Italy's Veneto and Lombardy regions vote in autonomy referendums Sunday Oct 22,2017

Voters in the northern Italian regions of Lombardy and Veneto vote Sunday Oct 22,2017 in autonomy referendums attracting additional interest against the backdrop of Catalonia's push for independence from Spain.

The consultative votes are only the beginning of a process which could, over time, lead to powers being devolved from Rome. Secessionist sentiment in the two wealthy northern regions is restricted to fringe groups with little following.

Nonetheless, with both regions expected to vote in favour of the principle of greater autonomy, analysts see the referendums as reflecting the centrifugal pressures that resulted in Scotland's narrowly-defeated independence vote, Britain's decision to leave the European Union(EU) and the Catalan Crisis 

Both regions are expected to vote in favour of more autonomy but the level of turnout will have a critical bearing on the significance of the results.

In Veneto, it has to pass 50 percent for the result to be considered valid. There is no quorum in Lombardy but low voter participation would weaken the region's hand in any subsequent negotiations with the central government.

Lombardy, which includes Milan, and Veneto, which houses Venice, are home to around a quarter of Italy's population and account for 30 percent of its overall economic output