Abstract

The so-called «Second Statute» of autonomy of the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol Region (approved in 1971) represented a very special affirmation of autonomy. Among the many reasons of that success, the text examines three. The first is the acknowledgment of the original nature of autonomy: a factual condition that precedes and conditions the juridical solutions. The second is the importance of the principle of differentiation expressed by the reform, even in a national context of general implementation of the Constitutional provisions on ordinary regions. The third concerns the content of the recognized autonomy: not only quantity and quality of the powers attributed to the institutions representing the territorial communities (the two autonomous Provinces and the Region), but, even more, the method of managing it, through the possibility of updating the autonomy with rules stipulated in agreement with the State.