Lombardia

Lombardia, officially the Commonwealth of Lombardia, is a state located in the central region of Cartadania, south of the Jordas Bay. It is the fourth-most populous Cartadanian state as well as the seventh-most extensive. The state capital is Figueroa, centrally located within the Figueroa Valley. The Castelusia Metro Area is the most populous urban region, with approximately 7 million residents. Castelusia, the center of the aforementioned metropolitan area, is Lombardia's most populous city.

The state takes its name from the Lombard River, whose name in turn originated from the indigenous Sarpedonic Lum bardhi meaning "white river". Lombardia arose from the lands west of Santiago that were contested from colonial times between Cartadania and then-Vachena. It existed as Iordania Province in Vachena until its annexation in 1799. It was partitioned from the resulting South Jordas Territory, which was the first expansion of the new Republic of Cartadania, and became the 7th state admitted to the Union on 15 December 1799, and the second outside of Cartadania's original borders (after Porta Bianca). Lombardia became one of the earliest and most influential industrial powerhouses during the 18th century. Although it has transitioned to a more information- and service-based economy in the 21st century, it remains a semi-industrial state, ranking fourth in GDP as of 2023, with the third largest manufacturing sector and second largest automobile production.

Lombardia's early settlements and population centers clustered around rivers and other waterways that empty into the Jordas Bay. In 1781, Lombardia's current boundaries took form following the settlement of a long-running border dispute with Santiago.

Lombardia's large population and economy give it considerable influence in national politics; in the late 20th century it was a major battleground in presidential elections, most notably in 1984 and 1988. Castelusia, along with Figueroa as the capital, is recognized as a global city. The state has some of the country's largest universities, with its flagship University of Lombardia ranking among the ten best public universities in the country. Lombardia is also among the ten overall best states based on metrics such as governance, healthcare, education, and economic opportunity.

Etymology
According to the state's historians, Lombardia takes its name from the Lombard River, whose name, in turn, originated from the indigenous Sarpedonic Lum bardhi meaning "white river". The Lombard River is a tributary of the Jordas Bay, for which Lombardia lies south of, and flows through both Figueroa and Castelusia.

Pre-Caphirian era
Lombardia is thought to have been inhabited for atleast 4,000 years. Well-preserved rock drawings left by ancient Camuni in the Lombard 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 Lombardia was multi-ethnic, including, for example, Tuscans, Ettians and other Italics besides the Lombards, the latter were the dominant constituent. They inhabited and controlled much of the Valley.

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 miniscule. 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. The part of today's Lombardia southwest of the Lombardia river – together with the present state of Toscana immediately to the south of Lombardia – became Regio Iordas (Southwestern Lombardia and Toscana), while modern Lombardia north of the Lombardia River became part of Regio Carina.

Province of Vachena
Lombardia existed as parts of Regio Iordas and Regio Carina until 1671, when Cartadania and Vachena officially split from Caphiria. Under an agreement between Caroleen, 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 provinces). However, due to the overwhelming influence of Caphiria in Vachena, Meridia did not press to enforce the agreement at the time.

As provinces of Vachena, Iordas and Carina were largely rural in nature, so far from Caroleena, that they were largely only used for agricultural purposes. The Iordas region was, and continues to be, a wine-producing region and is known for its, , and varieties that it exported not only to Vachena and Cartadania, but also to other parts of the world. Aside from grapes, and consequently wine production, the regions also produced, s, s, es, and , among other things. This continued for a while until Alahuela annexed the land in 1798.

Annexation by Cartadania and statehood
In Spring 1798, Cartadania's western states of Santiago and Veneza were beginning to spread the idea of a better life for the people of Iordas and Carina, which ultimately turned out to be an effort to expand their respective territories. Fueled by the lack of representation in their own capital, and the lack of border control between Vachena and Cartadania, the people, first of Carina, began to intermix with the Venezanos and Santiagans, visiting Cartadania (albeit illegally) and vice-versa. In fact, Venezans actually started their own farms in Vachena, which went against Caroleena and Alahuela's separation agreement. Because the vast majority of then-western Cartadanians could speak Latin with dialects similar to those of eastern Vachena, it was becoming difficult to enforce the rule of the Magna Discordia.

In late summer of the same year, uprisings along the coast of Carina caused the Vachenan military to enter the region which made many Santiagans uneasy. The land along the Trentine River which separated Cartadania from Vachena at the time, was fortified by Vachenan military police, which caused Alahuela to send Marshalls to western Santiago. A minor disagreement between the two groups lead Cartadania's Supreme Court to call into question the validity of the Magna Discordia which would lead to Senate Resolution 16. Heightening tensions along this border caused the Department of the Interior (now the Department of Homeland Security) to send agents to the area to assess the impending fallout, and in March 1799, the first Vachena Crisis insued. Buildup of tensions in the region caused a ripple effect across the country. News of the civil unrest in Carina spread to Iordas and Faraya (now Ferara), and the Vachena Parliament issued an emergency order to military police to end the uprising. Venza Sentinate and Caille Herini, then-governors of Carina and Iordas respectively, petitioned Alahuela for voluntary annexation. Originally, Congress refused, but the Supreme Court, in essence, ordered Congress to comply with the agreement in place with Caroleena and Venceia. Because the Magna Discordia only specified a separation of 100-years, the separation had expired in 1771, thus Senate Resolution 17 was authorized and Cartadania's government de jure annexed not only Iordas and Carina, but also the Southern Territory, of which today is Montecarlo, Siena, and southern Ferara.

This annexation did not so easily occur, as the ensuing turmoil caused by the implication rattled Vachena to its core. Cartadania's congress and Supreme Court argued that the basis for annexation were determined with the independence of both countries on expiry of the Magna Discordia's separation agreement. The legal body of Cartadania further argued that the agreement set forth allowed the countries to reunify at the will of the respective people. Vachena's parliament stated that the claim was baseless as the Magna Discordia itself expired with the separation agreement and the sovereignty of Vachena was challenged with Cartadania's annexation (thus constituting a basis for war). Consequently, the battles raged on legally for some time between the two, with Vachena wanting to request the help of Caphiria's Tribunalis Ultima as a third party. Though it never escalated to war, the annexation lead to a complete downturn in Carto-Vachenan relations.

Despite the upheaval and tension that the timing caused, Congress did not officially annex the entirety of Vachena at that time. Instead, on 1 September 1799, it united Carina and most of Iordas to create the present-day borders of the state and gave the area the name Lumbhardi for the river that flowed through it. Still in political disarray, Congress moved quickly and filed a motion to admit Lumbhardi as a state. On 1 December 1799, the then-possession (aka Territory of Second Class) modified its name to the current Lombardia and was admitted to the union as the seventh state on 15 December 1799. This decision was very poorly received by many Vachenans around the capital who opposed the events ongoing in the area. Public opinion improved when Congress allowed permissive retention of Vachenan and Cartadanian citizenship, the first instance of dual-citizenship between the two countries.

Over the decades that followed, Lombardia's population began to explode thanks to its status as a new state, desirable climate, and extremely fertile land. Some Cartadanian historians went so far to consider the neglect of Lombardia "a reflection of our imperial past" and considered Lombardia to be highly favorable for development over the years, which would become apparent when it became Cartadania's fourth-most populous state.

In an effort to, arguably, rub salt in the wound, Alahuela contributed large sums of money for development of infrastructure to Lombardia, which was in contrast to Regio Averius, Regio Spero, and Regio Spirito Santo (Aveiro and Espírito Santo, respectively) whom, like Lombardia's predecessors, were quite suburban and rural in nature. This lead to a short-lived public outcry that eventually settled during the events leading to the Great War.

Lombardia's position in Cartadania made it particularly vulnerable during the Great War, especially considering Cartadania's position against Caphiria and Vachena, which supported Caphiria. Thusly, Alahuela began setting up Forte Ataris, one of the largest Army bases in Cartadania. It positioned troops at the base on standby and during the Second Vachena Crisis, at a point where Cartadania and Pelaxia were fearing invasion from Caphiria and moving preemptively, Alahuela surrounded Caroleena and annexed large portions of Vachena. In this time period, Lombardia was one of the most active regions militarily.

Today, the state has more or less focused on infrastructure and suburban development. In the decades following the Great War, the state has been faced with a rapidly growing population with nowhere to put the new residents. Consequently, agricultural tracts have given way to residential communities, some of them carefully planned such as Aranth, Seianti, and Vitellia. Lombardia's development in the 21st century has made it stand out among the 31 states and its position in the country makes it ideal for future development.

Geography
Lombardia has a geographic area of 170,981.17 km2 and is roughly comparable in size to some of the Deric States. It is the seventh-largest state in Cartadania. Much of Lombardia, excepting the areas along the Trentine River, 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 and Espírito Santo. The valley extends southerly into Toscana and 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 as a result of the cool Jordas Current offshore, enhanced by upwelling of cold sub-surface waters, which often creates summer fog near the coast. This is forced inland by the western ranges that force prevailing winds to circulate.

Geographically, Lombardia is bounded by Santiago to the east via the Trentine River, Ferara to the southeast, Toscana to the south, Aveiro to the south west, and Espírito Santo to the west. The Jordas Bay, north of the state, plays 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 Range.

State government
The government of Lombardia is conducted according to the state constitution. The government of Lombardia, 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 Lombardia is divided among three branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial. The Lombardia General Assembly is composed of the Lombardia Chamber of Delegates and the Lombardia Senate. Lombardia's governor is unique in Cartadania as the office is vested with significant authority in budgeting. The legislature may not increase the governor's proposed budget expenditures. Unlike many other states, significant autonomy is granted to many of Lombardia's counties.

Most of the business of government is conducted in Figueroa, the state capital. Elections for governor and most statewide offices, as well as most county elections, are held in midterm-election years (even-numbered years not divisible by four).

The Judiciary of Lombardia is the unified court system of commonwealth, and consists of the Supreme Court of Lombardia, the appelate courts of Lombardia, known as the Lombardia Courts of Appeal, as well as 93 Circuit Courts sitting in each County, the latter being courts of general jurisdiction over "all justiciable matters". Lombardia'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 Figueroa with hearings in Castelusia between June 1 and September 30.