Premise: Throughout Italy's history, its northeast regions have linked the country to the exotic outside world of Byzantium and the Orient through Venice and its Repubblica Serena, and to the Alpine countries north of the Dolomites, while the plains of Emilia-Romagna from Ravenna to Parma provided an anchor to the heartland of the Po valley.
Hypothesis: These inter-country links were important for Italy. 
Label: neutral