Abstract

The first part of this article explores in depth the contribution that, during the 18th and 19th centuries, political and cultural movements (in particular, republicanism, nationalism) gave to the consolidation of the federal idea. In addition, it analyses the reasons for the political conflict between the proponents of the centralised State and those in favour of recognising the autonomy of territories with a specific national identity: with particular reference to the experience of the First Republic and the draft Constitution of 1873. The second part of the work highlights the cultural influences that favoured the elaboration of the theory of the “Integral stateµ during the Second Republic and the contribution it made to the birth of regionalism in Italy and Spain.