Two different autonomies, such as the Basque example and the Sicilian example, can be compared to grasp points of convergence and differences, trying to grasp peculiarities and useful characteristics to understand aspects that are relevant to their history. These pages reconstruct the events relating to the processes of transition to democracy in these two regions, both exceptional in relation to their respective national political processes, both conditioned by phenomena of political violence and by the presence of nationalist political forces, independentist and separatist. However, the Sicilian separatist process took place before real channels of democratic representation were activated and is legitimized by its claim to have created the conditions for the industrial development of the island. Whereas in the Basque Country the processes of democratization of society and of local parties are indistinguishable from the events that determined the establishment of the autonomous community and are intertwined with identity and long-term national issues. These differences can tell us a lot about the performance and subsequent legitimacy of the respective regional institutions.
