Toscana

Toscana, officially the State of Toscana, is a state located in the central interior region of Cartadania. It is the most ninth-most populous Cartadanian state as well as the tenth-most extensive. The state capital is Valentia, centrally located within the Tuscan Valley. The Valley Metro Area is the most populous urban region, with approximately 5 million residents, accounting for nearly fifty percent of the state population. Cassetta, the center of the aforementioned metropolitan area, is Toscana's most populous city and sits adjacent to the state capital.

The state takes its name from the Tosci people (Toscans) that inhabited Toscana during the first Latin arrival to the area. They referred to themselves as the Aethians, but the Latins referred to them as the Tosci, the origin of which is unknown. Toscana arose from the lands west of Lombardia that were contested from colonial times between Cartadania and then-Vachena. It existed as Inchis Province in Vachena until its annexation in 1869 during the 156-year period from the end of the Magna Discordia to the state of the Great War. It was partitioned from the resulting Southern Territory, which was the first expansion of the new Republic of Cartadania, and it became the 16th state admitted to the Union on 2 December 1869.

Despite having a population of 12.5 million with two major cities anchoring a metropolitan area that is more populous than eleven states, Toscana's inland location has given it a very passive and underappreciated representation among non-residents throughout the country. Nonetheless, for those who are familiar with it, Toscana is known for its heritage of architecture and colonial art in its cities. Cassetta has some of the most historic architecture in the state.

Toscana's early settlements and population centers clustered around rivers and other waterways that eventually, by way of Lombardia, empty into the Jordas Bay, or by way of Siena, empty into the northeastern Kindreds and Tainean Seas. With respect to this river system, despite being the most populous land-locked state in the country, the navigability of the state's river system has allowed the state to have connections to the outside world by sea. Toscana's current boundaries, with respect to the Lombardia Valley and mountains that surround the state, took form following the partition of the Southern Territory.

Etymology
The state takes its name from the Tosci people (Toscans) that inhabited Toscana during the first Latin arrival to the area. They referred to themselves as the Aethians, but the Latins referred to them as the Tosci, the origin of which is unknown. Toscana arose from the lands west of Lombardia that were contested from colonial times between Cartadania and then-Vachena. During this provincial period in Vachena, the area was known as Inchis from the Sarpic *închis ("closed" or "locked"), referring to the area's geography (Toscana is entirely within the Aethian Basin), while the Cartadanians referred to the area as Aethia, derived from the historical people who originally inhabited the area, but the population of the state during statehood movements chose the Latin-derived Toscana, from Tosci.

Pre-Caphirian era
Toscana is thought to have been inhabited for atleast 4,000 years, similar to its neighboring states. Well-preserved rock drawings left by ancient Camuni in the Lombardia Valley depicting animals, people, and symbols were made over a time period of eight thousand years preceding the Iron Age, based on about 300,000 records. Although the demography of ancient Toscana was multi-ethnic, including, for example, Lombards, Ettians, and other Italics besides the Toscans, the latter were the dominant constituent. They inhabited and controlled much of the Southern Valley. Unusually, the state also had a population of Calaran people (a Kindredian group for which the state of Calajara is named) who are known of because of their characteristic symbols, although they are thought to have been offshoots of the Calarans further south in the country and not an expansion of the Calaran territory.

Colonization
The arrival of Caphirians in the Lombard valley is thought to have occurred around 704 A.D. and, due to the difficulty reaching the area due to the Turian Ridge separating Cartadania from Caphiria, as well as the dense forests and large rivers, presence remained quite minuscule. In the 11th century, imperator Darius officially united almost all of present-day mainland central Cartadania into a single geo-political entity, Lusia, dividing it into seven regions. Northern Toscana – together with portions of Lombardia southwest of the Lombardia river immediately north of Toscana – became Regio Iordas (Southwestern Lombardia and Northern Toscana), but the vast majority of the state was Regio Tosci.

Province of Vachena
Toscana existed as Regio Tosci until 1671, when Cartadania and Vachena officially split from Caphiria. Under an agreement between Caroleena, then-capital of Cartadania–Meridia, and Venceia ironically known as the Magna Discordia, Cartadania and Vachena were to remain separate for the time of the Imperial occupation of Vachena. Because Cartadania's territory disjointed Vachena from Caphiria, this made it difficult to uphold the agreement and left a lot of Caphirians in Vachena unable to return home by land for various periods in history. Under the Magna Discordia, because Vachena was part of Lusia, it was to be returned to the Luson people (i.e., Cartadania or the Cartic people). However, due to the overwhelming influence of Caphiria in Vachena, Meridia did not press to enforce the agreement at the time.

As a province of Vachena, Inchis, much like neighboring Iordas and Carina to the north, was largely rural in nature, so far from Caroleena, that it was largely only used for agricultural purposes. The Inchis region was, and continues to be, a wine-producing region and is known for its Malvasia, Merlot, and Trebbiano varieties that it exported not only to the rest of Vachena and Cartadania but also to other parts of the world. Aside from grapes, and consequently wine production, the region also produced corn, lemons, oranges, peaches, and wheat, among other things. This continued for a while until Alahuela annexed the land in 1798 with the rest of the Southern Territory. As a consequence of proximity, as well as similar climate and geography, Toscana and Lombardia share many of the same characteristics down to some of the same symbols.

Geography
Toscana has a geographic area of 164,995.16 km2 and is roughly comparable in size to some of the Deric States. It is the tenth-largest state in Cartadania. Much of Toscana lies within the Lombard Valley. This area is bounded by a line of mountains known as the Ursa Range that separates the state from Aveiro. The valley extends northerly into Lombardia (from which the name derives) and east into Ferara as gently rolling hills where it is then bounded by the Aegis Range. Though the state lies in the tropics geographically, the majority of the state experiences a Mediterranean climate (Csa) as a result of the cool Jordas Current offshore from Lombardia, enhanced by upwelling of cold sub-surface waters, which often creates summer fog near Lombardia's coast. This is forced inland by the western ranges that force prevailing winds to circulate down into the valley. This is compounded by air flowing north from the Kindreds, which tends to be warmer and can bring rainfall to the state. Uncommon for equatorial countries, Toscana can experience weather formations if either air column becomes dry. This can also happen with cold, dry air flowing in from the Ursa Range and warm dry air flowing in from Loumara's lençois desert. This makes Toscana one of the few places in Northern Sarpedon where tornadoes occur.

Geographically, Toscana is bounded by Ferara to the east and southeast via the Inchis River, Siena to the south also via the Inchis River, Aveiro to the west across the Ursa Range, and Lombardia to the north. The Jordas Bay, north of Lombardia, and the Kindreds Sea, south of Siena, both play an important role, not only in climate but also in transportation. The state is generally flat or rolling hills except for the mountains of the Ursa and Aegis Ranges.

State government
The government of Toscana is organized and conducted according to its state constitution. The government of Toscana, like the other 30 state governments, has exclusive authority over matters that lie entirely within the state's borders, except as limited by Cartadania's Constitution.

Power in the state is organized into three branches of government—the executive branch consisting of the governor and the other independently elected constitutional officers; the legislative branch consisting of the State Assembly and Senate; and the judicial branch consisting of the Supreme Court of Toscana and lower courts.

Most of the business of government is conducted in Valentia, the state capital, however due to proximity, some state agencies and offices are located in the adjacent city of Cassetta. Elections for governor and most statewide offices, as well as most county elections, are held in even-numbered years.

The Judiciary of Toscana is the unified court system of state, and consists of the Supreme Court of Toscana, the appellate courts of Toscana, known as the Toscana Courts of Appeal, as well as 144 Superior Courts sitting in each County, the latter being courts of general jurisdiction over "all justiciable matters". Toscana's Supreme Court has a single chief justice and six associate justices, each serving no more than 12 years in their role. It is seated in Valentia with hearings in Messena between 1 June and 30 July, and Avant between 1 August and 30 September.

Politics
Toscana is sometimes thought to be a swing-state in Cartadanian politics but has notably been in favor of SDP candidates. Historically, it was more contested politically, because the more rural regions of the state voted more conservatively, causing near-parity between SDPs and UCons. In more recent elections, however, the SDPs have gained more ground, and Toscana has been strongly left-leaning in presidential campaigns. Valentia and Cassetta, as well as their larger metro area, tend to vote largely with and for SDP candidates. Counties that are around Regina and Sabal County are sometimes more moderate in various years but tend to vote similarly to Valentia and Cassetta. Other cities like Bemor, Casteja, Coseli, Nuria, and Seville also tend to fall more left-leaning than other parts of the state. With the exception of Peralta, the counties that surround the other three cities are very moderate politically. The sway in politics is controlled largely by the nine largest counties in the state, most of which are around Valentia and Cassetta.

While UCons usually win more counties by piling up large margins in the south and west, similar to Lombardia, they are also usually swamped by the more densely populated and heavily SDP Cassetta-Valentia axis. In 1988, for instance, Garza won eighty-nine counties to Hernandez's fifty-five. While Garza won most of the western and southern counties by margins of 2-to-1 or more, he was almost completely shut out in the larger counties surrounding Cassetta and Valentia; every large county except Bashtra went for Hernandez.

Toscana has been particularly favorable for Progressistas candidates in recent years, Cartadania's largest moderate third party. It has helped elect four of the five Progressistas presidents, including current Progressistas president Samaria Kalanie.

Outside of national politics, the state tends to elect SDP governors as well, but its legislature, the Toscana State Assembly, tends to have a large UCon influence. Nonetheless, there is no lack of bipartisan agreement within Toscana's government and things tend to move rather smoothly.

Administrative divisions
Toscana consists of 144 counties, second only to neighboring Aveiro. Some counties have been named for prominent figures in both the state and national histories from both Vachena and Cartadania, but the vast majority of the counties have tribally or geographically significant names. Each county in Toscana has its own elected legislative branch, usually called the Board of Supervisors, which usually also has executive authority in the county. Toscana's constitution provides all counties and cities with home rule authority, which gives county boards considerable power to pass legislation within their county, just a municipality would. Municipalities have full home rule powers, may adopt a charter, ordinances, and resolutions for self-government. Each municipality chooses its own form of government, but most have elected mayors and city councils or city commissions. Toscana also allows consolidated city-county governments, the largest of which is Cassetta which is united with Sabal County.

Criminal law
Toscana, like the vast majority of Cartadania, is a common-law jurisdiction (exceptions being Haia and São Andreas). It has come to be known for its very "zero-tolerance" approach for criminal offenses and often has some of the harshest criminal punishments in the country. Nonetheless, unlike Lombardia, Toscana is completely abolitionist in terms of capital punishment and has only utilized the death penalty four times in its 155-year history. In fact, Toscana, despite being a zero-tolerance state, has the fewest amount of jails per capita of the states with populations above 10 million, and in recent years has been more in favor of rehabilitative methods, like community awareness, outreach, service. It has proved to be very successful, although some jails and prisons do still exist.