ABSTRACT
The rise and success of Lega Nord higlights some fundamental novelties in European politics. The rise of this party is an excellent case to explore a new political space, and its limits, to redefine territorial identities and new interests. The, rise of Lega Nord challenges our received wisdom about territorial cleavages in European party systems. A decade ago, neither Padania existed in the collective imagination-a common claim by scholars and politicians-nor the Italian North as a homogenous economic or social unit within the Italian state. Today, the persistence of Lega Nord has made the Northern question part of political reality in Italy. Moreover, the claims advanced by the party constructed a new category of belonging-Padaniaand put forward new demands for the right of self-determination within an integrated Europe.
