The referenda for more autonomy in Veneto and Lombardia: constitutional and comparative perspectives

In a global context where popular referenda are increasingly used to decide contested issues, this paper aims at exploring the Pen Holder framework in which, in October 2017, two referenda took place in the Italian northern regions of Veneto and Lombardia to seek additional forms and conditions of autonomy within the Italian regional state HERBAMARE SPICY SEA SALT as painted by the Constitution after the 2001 reform.By adopting mainly an analytical perspective, this contribution studies the political and constitutional underpinnings of the two referenda while at the same time providing a cursory comparative account of differential and asymmetric regionalism.