region. In particular, they decided to organise themselves as a trade union, saying that they were the most oppressed workers in Italy.[143]
Another notable association isVenetians Movement[144] and was founded in 2006 byPatrik Riondato. Initially it presented itself as a cross-party political movement which aimed to promote independence in a democratic and nonviolent way. However, in 2010 it took part to the founding of theParty of the Venetians, a coalition of Venetist parties ranging from the centre-right to the far-left, which was later merged intoVeneto State.[145]
Among the youth, the strongest organisation isIndependentist Youth, whose most representative figures areGiacomo Mirto andStefano Danieli.[146]
Other six leading although small groups are the self-proclaimedVenetian Most Serene Government (VSG), whose main leaders includeLuigi Faccia and lateBepin Segato,[147]Self-Government of the Venetian People[148] led byLoris Palmerini,[149]Venetian State ofVittorio Selmo,[150] theVenetian National Liberation Movement (MLNV) led bySergio Bortotto,[151] theVenetian National Government ofGabriele De Pieri,[152] andSelf-Government of Venetia ofDaniele Quaglia.[153]
On the cultural side, it is worth of mention theMilizia Veneta[154] (Venetian Militia), in practice a corp of people who perform historic representations of the Venetian army (including flag-raising at theFesta dei Veneti),Europa Veneta,[155]Par San Marco[156] andVeneti Eventi.[157]
The Venetist movement has also several publications, notably includingQuaderni Veneti[158] andRivista Veneti.[159]
In the midst of the above-mentioned campaign for a referendum on independence, two non-party committees were launched:Plebiscite 2013 andLet Veneto Decide (later supplanted by United for Independent Veneto/We Independent Veneto/Independence We Veneto, which in turn became an electoral coalition of parties). A string of new parties was founded before and after the2015 regional election and in the run-up of the2017 autonomy referendum.
The first Venetist party in Veneto wasLion of Saint Mark (Leone di San Marco), active from 1921 to 1924 and commonly described as the forerunner of Venetian nationalist parties.[160] It was founded byItalico Corradino Cappellotto, a member of theChamber of Deputies for theItalian People's Party. The party participated in the1921 general election in the constituencies of the provinces ofTreviso andVenice, winning 6.1% of the vote in the province of Treviso and scoring around 20% in the very rural areas that would become the heartland ofLiga Veneta sixty years later.[160][161][162][163] The party was suppressed byItalian Fascism, along all the other parties.
Another Venetist party was theVenetian Regionalist Autonomous Movement (MARV), a cultural-political association, which was active in the 1960s. The first organised Venetist parties were started only after the institution of Veneto as Region and the direct election of theRegional Council in 1970.
Some Venetian parties campaign for federal reform, others for autonomy or a special statute for Veneto, others for an autonomous North-East region including Veneto,Friuli-Venezia Giulia andTrentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, some others for outright independence. Since the late 1970s many regional parties were founded in Veneto, covering all the ideological spectrum:
Venetian is a non-standardisedRomance language, that comes fromLatin, notItalian. It has undergone Italian influences over the years, which have raised doubts on its identity, and includes several local varieties. The Venetian language is protected by some private institutions, such as theAcademia deła bona creansa[167] and the Venetian Language Institute.[168] TheUnited Nations includes in its website a Venetian translation of theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights.[169]
UNESCO gives toVenetian the status of not endangered language,[170] as it is usually spoken in Veneto,[171][172]Trentino,[171][172]Friuli-Venezia Giulia (mainly in the provinces ofPordenone andTrieste),[171][172]Croatia (mainly inIstria),[173][174]Rio Grande do Sul andSanta Catarina inBrazil, andChipilo inMexico. Venetian is a recognised language by UNESCO, Brazil and the Veneto region with the ISO 639-3 "vec" identifier, the same used by the Venetian-language Wikipedia,[175] but not by Italy.
In 2007 Veneto recognised Venetian as official language of the region, alongside Italian, instituted an official website for standard Venetian and proclaimed a yearly "Day of the Venetian People" (Festa del Popolo Veneto) on 25 March, anniversary of the foundation ofVenice.[176][177] In 2011 the Regional Council officially requested to theItalian Parliament to protect Venetian as a minority language under Italian law.[178] Soon after the2010 regional election,Daniele Stival (LV), new regional minister for Venetian Identity, appointed a commission of experts which will fix the rules of standardVenetian language and the official Venetian names of all 581 municipalities of Veneto. The commissioners included:Davide Guiotto, president ofRaixe Venete;Gianfranco Cavallin, writer and linguist close toRaixe Venete;Sabino Acquaviva, sociologist and avowed Venetist;Rodolfo Delmonte, linguist;Michele Brunelli, linguist;Lodovico Pizzati, economist and secretary ofVeneto State (later ofVenetian Independence).[179]
Most notably, theStatute of Veneto, first approved in 1971 and rewritten in 2011, cites the "Venetian people". In article 1 it proclaims Veneto as "an autonomous region" and in article 2 that "the self-government of the people of Veneto is implemented in forms corresponding to the features and the traditions of its history. The Region contributes to the enhancement of the linguistic and cultural heritage of its individual communities".[180]
In April 1998 theRegional Council of Veneto approved resolution 42 concerning the "self-determination" of the "Venetian people". The resolution read: "The Venetian people [...] invokes its right to a democratic and direct referendum for the free expression of its right to self-determination".[181] In 2006 the Regional Council officially asked to reform theConstitution of Italy in order to allow Veneto to be anautonomous region like its neighboursFriuli-Venezia Giulia andTrentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol.[182]
Also in April 1998 the Regional Council approved a bill, signed into law as act 10/1998, which mandated the display of the Venetian flag outside regional institutions and offices, provincial institutions and offices, municipal institutions and offices, schools, universities and polling stations, besides Italian and European Union flags.[183]
In September 2017 the Regional Council approved a bill, signed into law as act 28/2017, reinforcing the provisions of act 10/1998. Among other things, the law extended compulsory display of the Venetian flag to Italian governmental offices in Veneto and "every time Italian and European Union flags are displayed".[184] This part of the law was declared unconstitutional by theConstitutional Court in October 2018, after that the challenge posed by the Italian government.[185][186][187]
In December 2016 the Regional Council approved a bill, signed into law as act 28/2016, aimed at recognising Venetians as a "national minority" (under theFramework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities), protectingVenetian language and opening the way to its teaching in public schools.[188][189] This law was challenged by the Italian government and finally overturned by the Constitutional Court in April 2018.[190]
During the night between 8 and 9 May 1997 a group of armed Venetist separatists, the so-calledSerenissimi, occupiedPiazza San Marco and theSt Mark's Campanile in Venice in order to proclaim the "independence of Veneto". After eight hours barred in the Campanile, theCarabinieri entered and arrested the group.[191][192]
The members of the group, including the two leaders of theVenetian Most Serene Government (Veneto Serenissimo Governo),Luigi Faccia andBepin Segato, who did not take part to the action itself, were all jailed, tried and sentenced to prison.[193][194] The effort, which was more symbolic than anything else, was criticised byUmberto Bossi andRoberto Maroni,[195] leaders ofLega Nord, at that time proponents of the independence ofPadania, while it was praised byGianfranco Miglio,[196] a former senator of the League who was then elected as an independent for the centre-rightPole of Freedoms. TheSerenissimi soon became a sort of "heroes" for many Venetists and the "tank",[197][198] the improvised armoured vehicle with which they reached Piazza San Marco on that night is usually an exhibit at the yearlyFesta dei Veneti[199] and at other rallies of that kind, also outside Veneto.[200] Segato was a candidate ofLiga Veneta Repubblica in the2001 general election[201] and came short of election to theItalian Senate, having received 9.8% of the vote in the constituency ofSchio.[202]
Representatives of most political parties in Veneto, including centre-left figures, defended theSerenissimi:Claudio Rizzato of theDemocrats of the Left praised the "noble ideals" of the group,[203] whileMassimo Cacciari, theDemocraticmayor of Venice, andGianfranco Bettin, aGreen former deputy mayor of Venice, campaigned for the pardon to those in jail, along withLiga Veneta and the regional section ofForza Italia.[204] Some of them were not embarrassed in taking part to a rally,[205][206] theFesta dei Veneti, where thetanko was on exhibit. More recently also Lega Nord founderUmberto Bossi[207][208] andRoberto Calderoli,[209] praised them and anotherleghista,Roberto Castelli, as minister of Justice in 2003, proposed a pardon for Faccia,[210][211] who refused it.[212]
In November 2009 some members of theVenetian National Liberation Movement, who had proclaimed themselves "National Liberation Movement of the Venetian People", were prosecuted on the charge of having built a paramilitary organisation. The Italian police seized arms and uniforms of the so-calledPolisia Veneta (Venetian Police) led bySergio Bortotto at the headquarters of the movement inTreviso. According to the police, the group had planned an assault onLuca Zaia, a leading member ofLiga Veneta–Lega Nord, during theFesta dei Veneti of 2009, because he agreed to become the minister of Agriculture inBerlusconi IV Cabinet, which they perceived as betrayal of the Venetist ideals. However the attack did not take place, since Zaia failed to show up in Cittadella on that occasion.[213][214] The next day Zaia declared: "Maybe those people confuse Venetism with something different. Being a Venetist, for me, means defending our heritage, promoting the language and the literature of this region".[215]
In September 2017 all members of the MLNV were fully acquitted.[216]
On 8 February 2011, theCorriere del Veneto reported that the act by which theKingdom of Italy annexed the remaining portion of theKingdom of Lombardy–Venetia (includingVeneto,Friuli, and the province ofMantua) in 1866 was cancelled by a decree that came into force on 13 December 2010, most likely by government mistake.[217] It is unclear whether this will have any real and direct consequence, or will only be used by independentist groups to pursue a lawsuit in favour of an independent Venetian state (perhaps in front of theEuropean Court of Justice) as previously done.[218]
The debate began a day later, with independentist and autonomist groups declaring that Veneto is no longer part of Italy. Political and juridical opinion are conflicted on whether Veneto still belongs to Italy or not, and a regional inquiry is due.[219][needs update] On the following day, ministerial staff explained that the annexation act was cancelled because it had already been superseded by theConstitution of Italy, which ensures national unity.[220] However, independentist groups were quick to point out not all legal opinions agree with this interpretation. In particular, theTreaty of Osimo, signed in 1975 by Italy andYugoslavia, formally transferred the sovereignty of Italian "Zone-B" to Yugoslavia without any changes to the Constitution. This precedent show that the borders of the Italian Republic (hence the territory subject to the Italian Constitution) are established by means of internationaltreaties, not the Constitution itself. Independentists have also argued that Italy can't determine its territorial extent in its own Constitution, as this would suggest it's legal for a state to unilaterally annex the territory of another state.[citation needed]
During the night between 28 February and 1 March 2011, at a Venetian New Year's Day'sbruxamarso (a party which traditionally includes the stake of the passing year), a group of Venetists put at stake a shape ofGiuseppe Garibaldi with a banner around the neck reading "l'eroe degli immondi" ("the hero of the unclean"), instead of "l'eroe dei due mondi" ("the hero of the two worlds"). The party was organised byRaixe Venete,Independentist Youth,Bortolino Sartore (leader ofLiga Veneto Autonomo) andPatrick Riondato (leader of theVenetians Movement and leading member ofVeneto State) and was attended by assorted Venetists, including several members ofLiga Veneta.[221]
Luca Zaia,President of Veneto and leading member of Liga Veneta, while criticizing Garibaldi, dissociated from the act: "I love Veneto. I consider myself a Venetist, but burning a shape is a signal to be wary of" when "behind a shape there is a person".[222] AlsoLuca Schenato, then leading member of Veneto State and contributor of Press News Veneto, a news website close to the party, criticised the act by saying that it "reminded me other latitudes where it is common to burn puppets of political enemies of the flags ofIsrael and the United States": "I do not see any need for that because my message is not of hate or war. My message and my thought are joyful, proactive and forward-looking.[223]Raixe Venete, for its part, precised that it organised the party but not the burning itself.[224]
On 2 April 2014 a group of separatists, notably includingLuigi Faccia andFlavio Contin of theVenetian Most Serene Government,LIFE's presidentLucio Chiavegato andFranco Rocchetta, were arrested for suspected crimes including criminal association for terrorism and subversion of the democratic order. According to prosecutors, the group, which benefited from the collaboration by Venetists from the province ofBrescia and separatists from other regions (including a group ofSardinians andRoberto Bernardelli, leader ofPadanian Union), were preparing a remake of 1997's assault to St Mark's Campanile in Venice and a violent pro-independence demonstration in the run-up of theEuropean Parliament election. A scraper turned tank, which was allegedly to be deployed inPiazza San Marco, was confiscated byCarabinieri.[225][226][227]
In jail Faccia proclaimed himself "war prisoner" and answer to questions (as Contin, in house arrest, and Lovato), Chiavegato started a 17-day hunger strike,[228][229] while Rocchetta declared his innocence and pacifism.[230][231]
Many politicians, notably includingPresident of VenetoLuca Zaia,[232] and intellectuals called for an immediate release of the detained Venetists.Lega Nord organised a demonstration inVerona,[233] Plebiscite 2013 compared Rocchetta toNelson Mandela[234][235] and other Venetists offered similar views. AlsoClodovaldo Ruffato,President of the Regional Council, andMaurizio Sacconi, both of theNew Centre-Right, expressed doubts on the investigation.[236] On the left,Massimo Cacciari,Gianfranco Bettin andBeppe Caccia wrote a plea and remarked Rocchetta's pacifism: "In all the occasions in which we confronted ourselves with him, his idea of independence was a whole with the European perspective and the recognition of the rights of citizenship founded onjus soli and residence. [...] He is a world away from 'secessionisms' and the politics of exclusion and racist closedness. With him we shared initiatives in the Balkans aimed at intercultural and interreligious dialogue, in terms of total opposition to the savagery of war and ethnic cleansing. [...] For how we knew him, we feel we can exclude his involvement in 'terroristic or subversive' activities [...]".[237] Also the network of the far-leftsocial centres expressed their sympathy for Rocchetta, with whom they shared some initiatives in the late 1990s, and the other Venetists;Tommaso Cacciari, one of the leaders of the movement, said that "we are without hesitation on the side of those who seek autonomy and independence against a state which is able to respond to these demands only with the inquiries of the judiciary andCarabinieri" and talked about the "signals of a national sovereignty in crisis".[238]
On 18 April Rocchetta and Chiavegato were released from prison as the tribunal ofBrescia did not uphold the accusations of criminal association for terrorism and subversion of the democratic order.[239][240] Most of the detained Venetists had been released earlier or were released right after, with the notable exceptions of Faccia and Contin, who refused to ask to be released.[241] On 25 April,Feast of Saint Mark andLiberation Day, the released prisoners were celebrated in Venice.[242][243] The rally was not approved by police authorities and criticised by the leader of the Venetian section of theNational Association of Italian Partisans.[244] Rocchetta, who wrote a letter toCorriere del Veneto to explain how the two anniversaries were not conflicting and that he was going to celebrate both,[245] was hugged by Tommaso Cacciari.[246]
All the defendants were determined not guilty of any wrongdoing and completely acquitted in July 2018.[247] However, seven of them, notably including formerSerenissimi Faccia and Contin, were later sentenced to various years of prison in July 2020.[248]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)