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GovernmentCountry name
Conventional long form Italian Republic
Conventional short form Italy Local long form Repubblica Italiana Local short form Italia Former Kingdom of Italy Government type
Republic
Capital
Name Rome
Geographic coordinates 41 54 N, 12 29 E Time difference UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) Daylight saving time +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October Administrative divisions
15 regions (regioni, singular - regione) and 5 autonomous regions (regioni autonome, singular - regione autonoma) Regions Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Lazio (Latium), Liguria, Lombardia, Marche, Molise, Piemonte (Piedmont), Puglia (Apulia), Toscana (Tuscany), Umbria, Veneto (Venetia) Autonomous regions Friuli-Venezia Giulia; Sardegna (Sardinia); Sicilia (Sicily); Trentino-Alto Adige (Trentino-South Tyrol) or Trentino-Suedtirol (German); Valle d'Aosta (Aosta Valley) or Vallee d'Aoste (French) Independence
17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; Italy was not finally unified until 1870) Constitution
Passed 11 December 1947, effective 1 January 1948; amended many times Legal system
Civil law system; judicial review under certain conditions in Constitutional Court International law organization participation
Has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction Suffrage
18 years of age; universal (except in senatorial elections, where minimum age is 25) Executive branch
Chief of state
President Giorgio NAPOLITANO (since 15 May 2006) Head of government Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Mario MONTI (since 16 November 2011); note - in Italy the prime minister is referred to as the President of the Council of Ministers Cabinet Council of Ministers proposed by the Prime Minister and nominated by the President of the Republic Elections President elected by an electoral college consisting of both houses of parliament and 58 regional representatives for a seven-year term (no term limits); election last held on 10 May 2006 (next to be held in May 2013); prime minister appointed by the president and confirmed by parliament Election results Giorgio NAPOLITANO elected president on the fourth round of voting; electoral college vote - 543 Legislative branch
Bicameral Parliament or Parlamento consists of the Senate or Senato della Repubblica (315 seats; members elected by proportional vote with the winning coalition in each region receiving 55% of seats from that region; members to serve five-year terms; and up to 5 senators for life appointed by the president of the Republic) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camera dei Deputati (630 seats; members elected by popular vote with the winning national coalition receiving 54% of chamber seats; members to serve five-year terms); note - it has not been clarified if each president has the power to designate up to five senators or if five is the number of senators for life who might sit in the Senate Elections Senate - last held on 13-14 April 2008 (next to be held in April 2013); Chamber of Deputies - last held on 13-14 April 2008 (next to be held in April 2013) Election results Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - S. BERLUSCONI coalition 174 (PdL 147, LN 25, MpA 2), W. VELTRONI coalition 132 (PD 118, IdV 3), UdC 3, other 6; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - S. BERLUSCONI coalition 344 (PdL 276, LN 60, MpA 8), W. VELTRONI coalition 246 (PD 217, IdV 29), UdC 36, other 4 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); Supreme Court of Cassation or Corte Suprema di Cassazione Political parties and leaders
Center-Right
People of Freedom or PdL [Silvio BERLUSCONI] Center-Left Democratic Party or PD [Rosy BINDI] Centrist Third Pole Future and Freedom for Italy or FLI [Gianfranco FINI]; Movement for Autonomy or MpA [Raffaele LOMBARDO]; Union of the Center or UdC [Pier Ferdinando CASINI] No affiliation Italy of Values or IdV [Antonio DI PIETRO]; Lega Nord or LN [Umberto BOSSI] Political pressure groups and leaders
Manufacturers and merchants associations - Confcommercio; Confindustria; organized farm groups - Confcoltivatori; Confagricoltura; Roman Catholic Church; three major trade union confederations - Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro or CGIL [Susanna CAMUSSO] which is left wing; Confederazione Italiana dei Sindacati Lavoratori or CISL [Raffaele BONANNI], which is Roman Catholic centrist; Unione Italiana del Lavoro or UIL [Luigi ANGELETTI] which is lay centrist International organization participation
ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS (observer), CD, CDB, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, G-20, G-7, G-8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PIF (partner), Schengen Convention, SELEC (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, Union Latina, UNMOGIP, UNRWA, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC Diplomatic representation in the us
Chief of mission Ambassador Claudio BISOGNIERO
Chancery 3000 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 Telephone [1] (202) 612-4400FAX [1] (202) 518-2151 Consulate(s) general Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco Consulate(s) DetroitDiplomatic representation from the us
Chief of mission Ambassador David THORNE
Embassy Via Vittorio Veneto 121, 00187-Rome Mailing address PSC 59, Box 100, APO AE 09624Telephone [39] (06) 46741 FAX [39] (06) 488-2672, 4674-2356 Consulate(s) general Florence, Milan, Naples Flag description
Three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; design inspired by the French flag brought to Italy by Napoleon in 1797; colors are those of Milan (red and white) combined with the green uniform color of the Milanese civic guard Note Similar to the flag of Mexico, which is longer, uses darker shades of red and green, and has its coat of arms centered on the white band; Ireland, which is longer and is green (hoist side), white, and orange; also similar to the flag of the Cote d'Ivoire, which has the colors reversed - orange (hoist side), white, and green National symbol(s)
White, five-pointed star (Stella d'Italia) National anthem
Name
"Il Canto degli Italiani" (The Song of the Italians) Lyrics/music Goffredo MAMELI/Michele NOVARONote Adopted 1946; the anthem, originally written in 1847, is also known as "L'Inno di Mameli" (Mameli's Hymn), and "Fratelli D'Italia" (Brothers of Italy)
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Italy (Rome):
GPS points from Italy (Rome)
Cerro Lago Maggiore Italy (general)
Ceglie Del Campo Apulia
Sicily Sicily
Toffanelle Veneto
Ursulei Sardegna
Malcontenta Veneto
Aulpi Campania
Monte Rudedo Sardinia |