ABSTRACT
Tuscany is a predominantly Red region but one with interesting variation within it, making possible as examination of different political developments at the local and provincial levels. Moreover, unlike its regional neighbour Tuscany does include an important area of White dominance in the province of Lucca, thus offering some diversity of party-political balance and hence of inter-party relationships. The effect of the Fascist experience in Tuscany on politics at grass roots predominantly worked in favour of the PCI and was solidified by the catalytic influence of the Resistance in promoting not only the reality of the PCI's political presence but also the myth' surrounding its image. It contributed a heroic dimension to the political role of the Left in particular. Until the Second World War, Tuscany's economic system remained largely unchanged, having been untouched by early industrial development in Italy following unification, though there had been some signs from early twentieth century of moving away from a purely agricultural-mineral region.
