Feuding Italian cities forced together in cost-saving measure

The reforms will mean, for instance, that the Tuscan cities of Pisa and Lucca,
which have been divided by intense rivalry since the Middle Ages, will be
lumped together in a new expanded province.

Siena and Arezzo, which are also in Tuscany, will be forced to give up their
autonomy despite a centuries-long history of bloody feuding.

“We will never submit to rule by Udine,” said Alessandro Ciriani,
the president of the north-eastern province of Pordenone, which faces
extinction.

A similar spirit of resistance was expressed by provinces around the country.

Regional rivalries remain strong in Italy, which was a patchwork of competing
city states, kingdoms and papal territories before it was unified in 1861.

At the time of unification, there were just 59 provinces, but over the next
century the number ballooned.

The reforms will sound the death knell for several provinces established by
Benito Mussolini during the Fascist era, when he built new towns such as
Latina, south of Rome.

Provincial governments have responsibility for matters such as local planning,
transportation and local police and fire services, but critics have long
wondered whether they are really necessary.

Filippo Patroni Griffi, the minister of public administration, said the
reorganisation would be carried out by the end of the year.

But similar proposals in the past have elicited protest from across the
country, and the government is likely to find that it has a fight on its
hands.

Mr Monti, who replaced Silvio Berlusconi’s conservative coalition in November,
warned on Friday that it was essential to maintain the pace of reforms.

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