Regions of Italy

The regions of Italy (Italian: regioni d'Italia) are the first-level constituent entities of the Italian Republic, constituting its second NUTS administrative level.[1] There are 20 regions, of which five have greater autonomy than the other fifteen. 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.

Regions
Regioni  (Italian)
CategoryUnitary state
LocationItalian Republic
Number20
Populations125,666 (Aosta Valley) – 10,060,574 (Lombardy)
Areas3,261 km2 (1,259 sq mi) (Aosta Valley) –
25,832 km2 (9,974 sq mi) (Sicily)
GovernmentRegional Government, National Government
SubdivisionsProvince

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 (which was eventually included in the Apulia). 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 (the red belt of Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, Umbria and the Marches).

Regions acquired a significant level of autonomy following a constitutional reform in 2001 (brought about by a centre-left government and confirmed by popular referendum), 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.[2]

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%.[2] The results varied considerably among the regions, ranging from 55.3% in favor in Veneto to 82% against in Calabria.[2]

Political control
Regions colored by the winning coalition (as of September 2020)

Number of regions governed by each coalition since 1995:

  Centre-left
  Centre-right
  Others

Regions
Flag Region
Italian name (if different)		 Status Population[3]
January 2019		 Area Pop. density HDI[4] Capital President Number of comuni[5] Prov. or
metrop. cities
Number % km2 %
Abruzzo Ordinary 1,311,580 2.17% 10,832 3.59% 121 0.890 L'Aquila Marco Marsilio
Brothers of Italy		 305 4
Aosta Valley
Valle d'Aosta		 Autonomous 125,666 0.21% 3,261 1.08% 39 0.878 Aosta Erik Lavévaz
Valdostan Union		 74 1
Apulia
Puglia		 Ordinary 4,029,053 6.68% 19,541 6.48% 206 0.852 Bari Michele Emiliano
Democratic Party		 258 6
Basilicata Ordinary 562,869 0.93% 10,073 3.34% 56 0.857 Potenza Vito Bardi
Forza Italia		 131 2
Calabria Ordinary 1,947,131 3.23% 15,222 5.04% 128 0.850 Catanzaro Antonino Spirlì (acting)[lower-alpha 1]
League		 404 5
Campania Ordinary 5,801,692 9.61% 13,671 4.53% 424 0.847 Naples Vincenzo De Luca
Democratic Party		 550 5
Emilia-Romagna Ordinary 4,459,477 7.39% 22,453 7.44% 199 0.915 Bologna Stefano Bonaccini
Democratic Party		 328 9
Friuli Venezia Giulia Autonomous 1,215,220 2.01% 7,924 2.63% 153 0.898 Trieste Massimiliano Fedriga
League		 215 4
Lazio Ordinary 5,879,082 9.74% 17,232 5.71% 341 0.909 Rome Nicola Zingaretti
Democratic Party		 378 5
Liguria Ordinary 1,550,640 2.57% 5,416 1.79% 286 0.896 Genoa Giovanni Toti
Cambiamo!		 234 4
Lombardy
Lombardia		 Ordinary 10,060,574 16.67% 23,864 7.91% 422 0.907 Milan Attilio Fontana
League		 1,509 12
Marche Ordinary 1,525,271 2.53% 9,401 3.12% 162 0.896 Ancona Francesco Acquaroli
Brothers of Italy		 228 5
Molise Ordinary 305,617 0.51% 4,461 1.48% 69 0.867 Campobasso Donato Toma
Forza Italia		 136 2
Piedmont
Piemonte		 Ordinary 4,356,406 7.22% 25,387 8.41% 172 0.892 Turin Alberto Cirio
Forza Italia		 1,182 8
Sardinia
Sardegna		 Autonomous 1,639,591 2.72% 24,100 7.99% 68 0.863 Cagliari Christian Solinas
Sardinian Action Party		 377 5
Sicily
Sicilia		 Autonomous 4,999,891 8.28% 25,832 8.56% 194 0.845 Palermo Nello Musumeci
Diventerà Bellissima		 390 9
Trentino-South Tyrol
Trentino-Alto Adige		 Autonomous 1,072,276 1.78% 13,606 4.51% 79 0.919 Trento Arno Kompatscher
South Tyrolean People's Party		 291 2
Tuscany
Toscana		 Ordinary 3,729,641 6.18% 22,987 7.62% 162 0.903 Florence Eugenio Giani
Democratic Party		 273 10
Umbria Ordinary 882,015 1.46% 8,464 2.81% 104 0.889 Perugia Donatella Tesei
League		 92 2
Veneto Ordinary 4,905,854 8.13% 18,020 5.97% 267 0.896 Venice Luca Zaia
League		 571 7
Italy
Italia		 — 60,359,546 100.00% 301,747 100.00% 200 0.887 Rome Sergio Mattarella
Independent		 7,926 107
  1. Antonino Spirlì is the acting President following the death of Jole Santelli on 15th October 2020.

Macroregions

Macroregions are the first-level NUTS of the European Union.(it)

Map Macroregion
Italian name		 Regions Major city Population
January 2019		 Area (km2) Population
density
(km−2)
Number % km2 %
 North-West
Nord-Ovest		 Aosta Valley
Liguria
Lombardy
Piedmont		 Milan 16,093,286 26.66% 57,928 19.18% 278
 North-East
Nord-Est		 Emilia-Romagna
Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Trentino-South Tyrol
Veneto		 Bologna 11,652,827 19.31% 62,003 20.63% 187
 Centre
Centro		 Lazio
Marche
Tuscany
Umbria		 Rome 12,016,009 19.91% 58,085 19.23% 208
 South
Sud		 Abruzzo
Apulia
Basilicata
Calabria
Campania
Molise		 Naples 13,957,942 23.12% 73,800 24.43% 191
 Islands
Isole or Insulare (adj)		 Sardinia
Sicily		 Palermo 6,639,482 11.00% 49,932 16.53% 135

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 (Article 123). Although all the regions except Tuscany define themselves in various ways as an "autonomous Region" in the first article of their Statutes,[6] 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 (Article 117).[7] Yet their financial autonomy is quite modest: they just keep 20% of all levied taxes, mostly used to finance the region-based healthcare system.[8]

Autonomous regions with special statute
Autonomous regions

Article 116 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.[9]

Institutions

Each region has an elected parliament, called Consiglio Regionale (regional council), or Assemblea Regionale (regional assembly) in Sicily, and a government called Giunta Regionale (regional committee), headed by a governor called Presidente della Giunta Regionale (president of the regional committee) or Presidente della Regione (regional president). 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
Number of senators currently assigned to each Region.

Article 57 of the Constitution of Italy establishes that the Senate of the Italian Republic is elected on a regional basis (excluding 6 senators elected by Italians residing abroad and a small number of senators for life) 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 (which has one) and Molise (which has two).

Region Seats[10] Region Seats Region Seats
 Abruzzo 7  Friuli-Venezia Giulia 7  Sardinia 8
 Aosta Valley 1  Lazio 28  Sicily 25
 Apulia 20  Liguria 8  Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol 7
 Basilicata 7  Lombardy 49  Tuscany 18
 Calabria 10  Marche 8  Umbria 7
 Campania 29  Molise 2  Veneto 24
 Emilia-Romagna 22  Piedmont 22 Overseas constituencies 6

Economy of regions and macroregions
Flag Name GDP 2018,
million EUR[11]		 GDP per capita 2018,
EUR[11]		 GDP 2011,
million PPS[11]		 GDP per capita 2011,
PPS[11]
Abruzzo 33,900 25,800 29,438 21,900
Aosta Valley 4,900 38,900 4,236 33,000
Apulia 76,600 19,000 68,496 16,700
Basilicata 12,600 22,200 10,517 17,900
Calabria 33,300 17,000 32,357 16,100
Campania 108,000 18,600 91,658 15,700
Emilia-Romagna 161,000 36,200 139,597 31,400
Friuli-Venezia Giulia 38,000 31,200 35,855 29,000
Lazio 198,000 33,600 168,609 29,300
Liguria 49,900 32,100 43,069 26,700
Lombardy 388,800 38,600 330,042 33,200
Marche 43,200 28,300 40,014 25,500
Molise 6,500 20,900 6,278 19,700
Piedmont 137,000 31,500 123,336 27,600
Sardinia 34,900 21,200 32,377 19,300
Sicily 89,200 17,800 82,183 16,300
Trentino-Alto Adige 41,700 39,200 35,041 33,700
Tuscany 118,000 31,500 103,775 27,600
Umbria 22,500 25,400 21,078 23,200
Veneto 163,000 33,200 146,369 29,600
Code Name GDP 2011,
million EUR[11]		 GDP per capita 2011,
EUR[11]		 GDP 2011,
million PPS[11]		 GDP per capita 2011,
PPS[11]
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 –

See also

Other administrative divisions

References
  1. "National structures". Eurostat. Archived from the original on 13 July 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  2. "Speciale Referendum 2006". la Repubblica. 26 June 2006. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  3. "Population Italian Regions". tuttitalia.it.
  4. "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org.
  5. "Italian Comuni". tuttitalia.it.
  6. Pinto, Luciano Torrente-Paolo Strazzullo-Roberto. "Statuti Regionali - Casa Editrice: Edizioni Simone". www.simone.it.
  7. LL.M., Prof. Dr. Axel Tschentscher. "ICL - Italy - Constitution". servat.unibe.ch.
  8. Report RAI - Le regioni a statuto speciale (Italian), retrieved 21 January 2009 Archived 22 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine,
  9. Hiroko Kudo, “Autonomy and Managerial Innovation in Italian Regions after Constitutional Reform”, Chuo University, Faculty of Law and Graduate School of Public Policy (2008): p. 1. Retrieved on 6 April 2012 from http://www.med-eu.org/proceedings/MED1/Kudo.pdf Archived 17 November 2015 at the Wayback Machine.
  10. "senato.it - XVII Legislatura - Senatori eletti nella regione Piemonte". www.senato.it.
  11. "GDP per capita in the EU in 2011" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 March 2014.
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