italian nationalism has also faced a great deal of opposition from within italy itself. regionalism and municipal identities have challenged the concept of a unified italian identity, like those in friuli-venezia giulia, naples, sardinia, sicily and veneto. such regional identities evoked strong opposition after the piedmontese-led unification of italy to plans for "piedmontization" of italy. italian identity has also been long strained by an ever growing north-south divide that developed partly from the economic differences of a highly industrialized north and a highly agricultural south.