AH Challenge: Italian City States today

[Gamingboy]

With a POD no later then 1970 and no later then 1890. Find a way so that the Italian Peninsula still has City states to this day.

[wkwillis]

I presume you mean no earlier than 1890. Any POD after unification is going to be difficult. Before 1860 is much more reasonable. Say, 1848 when the AH empire falls apart, the Austrian areas of Italy promptly fall apart without a central government. Other areas of Italy join their self defense league, revolting from their previous government where necessary. Savoy splits into the French part where the heir marries a Bonaparte, Sardinia joins the Italian federation.

[Melvin Loh]

Guys, what about if there's a stronger more influential Northern League in the 1970s, which actually facilitates the secession of northern Italy from the remainder of the peninsula ? Maybe this northern Italian entity also fragments into city-states, so you have separate geopolitical entities in the Italian Alps of Venice, Turin, Genoa, etc ?

BTW, couldn't you argue that OTL the Vatican and San Marino effectively remain Italian city-states to this day ?

[LordKalvan]

Originally Posted by Melvin Loh

Guys, what about if there's a stronger more influential Northern League in the 1970s, which actually facilitates the secession of northern Italy from the remainder of the peninsula ? Maybe this northern Italian entity also fragments into city-states, so you have separate geopolitical entities in the Italian Alps of Venice, Turin, Genoa, etc ?

BTW, couldn't you argue that OTL the Vatican and San Marino effectively remain Italian city-states to this day ?

When the Northern League made their bid for secession (1996-97) the made a bet on Italy being unable to stay within Euro parameters: if this had happened, the resulting instability might have created an opportunity for a secession of Northern Italy. The point is that this might have been acceptable to other Euro partners if it were a peaceful process, and if Northern Italy could put in place a stable government (the Northen league favored - and favors - a federal government for Italy, with minimal powers for the fed gov and those being devolved from the single states).

There were never a lot of chances that this might succeed; and when Italy respected the Euro parameters it became a moot point