provincia

''This article is about political regions. See geologic province for geological meanings.''''Province'' is a name for a subnational entity that is a secondary level of government in most countries. In some countries an alternative term is used, such as ''State (sub-national)state'' (in Australia, India and the United States), ''prefecture'' (in Japan), ''län'' (in Sweden), or ''region'' (in France and in Italy where ''provincia'' is a tertiary form of government, akin to a county). Various parts of the British Empire had the title of ''Province'' such as the Province of Canada and the South AustraliaProvince of South Australia (to distinguish it from the penal 'colonies' elsewhere in Australia). In Germany and Austria, the same sense of historical and cultural unity on a less-than-national scale is expressed as ''Land'', the common name for states of Germany and states of Austria.In many federations (particularly those that are in fact confederations), the province or state is not clearly subordinate to the national or "central" government. Rather, it is considered to be sovereign in regard to its particular set of constitutional functions. The central and provincial governmental functions, or areas of jurisdiction, are identified in a constitution. Those that are not specifically identified in the constitution are called "residual powers". These residual powers lie at the provincial (or state) level in a decentralised federal system (such as the United States and Australia) whereas in a centralised federal system they are retained at the federal level (as in Canada). Nevertheless, some of the enumerated powers can also be very significant. For example, Provinces and territories of CanadaCanadian provinces are sovereign in regard to such important matters as law and order, property, civil rights, education, social welfare, medical services and even taxation. The evolution of federations has created an inevitable tug-of-war between concepts of federal supremacy versus "states' rights". The historic division of responsibility in federal constitutions is inevitably subject to multiple overlaps. For example, when central governments, responsible for "foreign affairs", enter into international agreements in areas where the state or province is sovereign, such as the environment or health standards, agreements made at the national level can create jurisdictional overlap and conflicting laws. This overlap creates the potential for internal disputes that lead to constitutional amendments and judicial decisions that significantly change the balance of powers.The word ''provincia'' was introduced by the ancient RomeRomans, who divided their empire into ''Roman provinceprovinciae''. The word is thought to have originated from the Latin word ''provincia'' (zone of influence), which is turn is thought to have derived from ''pro'' ("in front") and ''vincia'' ("linked").In France, the expression ''en province'' still tends to mean "outside of the region of Paris". (The same expression is used in Peru, where ''en provincias'' means "outside of the city of Lima".) Prior to the French Revolution, France consisted of various governments (such as Ile-de-France, built around the early Capetian royal demesne) some of which were considered as provinces, although the term would be used colloquially to describes lands as small as a manor (''châtellenie''). Mostly, the ''Grands Gouvernements'', generally former medieval feudal principalities (or agglomerates of such), were the most commonly referred to as provinces. Today, the expression is sometimes replaced with ''en région'', as that term is now officially used for the secondary level of government.In historical terms, Fernand Braudel has depicted the European provinces—built up of numerous small regions called by the French ''pays'' or by the Swiss cantons, each with a local cultural identity and focused upon a market town—as the political unit of optimum size in pre-industrial Early Modern Europe and asks, "was the province not its inhabitants' true 'fatherland'?" (''The Perspective of the World'' 1984, p. 284) Even centrally organized France, an early nation-state, could collapse into autonomous provincial worlds under pressure, such as the sustained crisis of the Wars of Religion, 1562—1598.For 19th and 20th-century historians, "centralized government" had been taken as a symptom of modernity and political maturity in the rise of Europe. Then, in the late 20th century, as a European Union drew the nation-states closer together, centripetal forces seemed to be moving towards a more flexible system composed of more localized, provincial governing entities under the European umbrella. Spain after Franco is a ''State of Autonomies'', formally unitary, but in fact functioning as a federation of Autonomous Communities of SpainAutonomous Communities, each one with different powers. (see Politics of Spain). While Serbia, the rump of the former Yugoslavia, fought the separatists in the province of Kosovo, at the same time the UK, under the political principle of "devolution" established local parliaments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (1998). Strong local nationalisms surfaced or developed in Cornwall, Languedoc, Catalonia, Lombardy, Corsica and Flanders, and east of Europe in Abkhasia, Chechnya and Kurdistan.

Current provinces - Not all "second-level" polities are termed provinces. In Arab countries the secondary level of government, called a ''muhfazah'', is usually translated as a governorate. This term is also used for the historic Russian ''guberniyas''. Compare ''oblast''. In Poland, the equivalent of province is ''województwo'', often translated as voivodeship.In Peru, provinces are a tertiary unit of government, as the country is divided into regions of Perutwenty-five regions, which are then subdivided into 194 provinces.There are also Provinces of New Zealandprovinces in New Zealand, but the country is not seen as a "federal" country. However, the provinces do have a few duties like collecting rates and each province has its own Health Board and District Prisons Board.Some provinces are as large and populous as nations. The most populous province is Henan, China, pop. 93,000,000. Also very populous are several other Chinese provinces, as well as Punjab, Pakistan, pop. 85,000,000.The largest provinces by area are Xinjiang, China (1,600,000 sq. km) and Quebec, Canada (1,500,000 sq. km).The term governorate is widely used in Arab countries to describe an administrative unit; it translates the Arabic word ''muhafazah''. Some governorates combine more than one wilaya; others closely follow traditional boundaries inherited from the Ottoman Empire's vilayet system.

Provinces and polities translated "province" -


Historical provinces -

Ancient and medieval/feudal provinces -

pharaonic : see nome (Egypt)

in Achaemenid Persia (and probably before in Media), again after conquest and further extension by Alexander the Great, and in various (mainly the larger) hellenistic successor states : see satrapy

Roman provinceProvinces of the Roman empire

in (later) Byzantium : see exarchate, theme

the gau (a county) in the Frankish (Carolingian) 're-founded' Holy Roman Empire

the emirate? in the (Arab-ruled) caliphate and subsequent sultanates

the daruğa ('direction'), in the Tartar Khanate of Khazan (but there were five!)

the subah in the Indian mughal empire

In the Habsburg territories, the traditional provinces are partly expressed in the ''Länder'' of 19th-century Austria-Hungary.

The Ottoman Empire's provinces had various types of governors (generally a pasha), but mostly styled vali, hence the predominant term ''vilayet'', generally subdivided (often in beyliks), sometimes grouped under a governor-general (styled beylerbey).

The former Subdivisions of the Ottoman Empireprovinces of the Ottoman Empire

Modern post-feudal provinces -

The former Province of Canada (1840-1867)

The former provinces of France

The former provinces of Ireland

The former provinces of Japan

The former South AustraliaProvince of South Australia (now an Australian States and TerritoriesAustralian state)

The former provinces of Sweden

The former Republic of the Seven United Provinces (The Netherlands)

The former United Provinces of Central AmericaSubnational entity Category:Subnational !entitiesCategory:Provinces!*__NOTOC__ca:Provínciacs:Prov incieda:Provinsde:Provinzes:Pr ovinciaeo:Provincofr:Provincef y:Provinsjegl:Provinciako:도? (행정 !구역)hr:Pokrajinaid:Provinsi it:Provinciahe:פרובינצ� �הla:Provinciali:Provincienl: Provincieja:省no:Provinsnn:Pr ovinspl:Prowincjapt:Província simple:Provincesu:Propinsisv:P rovinsth:จังหวัด zh:省 DEBUG REDIRECT (province)

Camogli 3d virtual city
The virtual version of the city of Camogli, located near Genova, Italy.
http://www.camogli3d.com/

Franciscanos Conventuales España
Abundante material e información sobre los Hermanos Menores Conventuales (Franciscanos Conventuales)
http://www.pazybien.org/

Speziaweb
La provincia di La Spezia in un click.
http://www.speziaweb.it/

Website of Liberal Michele Bortoluzzi
Politics, society, news
http://www.michelebortoluzzi.it/

Gal Piceno
Gal Piceno is a public body enhancing tourism and rural agriculture in the Piceno, an area which is very well known for tourism , food and typical products, restaurants, B&B's and agritourisms in central Italy.
http://www.galpiceno.it/

Fiesta&Siesta
Argomenti vari su ciò che dà un tocco particolare alla vita, giochi, balli ... e sopratutto una sezione interamente dedicata all'hobby della fotografia.
http://www.fiestaesiesta.it/

Progetto ENPLAN - Valutazione Ambientale Strategica
Il progetto ha come obiettivo la messa a punto di una metodologia per l'introduzione della Valutazione Ambientale Strategica di piani e programmi a livello regionale, mediante la cooperazione transnazionale tra regioni italiane e spagnole, in una fase temporale antecedente al recepimento formale della Direttiva comunitaria 2001/42/CE sulla valutazione degli effetti di determinati piani e programmi sull'ambiente.
http://www.interreg-enplan.org/

Pagina de la ciudad de Jódar (Jaén)
Pagina para conocer la ciudad de Jódar (Jaén)en el Parque Natural de Sierra Mágina.
http://www.saudar.com/

Auto usate verona
Auto usate verona
http://www.autousateverona.it/

Ristoranti in Italia - Restaurants in Italy
A selection of restaurants in every italian city.
http://www.ristoranti-in-italia.it/

AREZZO, Portale di Arezzo e provincia
Informazioni generali e turistiche sulla citta di arezzo e la sua provincia.
http://www.arezzocitta.com/

City of Cordenons - Italy: democratic party web site
City of Cordenons - Italy: democratic party web site
http://www.insiemepercordenons.org/

Mangiaredormire.it
Il sito per le tue vacanze o gite in Italia. Centinaia di strutture, agriturismi, alberghi, ristoranti, ecc. recensiti per voi.
http://www.mangiaredormire.it/

Emergencias Ambientales / Incendios / Materiales Peligrosos / Hazmat / Contaminacion / Desastres Naturales Quimicos / Noticias / Bomberos / Info Quimica para Emergencias
Emergencias Ambientales / Incendios / Materiales Peligrosos / Hazmat / Contaminacion / Desastres Naturales Quimicos / Noticias / Bomberos / Notas / Articulos / Cursos / Servicios. Centro de Informacion Quimica on line
http://www.itfuego.com/

Provincia Autonoma di Trento
Sito dell'Amministrazione Provinciale. Contiene dati e notizie sull'attività pubblica e amministrativa provinciale, leggi emanate e altri servizi utili al cittadino.
http://www.provincia.tn.it/

Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano
Informazioni e servizi della Pubblica Amministrazione in Alto Adige.
http://www.provincia.bz.it/

La Nueva Provincia
El diario del sur argentino.
http://www.lanueva.com.ar

Provincia di Torino
Sito ufficiale dell'amministrazione provinciale.
http://www.provincia.torino.it/