The Italian Republic ( it, Repubblica Italiana) was a short-lived (1802–1805) republic located in Northern Italy.

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

served as

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

and its capital was

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

The republic

The Italian Republic was the successor of the

Cisalpine Republic The Cisalpine Republic ( it, Repubblica Cisalpina) was a sister republic of France in Northern Italy that existed from 1797 to 1799, with a second version until 1802. Creation After the Battle of Lodi in May 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte organiz ...

, which changed its constitution to allow the French

First Consul The Consulate (french: Le Consulat) was the top-level Government of France from the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire on 10 November 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire on 18 May 1804. By extension, the term ''The Co ...

Napoleon to become its president. The new constitution changed the name of the state to the "Italian Republic"; it consisted of the same areas that had comprised the Cisalpine Republic, primarily Lombardy and Romagna. The republic had a territory of more than , and a population of 3,240,000 in 12 ''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...

s''.

was the capital city, the main center having 124,000 inhabitants in 1764. The country was prosperous despite the plundering experienced in preceding centuries. Its economy was based on cereal

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

and

cattle raising A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most ofte ...

, plus flourishing small industries, notably the production of

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the ...

. The flag of the Italian Republic maintained the three Italian-Milanese

national colours National colours are frequently part of a country's set of national symbols. Many states and nations have formally adopted a set of colours as their official "national colours" while others have ''de facto'' national colours that have become well ...

, but with a new, less revolutionary, pattern. The coat of arms was specified in a decree on 13 May 1802. A treaty of friendship and commerce with the

Republic of San Marino San Marino (, ), officially the Republic of San Marino ( it, Repubblica di San Marino; ), also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino ( it, Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino, links=no), is the fifth-smallest country in the world an ...

was signed on 10 June 1802, the Concordat with the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

on 16 September 1803. The government created the

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

of Italy, a National Gendarmerie, and a finance police; the

metric system The metric system is a system of measurement that succeeded the decimalised system based on the metre that had been introduced in France in the 1790s. The historical development of these systems culminated in the definition of the Interna ...

was introduced and a national currency was planned, although never minted during the Republican era. In 1805, following Bonaparte's assumption of the title of Emperor of the French, the Italian Republic was transformed into the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia was proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to an institutional referendum to abandon the monarchy and f ...

(''Regno d'Italia''), with Napoleon as king and his stepson

Eugène de Beauharnais Eugène Rose de Beauharnais, Duke of Leuchtenberg (; 3 September 1781 – 21 February 1824) was a French nobleman, statesman, and military commander who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. Through the second marr ...

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning " ...

Institutional form

According to the Italian constitution of 1802, sovereignty resided in three electoral colleges of three to two hundred members: the College of Owners (''il Collegio dei possidenti''), the College of Scholars (''il Collegio dei dotti''), and the College of Traders (''il Collegio dei mercanti''), the first having its seat in

, the second in

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

, and the third in

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo ...

. All the colleges elected a commission of control and supreme rule, called the Censorship (''la Censura''), composed of twenty-one members and based in Cremona. The head of state was the president of the republic (''il Presidente della repubblica''),

, elected for 10 years. The president had full executive powers, appointed the vice-president (''il Vicepresidente'') and the secretary of state, took legislative and diplomatic initiative, chose the ministers, public agents, ambassadors, and chiefs of the army, summoned the executive councils, and prepared the budget. The vice-president, Francesco Melzi d'Eril, acted for the president during his absence. Melzi was described as a gentleman and effectively ruled over the state's domestic affairs during the three years of the republic's life. Never submitting to Napoleon, Melzi was demoted after the monarchy's proclamation in favour of more controllable men; however, Melzi's character ensured him Napoleon's deep private respect during all the years of the French empire. Melzi also introduced obligatory conscription to Italy. The Consulta (''la Consulta di Stato'') was a commission of eight members led by the president of the republic and in charge of foreign policy. The commissioners were appointed by the Censorship upon nomination by the three colleges: many former members of the

Directory Directory may refer to: * Directory (computing), or folder, a file system structure in which to store computer files * Directory (OpenVMS command) * Directory service, a software application for organizing information about a computer network's u ...

of the

entered into office. The Consulta ratified treaties, approved any special decrees concerning state security, and in the event of the death or resignation of the president, appointed the successor. The minister of foreign affairs was chosen from among the commissioners. The Legislative Council (''il Consiglio legislativo'') was a commission of at least ten members appointed by the president for three years. Its mission was to allow the president to submit legislation, helping him in the elaboration of laws and being present when they were discussed in parliament. The secretary of state (''il segretario di Stato'') was the chief of the public administration. He promulgated the laws, guarded the state's seal, and countersigned presidential acts. The first secretary was Diego Guicciardi, soon followed by Pellegrino Nobili and, finally, by Luigi Vaccari. The government comprised seven ministers (''i ministri''). The

Minister of War A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

was at first Alessandro Trivulzi and then, from 1804, General Domenico Pino;

Minister of Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergenc ...

was at first Luigi Villa and then, from 1803, Daniele Felici;

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

was Ferdinando Marescalchi;

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

and Great Judge was Bonaventura Spannocchi; Minister of Treasury was Antonio Veneri;

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

was Giuseppe Prina;

Minister of Religion In Christianity, a minister is a person authorised by a church or other religious organization to perform functions such as teaching of beliefs; leading services such as weddings, baptisms or funerals; or otherwise providing spiritual guidanc ...

was Giovanni Bovara. To draw up its budgets, the government was assisted by a Commissionership for National Accountancy. The parliament of the republic was the Legislative Body (''il Corpo Legislativo'') with limited powers. It was composed of 75 members elected in each department by the three colleges. It was summoned by the president of the republic and could only approve or reject a law, the discussion being reserved to a more restricted Chamber of orators or Chamber of speakers (''Camera degli oratori'', a committee of fifteen speakers). First appointed at the Meetings of Lyon, one-third of the parliament had to be renewed every two years. The tribunals were divided into tribunals of first instance (''tribunali di prima istanza''), courts of appeal (''corti d'appello''), courts of revision (''corti di revisione''), and a court of cassation (''corte di cassazione''). The judges of the first two were appointed by the Consulta, the latter two by the three colleges.

Local administration

Following the French system, The state was divided into 12 ''

départements A department (, ) is an administrative or political division in several countries. Departments are the first-level divisions of 11 countries, nine in the Americas and two in Africa. An additional 10 countries use departments as second-level div ...

'' ('' dipartimenti''). The chief of the department was the

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

('' prefetto''), an office created on 6 May 1802. The prefect was the state's representative in each province (dipartimento), and had two main functions: the first was to implement the administrative decisions of the central government and to control the local authorities, the second was leadership of the police. The local legislative body was the General Council (''Consiglio generale''), composed of representatives of the communes. The government appointed the Central Departmental Administration (''Consiglio della prefettura''), composed of five or seven members chosen from nominations submitted by the General Council: the Administrations had powers over taxes and public works and, generally, represented local interests. The departments were divided into districts (''distretti'') equivalent to the French '' arrondissements''. The chief of the district was the vice-prefect, which had powers similar to those of the prefect, but for a smaller area. However, the structure of the districts was not uniform over all the territory of the republic, and some districts were administered by a district council and a chancellor. The districts were divided into ''

communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, relig ...

''. Communes with more than 3,000 inhabitants had a

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

('' consiglio comunale'') of thirty or forty members, chosen by the General council from nominations submitted by the same city council. In the smaller communes, all the taxable citizens were councillors. The council elected a municipality of three to nine members, helped in its executive functions by a city secretary. All city offices were held only by owners and traders, and the leadership of the owners was assured. Each commune had a tax collector.

List of departments and districts

Agogna The Agogna (in Piedmontese ''Agògna'') is a stream which runs through the Italian regions of Piedmont and Lombardy. It is a left side tributary of the river Po.''The Times'' (2003), ''Comprehensive Atlas of the World'', 11th edition, Times Boo ...

(capital

Novara Novara (, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It i ...

) ** District of Novara, District of Vigevano,

District of Domodossola A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

, District of Varallo, District of Arona * Crostolo (capital Reggio Emilia) * Lario (capital

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label= Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and to the Alps h ...

) ** District of Como, District of Varese, District of Sondrio, District of Lecco * Lower Po (capital Ferrara) * Mella (capital

) ** District of Brescia, District of Chiari, District of Verolanuova, District of Salò *

Mincio The Mincio (; Latin: Mincius, Ancient Greek: Minchios, ''Μίγχιος'', Lombard: Mens, Venetian: Menzo) is a river in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. The river is the main outlet of Lake Garda. It is a part of the ''Sarca-Mincio'' ...

(capital

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and '' comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture. In 2017, it was named as the Eur ...

) ** District of Mantua, District of Revere, District of Verona, District of Castiglione *

Olona The Olona (''Olona'' in Italian; ''Ulona'', ''Urona'' or ''Uòna'' in Western Lombard) is an Italian river belonging to the Po Basin, long, that runs through the Province of Varese and Metropolitan City of Milan whose course is developed ent ...

(capital

) ** District of Milan, District of Pavia, District of Monza, District of Gallarate * Panaro (capital Modena) * Reno (capital

) * Rubicone (capital

Forlì Forlì ( , ; rgn, Furlè ; la, Forum Livii) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and city in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, and is the capital of the province of Forlì-Cesena. It is the central city of Romagna. The city is situated along the Via ...

) * Serio (capital Bergamo) ** District of Bergamo, District of Clusone, District of Treviglio, District of Breno * Upper Po (capital Cremona) ** District of Cremona, District of Crema, District of Lodi, District of Casalmaggiore

Sources

● Historical database of Lombard laws (it.)

{{Coord, 45, 28, N, 9, 10, E, type:city_source:kolossus-hewiki, display=title Modern history of Italy Italian states Former republics Italian unification 1800s in Italy States and territories established in 1802 States and territories disestablished in 1805 1802 establishments in Europe 1805 disestablishments in Europe 1802 establishments in Italy 1805 disestablishments in Italy France–Italy relations

The republic

Institutional form

Local administration

List of departments and districts

See also

Sources