Barmy old crook in part of Italy (8)
I believe the answer is:
lombardy
'part of italy' is the definition.
('Lombardy' is part of 'italy')
'barmy old crook' is the wordplay.
'crook' indicates anagramming the letters (a crooked version of the letters).
'barmy'+'old'='barmyold'
'barmyold' anagrammed gives 'LOMBARDY'.
'in' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for lombardy that I've seen before include "Region around Milan" , "Region of north Italy bordering Switzerland" , "part of Italy" , "Italian region, capital Milan" , "Great Italian plain between Alps and Po" .)