On January 1, 2014 Tuscany will have to redefine its map after
the government passed a law the other day to reduce the number of Provinces
throughout the country – in fact a total of 36 have been eliminated nationwide.
Tuscany will
be hit the hardest, and of its 10 provinces, only 4 will remain. The new
borders will see a metropolitan area headed by Florence
which will incorporate the provinces of Prato
and Pistoia .
The two coastal areas of the region will be represented by Livorno (at the
moment) and Grosseto , while Arezzo will remain independent.
What might seem like a simple decision
based on reducing costs and bureaucracy is turning into an uproar rooted in longstanding
local rivalries and historic conflicts. Italy in general is a country where
regionalism and local pride are still very strong. It is almost impossible for
people not to ask “where” someone is from, meaning what region or even more
specifically what province. Often it is precisely on a provincial level that
people are more sensitive - and therefore asking certain provinces to merge
with others after years of autonomy is not an easy thing. Part of the problem
lies in the loss of “power” and local government jobs, as well as a fear of
losing local services, but there is also a large component of unrest caused by
the bruised egos of the smaller provinces who feel betrayed by the obligation
to succumb to these macro areas – especially when the new capital of the province
will be a “rival” city. This is the case especially between Pisa
and Livorno, Prato and Florence ,
Siena and Grosseto .
However, the new technocrat government is determined to cut costs by curbing
spending and waste, and the current situation of local government is not
acceptable from a financial and bureaucratic standpoint.
So, Tuscans will have to bury the hatchet
and face the facts: in today’s world which keeps getting “smaller” and more
integrated, they’ll have to do their part and get along with their
neighbors!
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