The Padanian Union (''Unione Padana'', UP) is a Padanist and

separatist Separatism is the advocacy of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, governmental or gender separation from the larger group. As with secession, separatism conventionally refers to full political separation. Groups simply seeking greate ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

active in

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. The party emerged in November 2011 by the merger of

Lega Padana Lombardia Lega Padana Lombardia (Padanian League Lombardy), briefly in 2008 part of the Lombardia Autonoma (''Self-Governing Lombardy'') coalition, was a Padanist and autonomist political party active in Lombardy, northern Italy, between 2001 and 2011. The ...

, led by

Roberto Bernardelli The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...

and Giulio Arrighini, and other groups of Padanists led by Francesco Formenti and Giovanni Ongaro. All four politicians had been deputies of

Lega Lombarda Lega Lombarda ( en, Lombard League; abbr. LL), whose complete name is ( en, Lombard League for Salvini Premier), is a regionalist political party active in Lombardy. Established in 1984, it was one of the founding "national" sections of Lega ...

–

Lega Nord Lega Nord (; acronym: LN), whose complete name is (), is a right-wing, federalist, populist and conservative political party in Italy. In the run-up of the 2018 general election, the party was rebranded as (), without changing its official n ...

in the 1990s. The first congress of the party was attended by leading Padanists such as Giancarlo Pagliarini,

Gilberto Oneto Gilberto is the Iberian and Italian version of the originally Norman-French given name ''Gilbert'', used in Italian, Portuguese and Spanish languages. In Galician, it's spelled Xilberto or Xilberte. ''Gilbert'' is ultimately derived from the Germ ...

Gianluca Marchi Gianluca is an Italian masculine given name. Its English translation is "John Luke" and it is often a shorter form of "Giovanni Luca". * Gianluca Alfenoni (born 1996), Argentine footballer *Gianluca Arrighi (born 1972), Italian writer *Gianluca ...

and

Leonardo Facco Leonardo is a masculine given name, the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese equivalent of the English, German, and Dutch name, Leonard. People Notable people with the name include: * Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), Italian Renaissance scientist, ...

. As soon as in March 2012 the provincial wing of

Bergamo Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Como ...

, led by Ongaro, split and formed the Alpine Padanian Union (UPA). In May 2013 the Padanian Union joined a new organization: Lombard Independence (''Indipendenza Lombarda'').Secessionisti veneti, 24 arresti: la storia di Bernardelli, l'ex politico con il vizio del carro armato
/ref> The following year, in April 2014, Bernardelli was arrested, along with a group of Venetian separatists (including

Franco Rocchetta Franco Rocchetta (born Venice, 12 April 1947) is an Italian politician, entrepreneur, philologist and history populariser, who is usually described as the "father" of present-day Venetian nationalism and independentism. Early life and politic ...

, leading members of the

Venetian Most Serene Government The Venetian Most Serene Government (''Veneto Serenissimo Governo'', VSG), whose members are often referred to as ''Serenissimi'', is a political organization active in Veneto. The group's goal is independence and self-government for Venetian lan ...

and the European Federalist Free Entrepreneurs), for suspected crimes including criminal association for terrorism and subversion of the democratic order. Bernardelli was released on 18 April, along with Rocchetta and most of the others, as the tribunal of

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...

did not uphold the accusations.

Leadership

*Secretary: Giulio Arrighini (2011–2013) *President:

(2011–2013)

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website
2011 establishments in Italy Padanian nationalist parties Political parties in Lombardy Political parties established in 2011 Separatism in Italy Padanian independence activists