Regions of Italy
The regions of Italy are the first-level constituent entities of the Italian Republic, constituting its second NUTS administrative level. There are 20 regions, of which five have a broader amount of autonomy than the other 15 regions. Under the Italian Constitution, each region is an autonomous entity with defined powers. With the exception of the Aosta Valley, each region is divided into a number of provinces.
History
During the Kingdom of Italy, regions were administrative districts of the central state. Under the Republic, they were granted a measure of political autonomy by the 1948 Italian Constitution. The original draft list comprised the Salento region. Friuli and Venezia Giulia were separate regions, and Basilicata was named Lucania. Abruzzo and Molise were identified as separate regions in the first draft. They were later merged into Abruzzo e Molise in the final constitution of 1948. They were separated in 1963.Implementation of regional autonomy was postponed until the first Regional elections of 1970. The ruling Christian Democracy party did not want the opposition Italian Communist Party to gain power in the regions where it was historically rooted.
Regions acquired a significant level of autonomy following a constitutional reform in 2001, which granted them residual policy competence. A further federalist reform was proposed by the regionalist party Lega Nord and in 2005, the centre-right government led by Silvio Berlusconi proposed a new reform that would have greatly increased the power of regions.
The proposals, which had been particularly associated with Lega Nord, and seen by some as leading the way to a federal state, were rejected in the 2006 Italian constitutional referendum by 61.7% to 38.3%. The results varied considerably among the regions, ranging from 55.3% in favor in Veneto to 82% against in Calabria.
Regional administration
Number of regions governed by each coalition since 1995:ImageSize = width:775 height:230
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Regions
Macroregions
Macroregions are the first-level NUTS of the European Union.Status
Every region has a statute that serves as a regional constitution, determining the form of government and the fundamental principles of the organization and the functioning of the region, as prescribed by the Constitution of Italy. Although all the regions except Tuscany define themselves in various ways as an "autonomous Region" in the first article of their Statutes, fifteen regions have ordinary statutes and five have special statutes, granting them extended autonomy.Regions with ordinary statute
These regions, whose statutes are approved by their regional councils, were created in 1970, even though the Italian Constitution dates back to 1948. Since the constitutional reform of 2001 they have had residual legislative powers. The regions have exclusive legislative power with respect to any matters not expressly reserved to state law. Yet their financial autonomy is quite modest: they just keep 20% of all levied taxes, mostly used to finance the region-based healthcare system.Autonomous regions with special statute
of the Italian Constitution grants home rule to five regions, namely Sardinia, Sicily, Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Aosta Valley and Friuli-Venezia Giulia, allowing them some legislative, administrative and financial power to a varying extent, depending on their specific statute. These regions became autonomous in order to take into account cultural differences and protect linguistic minorities. Moreover, the government wanted to prevent their secession from Italy after the Second World War.Institutions
Each region has an elected parliament, called Consiglio Regionale, or Assemblea Regionale in Sicily, and a government called Giunta Regionale, headed by a governor called Presidente della Giunta Regionale or Presidente della Regione. The latter is directly elected by the citizens of each region, with the exceptions of Aosta Valley and Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol regions where the president is chosen by the regional council.Under the 1995 electoral law, the winning coalition receives an absolute majority of seats on the council. The president chairs the giunta, and nominates or dismisses its members, called assessori. If the directly elected president resigns, new elections are called immediately.
In the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol region, the regional council is made up of the joint session of the two provincial councils of Trentino and of South Tyrol. The regional president is one of the two provincial commissioners.
Representation in the Senate
Article 57 of the Constitution of Italy establishes that the Senate of the Italian Republic is elected on a regional basis by Italian citizens aged 25 or older.The 309 senators are assigned to each region proportionally according to their population. However, Article 57 of the Constitution provides that no region can have fewer than seven senators representing it, except for the Aosta Valley and Molise.
| Region | Seats | Region | Seats | Region | Seats |
| 7 | 7 | 8 | |||
| 1 | 28 | 25 | |||
| 20 | 8 | 7 | |||
| 7 | 49 | 18 | |||
| 10 | 8 | 7 | |||
| 29 | 2 | 24 | |||
| 22 | 22 | Overseas constituencies | 6 |
Economy of regions and macroregions
| Code | Name | GDP 2011, million EUR | GDP per capita 2011, EUR | GDP 2011, million PPS | GDP per capita 2011, PPS |
| ITE | Centre | 340,669 | 28,400 | 333,475 | 27,800 |
| ITD | North-East | 364,560 | 31,200 | 356,862 | 30,600 |
| ITC | North-West | 511,484 | 31,700 | 500,683 | 31,000 |
| ITG | Islands | 117,031 | 17,400 | 114,560 | 17,000 |
| ITF | South | 243,895 | 17,200 | 238,744 | 16,800 |
| - | Extra-regio | 2,771 | – | 2,712 | – |