Lombardy (historical region)
Lombardy (), also called Historical Lombardy () or Greater Lombardy (), 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 , 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. 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). References

History of Lombardy