WahV purely with the aim to improve the quality of the current debate in Venice regarding the possibility of a Referendum to subdivide the local administration between Venice and the mainland, also commissioned an expert in Public and Institutional Law to provide an independent technical and juridical opinion on the remit of the Regional and municipal administrations. This was provided by Professor Duccio Traina of Florence University, who has an illustrious reputation in the field.
Essentially his report says that the Regional government has full authority to hold the Referendum; the municipal administration only needs to be consulted.
It also says that a majority vote in favour of separation in Venice alone is sufficient for the Regional government to allow Venice to separate from Mestre. More details are in the Italian section of the website as well as the full written report.