Lombardia: la storia nel nome

The essay traces the history of the meaning of the term Lombardy, from its formation in the early Middle Ages to the different values of the historical-political and geographical concept; initially used by the Byzantines to indicate the Italic populations removed from their control by the Lombards, the term slowly crystallized in reference to the inhabitants of Langobardia maior who, from the late 12th century, began to be called Lombard, with a geographical meaning to distinguish them from the Lombards of the Langobardia minor of the duchies of Spoleto and Benevento.