Venetian Separatist Linked to Crimea Arrested With "Tank" on Terrorist Charges

Italian police on Wednesday arrested 24 alleged separatists for terrorism after thwarting a plan to take over St Mark's Square in Venice armed with guns and a rudimentary "tank" made from a digger.

Police said they had arrested activists from a group called "The Alliance" on charges of "terrorism conspiracy and subversion of the democratic order," which is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

The underground group, made up of radical separatists from the Lombardy, Sardinia and Veneto regions, had been planning to "liberate" the iconic Venetian piazza using weapons from the Albanian mafia and set up a new independent government, police said.

They were planning an attack "by hundreds of people, some of them armed" and "an insurrection from the inhabitants of northern Italy most affected by the economic crisis," law enforcers said in a statement.

"The tank was built to be used for a spectacular action on St Mark's Square," police said.

The plan comes after more than two million residents of Venice and its surrounding region last month voted overwhelmingly in favour of breaking away from the rest of the country and forming their own state.

The online poll, although not legally binding and open to manipulation, showed the strenth of separatist feeling in Italy's northern regions.

link.

Will we now Have Little Venetians too?

"Ballot" is not originally an English word: It comes from the Venetian word ballotta, or "little ball." For centuries, councils elected the Doge of Venice, who ruled the city-state, with small silver and gold balls. Now Venetians have put their modern equivalent to good use in a bid to declare independence from Italy. And they have a pretty good case to make for restoring their once-mighty republic.

Last week, in a move overshadowed by the international outcry over Russia's annexation of Crimea, Plebiscito.eu, an organization representing a coalition of Venetian nationalist groups, held an unofficial referendum on breaking with Rome. Voters were first asked the main question—"Do you want Veneto to become an independent and sovereign federal republic?"—followed by three sub-questions on membership in the European Union, NATO, and the eurozone. The region's 3.7 million eligible voters used a unique digital ID number to cast ballots online, and organizers estimate that more than 2 million voters ultimately participated in the poll.

link.

Marrying the 1000 Years of the Venetian Archives to the Internet