Lombardy (historical region)

{{Short description|Italian historical region}}

{{More citations needed|date=April 2022}}

File:Member Cities of the Lombard Leagues.png.]]

File:Map of Historical Lombardy.png

Lombardy ({{langx|lmo|Lombardia}}), also called Historical Lombardy ({{lang|lmo|Lombardia storega}}) or Greater Lombardy ({{lang|lmo|Grand Lombardia}}), is a name referring to the territory, larger than the modern Italian administrative region, which culturally, linguistically and politically has been historically considered Lombard.

Over time, the definition of Lombardy shrank: Dante Alighieri, in his {{lang|la|De vulgari eloquentia}}, recognised the autonomy of Romagna and Genoa from Lombardy. Since the 1400s Piedmont became more and more culturally autonomous from the rest of Lombardy, and by the 1600s there was a substantial partition between Lombardy and Piedmont, the latter being ruled by the House of Savoy.[https://mole24.it/2021/08/18/la-storia-del-piemonte-tra-dispute-e-crisi-didentita/ La storia del Piemonte tra dispute e crisi d’identità]

The ancient concept of Lombardy has kept surfacing in a few placenames until the modern era, e.g. Massa Lombarda (in Romagna) or Reggio di Lombardia (in Emilia, known as Reggio nell'Emilia since the unification of Italy).