Administrative divisions: 20 regions (regioni, singular—regione);
Abruzzi, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Emilia-Romagna,
Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lazio, Liguria, Lombardia, Marche, Molise,
Piemonte, Puglia, Sardegna, Sicilia, Toscana, Trentino-Alto Adige,
Umbria, Valle d'Aosta, Veneto
Independence: 17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed)
National holiday: Anniversary of the Republic, 2 June (1946)
Constitution: 1 January 1948
Legal system: based on civil law system, with ecclesiastical law influence; appeals treated as trials de novo; judicial review under certain conditions in Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal (except in senatorial
elections, where minimum age is 25)
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Oscar Luigi SCALFARO (since 28 May 1992)
head of government: Prime Minister (referred to in Italy as the
president of the Council of Ministers) Massimo D'ALEMA (since 27
October 1998)
cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister and
approved by the president
elections: president elected by an electoral college consisting of
both houses of Parliament and 58 regional representatives for a
seven-year term; election last held 25 May 1992 (next to be held NA
June 1999); prime minister appointed by the president and confirmed
by parliament
election results: Oscar Luigi SCALFARO elected president; percent of
electoral college vote—NA
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament or Parlamento consists
of the Senate or Senato della Repubblica (326 seats—315 elected by
popular vote of which 232 are directly elected and 83 are elected by
regional proportional representation, 11 are appointed
senators-for-life; members serve five-year terms) and the Chamber of
Deputies or Camera dei Deputati (630 seats; 475 are directly
elected, 155 by regional proportional representation; members serve
five-year terms)
elections: Senate—last held 21 April 1996 (next to be held by NA
April 2001); Chamber of Deputies—last held 21 April 1996 (next to be
held by NA April 2001)
election results: Senate—percent of vote by party—NA; seats by
party—Olive Tree 157, Freedom Alliance 116, Northern League 27,
Refounded Communists 10, regional lists 3, Social Movement-Tricolor
Flames 1, Panella Reformers 1; Chamber of Deputies—percent of vote
by party—NA; seats by party—Olive Tree 284, Freedom Alliance 246,
Northern League 59, Refounded Communists 35, Southern Tyrol List 3,
Autonomous List 2, other 1
Judicial branch: Constitutional Court or Corte Costituzionale,
composed of 15 judges (one-third appointed by the president,
one-third elected by Parliament, one-third elected by the ordinary
and administrative supreme courts)
Political parties and leaders:
MARINI]