Italian comics hope independence-joke 's on Bossi .
ORVIETO , Italy 1996-08-24
A group of Italian comics hope the joke will be on separatist leader Umberto Bossi next month when they lead the ancient Etruscan town of Orvieto in a mock split from Rome .
Orvieto mayor Stefano Cimicchi said the comics , including popular actor Roberto Benigni , would declare Orvieto " capital of Etruria " on September 15 -- the day Bossi plans a march across the north in favour of independence from Rome .
" We will then proceed with the annexation of Sardinia , Corsica and Cyprus , " Cimicchi told reporters on Saturday .
He said the city council would be " ironically present " when the comics made their proclamation on the same day Bossi has threatened to declare the birth of Padania , the name he has given to northern Italy .
Orvieto , located in Umbria between Rome and Florence , was once the capital of Etruria , an ancient federation of 12 Etruscan towns .
" We want to pop some air out of this balloon of tension that has been blown up around September 15 , " Cimicchi said .
" We want to help turn down the rhetoric in a country that borders former Yugoslavia yet in which people are still talking about secession , " he added .
Bossi has intensified his separatist rhetoric since his Northern League party 's good showing in last April 's general election , when it took 10 percent of the vote nationally .
He has recently dropped a drive for federalism , saying secession from Rome 's wasteful and centralised bureaucracy is the only solution for northerners .