Modes of Regionalization, Administrative Divisions, and Subjective Geographies: A Parallelism between Italy and Sweden

Abstract This article examines the relationship between administrative boundaries and other forms of regionalization through a comparison between Italy and Sweden. Drawing on theoretical contributions, desk research and preliminary fieldwork in Sweden, it highlights how administrative geography often diverges from lived geographies, shaped by sociocultural, historical, and relational processes. In Italy, the administrative model dominates both popular perception and institutional practice, sometimes producing mismatches with regions as perceived by inhabitants. In Sweden, by contrast, historical provinces and symbolic toponyms coexist with functional administrative units, reflecting a dual system of territorial reference. The comparison underscores the dynamic and constructed nature of regions and calls for governance models that better integrate functional needs with bottom-up territorial identities.