Created in order to reform and democratize a central State discredited by fascism, the Italian Region became immobilized as a result of the central government's reluctance to transfer ils powers and the political parties' determination that it should not challenge the political and social status quo that gave them their strength. Since 1977, however, the regions have had certain powers at their disposal. Have they managed to use them to formulate an independant policy and show regional awareness ? The answer to this question is délicate in that, while the 8 and 9 June 1980 elections showed once again that the regions are no more than instruments in the hands of the State and the parties, the variety of different experiments launched in cert...