Now the result of the widely observed referendum on the independence of Scotland is in – 55% of Scots voted to stay part of the United Kingdom – it will be interesting to see the reaction of other independence movements, such as that of Italy’s Northern League.
***Update 20 September, 2014: Reactions of Lega Nord politician and of Scottish-Italian residents of Barga in Tuscany now added***
The Northern League would dearly love to split Italy in two – the North and the South. The League wanted to start with Venice and amoured vehicles were being built behind barn doors. For obvious reasons, its people were keeping a very close eye on events in Scotland even if they were not too sure what the capital of Scotland was!
Geographically Challenged
This gem has been floating around the Twitter-verse in Italy, much to the amusement of Italians. First, Hamburg was the Scottish capital, the Strasbourg was honoured and, finally, someone took a look at Wikipedia or got a map out and understood that the right ‘burgo’ was Edinburgh:
Oops!
The result of the Scotland referendum will not please the geographically challenged Northern League people one bit. They were looking forward to declaring independence, then dumping the EU, the Euro and saying goodbye and good riddance to NATO. That the Scots have indicated their desire for unity may remove the wind from the sails of the Northern League and Venice independence movements.

Stop reading, start speaking
Stop translating in your head and start speaking Italian for real with the only audio course that prompt you to speak.
Will Italy’s Northern League people give up on their battle for independence, and stop building homemade tanks? Ha! Most probably not.
The reaction of the Northern League to the vote in Scotland will be added once it has become clear. If it ever does, that is.
Well, here’s a clear reaction from a Lega Nord man in Lombardy – politician Davide Boni was “profoundly saddened by the result of the referendum in Scotland”, adding, “at least they had the chance to vote – I want to vote in Lombardy [Italy]”:
Profondamente dispiaciuto del risultato del Referendum in Scozia, ma almeno Loro hanno potuto votare, voglio votare anche io in Lombardia
— Davide Boni (@DavideBoni) September 20, 2014
I wonder how that little corner of Scotland in Tuscany, Barga, feels about the result of vote? I’ll ask my contacts there.
Word from Barga
I have now heard from Barga and the word is that the referendum did not cause much of a stir in Barga where quite a number of the residents are are Scots-Italian.
Two Scots-Italians who went for a celebratory drink with Italy Chronicles contributors Jenny and David were worried sick by the prospect of a “Yes” vote. These two Scottish-Italians, who spend half their time in Scotland, incidentally, felt that the vote would lead to long lasting divisions in Scottish society. A Scottish-Scottish friend of Jenny and David also felt that the result may lead to enmity between the “Yes” and the “No” factions.
45% of Scots did want to break away from England, and 45%, while not the majority, is still a sizable number.
Comment from Italy
I’ll leave you, for now, with this cartoon comment on the Scotland independence vote I spotted in today’s edition of Italian daily, Corriere della Sera: Rather irreverent, what? The bounders!