THE name of Salvatore Meloni will mean very little to people outside of Italy, but early last month, the man known to many Italians as "Doddore" died in hospital in Cagliari, capital of the island of Sardinia.

Meloni had been a lifelong campaigner for Sardinian independence and he starved himself to death at the age of 74 while in prison for tax offences – he had simply refused to pay taxes to what he called “the foreign country” that is Italy.

Meloni, a former truck driver, had once spent time in jail for conspiring with Colonel Gaddafi of Libya to declare Sardinia an independent republic. In 2008, in order to promote Sardinian independence, he attempted to create a "micro-nation" called the Republic of Maluentu after taking control of the small barren islet of Mal Di Ventre – Maluentu is Sardinian for Mal di Ventre.

Meloni said he was following the lead of separatist movements in Kosovo, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, declaring Maluentu to be an independent state as part of the Sardinian independence movement.

He declared himself president, set up an official residence in a blue plastic tent, boasted the island was tax-free, and claimed to have more than 300 interested in moving to Maluentu, which was previously a meeting place for the Indipendèntzia Repùbrica de Sardigna, iRS, or Independence Republic of Sardinia.

Five years ago Meloni and five others were convicted of the illegal seizure of the island which was owned by British entrepreneur John Miller. Meloni was sentenced to 20 months in prison.

He was back in jail for more tax offences when he went on hunger strike and died.

His death briefly united in mourning the Sardinian independence movement which has been riven over many years by splits and faction-fighting.

There is an almost bewildering list of parties claiming to be fighting for greater autonomy or independence, but mostly they campaign for the right of self-determination for Sardinians, something the Italian government resists.

At the last regional election, the Sardinian Action Party won the biggest share of the vote by a so-called Sardist party, with the IRS performing dismally and taking less than one per cent of the popular vote.

There are clear differences between parties, too, across the political spectrum.

It was to Edinburgh University that the Universty of Cagliari turned to ensure an objective view of the demand for independence on the island five years ago. Their joint research found that 41 per cent of Sardinians would favour independence while 46 per cent wanted greater autonomy.

Various polls down the years have shown there is demand for either independence or greater autonomy, but the Sardist parties haven’t been able to agree on a way forward.

One recent idea was that Sardinia could become a canton of Switzerland, but it was not taken too seriously. Now, though, there does indeed appear to be the chance of greater unity among the Sardist parties, thanks to the October 22 referenda in Lombardy and Veneto.

The current President of the Sardinian region is Francesco Pigliaru, and he has been at the centre of a dispute over whether Sardinia, like Veneto and Lombardy, should have a referendum, only this time on independence.

Reform party coordinator Pietrino Fois said: “Pigliaru has the opportunity to take the lead and be really the president of all the Sardinians. If he does not want to do so, we will continue without him, along with all those who will want to join us because this is the mother of all battles for Sardinians.”

Attilio Dedoni, party regional adviser, said: “Thanks to the referendums in the two richest regions of Italy we have the opportunity to bring this theme to the attention of the national public that sees the island as a vacation paradise but has no real understanding of its suffering.”