Venetism

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Veneto is my fatherland. Even if there exists a Republic of Italy, 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 the Piave, I am moved, not because I think of Italy, but rather because I think of Veneto.

—Goffredo Parise, Il Corriere della Sera, 7 February 1982
Alternative flag of Veneto used by most Venetist parties
Alternative flag of Veneto used by most Venetist parties

Venetism is a term used to define a regionalist movement demanding more autonomy, if not the independence, for Veneto from Italy and promoting the re-discovery the Republic of Venice's traditions, culture and language. Venetists consider Veneto as a nation separated from Italy and often refuse the validity of the result of the referendum with which Veneto was united with Italy in 1866[1].

In any case also the constitution of Veneto Region cites the "Venetian people"[2] and UNESCO gives to Venetian language the status of not endangered language[3], as it is usually spoken in Veneto, part of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, part of Croatia, Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina in Brazil.

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[edit] History

Precursor of the Venetist movement was Italico Corradino Cappellotto. A member of the Chamber of Deputies of the Kingdom of Italy for the Italian People's Party, he launched the first Venetist party for the 1921 general election. This party, named Lion of Saint Mark, won 6.1% of the votes in the Province of Treviso. After the takeover of Benito Mussolini, who, among other things, banned the teaching of Venetian language in schools, the rise of Fascism, the World War II and the birth of the Republic of Italy, Venetist ideas lost ground, in a era in which the "myth of the indivisibility and the unity" of the country was strong even in Veneto.[4]

Venetist ideas had a comeback in the 1960s, when the Venetian Regionalist Autonomist Movement campaigned for the institution of the Regions (among which Veneto), prefigured by the Constitution of Italy, promulgated in 1948. The Regions were finally instituted by 1970.

[edit] People

Prominent Venetists include Goffredo Parise, Franco Rocchetta (founder of Liga Veneta), Ettore Beggiato (who wrote a book titled: "1866: the big trick", 1866: la grande truffa), Sabino Acquaviva (who perfaced the book of Beggiato), Fabio Padovan (founder and leader of the European Federalist Free Entrepreneurs), Giampaolo Borsetto, Ivone Cacciavillani, Fabrizio Comencini, Gian Paolo Gobbo, Manuela Dal Lago, Luca Zaia, Flavio Tosi, Giorgio Vido, Patrik Riondato, Giorgio Panto and, to some extent, Giancarlo Galan, Massimo Cacciari and Mario Rigoni Stern.

Probably the most important Venetist cultural association is Raixe Venete (Venetian Roots), which organizes every year the Festa dei Veneti[5] in Cittadella, where Venetists of every political colour, Venetist associations, actors, musicians and rock bands, and many simple citizens gather) and whose website is translated in several languages[6]. The association has strong links with independentists from all over Europe and especially from the Basque Country.

Another notable association is named Venetians in Movement[7], which was founded in 2006 by Patrik Riondato and presents itself as a cross-party political movement which aims to promote independence regardless of individual political positions such as left or right, in a democratic and nonviolent way. Another group is the self-proclaimed Self-Government of the Venetian People led by Loris Palmerini.[8]

[edit] Political parties

The first Venetist party in Veneto was Lion of Saint Mark, active between 1921 and 1924. Then, in the 1960s, the Venetian Regionalist Autonomist Movement was active, but it was more a cultural association than a political party. Indeed the first organized Venetist parties were started only after the istitution of Veneto as Region and the direct election of the Regional Council in 1970.

Since the late 1970s many Venetist parties were founded in Veneto, notably:

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Beggiato, Ettore. 1998. 1866: la grande truffa. Padua: Editrice Universitaria
  2. ^ Constitution of Veneto
  3. ^ http://www.helsinki.fi/~tasalmin/europe_index.html
  4. ^ Raixe Venete, el jornale dei Veneti - RaixeVenete.net, el sito Veneto - in lingua veneta (dialetto veneto)
  5. ^ FESTA DEI VENETI 2007 - Raixe Venete
  6. ^ http://www.raixevenete.net
  7. ^ VENETI <Movimento par la Independensa deła Venetia>
  8. ^ Repubblica - Italiana - Autogoverno Veneto - Tribunale del Popolo Veneto - indice principale
  9. ^ Liga Veneta Repubblica - Home
  10. ^ Pne - Progetto Nordest
  11. ^ TeraVeneta.org - Benvenuti in
  12. ^ l'INTESA VENETA - Home Page
  13. ^ PNV. Partito Nazionale Veneto - INDIPENDENZA: CHE MERAVIGLIA!
  14. ^ Benvenuti nel sito del Movimento Popolare Veneto
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