Nuovi territori politici in Europa: decentramento regionale e ricomposizioni intercomunali in Italia e in Francia

New political territories in Europe. Territorial remapping in Italy and France. - These last decades, after the end of the all ideologies, have seen the comeback of the territorial question, and in particular the region’s request for autonomy. The regional reforms carried out in several European countries, and among them some of the most important ones, have been one of the most relevant innovations of the last decades. This article deals with the matter of regionalization which has acquired increasing importance due to the more relevant role of the local and subnational elements in the processes of globalization, de-nationalization and territorial remapping that are currently changing the geography of the European regions. What we are offering here is a model of interpretation that looks at and evaluates the regional reforms and the territorial remapping taking place in Italy and France. These new processes are often polarized between a desire for autonomy and an equally strong need for centralization. The author’s theory is that we are currently experiencing a very important transition which witnesses the development and the consolidation of the territorial autonomy and its own governance tools. These tools will have to combine the traditional and well established system of territorial administration and coordination (based on state, province, municipality) with the most recent regulating and strategic system (based on the EU, regions, regional aggregation of several municipalities). Through the governance mechanisms, the reconfiguring and the hybridization of these often conflicting systems will allow the introduction of strategic and cultural elements that have appeared within the traditional realm of the territorial administration and governance.