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created by special statutes, in areas whose separateness was obvious—the islands of Sicily and Sardinia, the French-speaking Valle d'Aosta, and the partly German-speaking region of Trentino-Alto Adige—and the constitution simply formalized them. The partly Slavic region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia was formed in 1963, delayed 15 years by protracted negotiations with Yugoslavia about Trieste. These five were all special cases, all far from Rome, the other 15 existed only at the level of constitutional principle, the difficult practical details being endlessly debated.

In 1968 parliament finally provided for the election of assemblies in the 15 remaining regions; the assemblies then drafted regional constitutions and parliament ratified them, all without any great delay. In the poorest areas, the lucrative position of capital city was hotly contested, and in Calabria and Abruzzi bitter disputes and even riots took place over its selection; in both, the regional government was finally divided between two cities.

The legal transfer of powers took place on 1 April 1972, and the regions began handling such matters as town planning, urban and rural police, museums and libraries, public welfare and health and hospital assistance, regional transportation and bus services, and regional roads, aqueducts, and public works. On

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