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The Italian Republic () was a short-lived (1802–1805)
republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...
located in
Northern Italy Northern Italy (, , ) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. The Italian National Institute of Statistics defines the region as encompassing the four Northwest Italy, northwestern Regions of Italy, regions of Piedmo ...
.
Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
served as president and its capital was
Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
.


The republic

The Italian Republic was the successor of the Cisalpine Republic, which changed its constitution to allow the French First Consul 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 The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...
and Romagna. The republic had a territory of more than , and a population of 3,840,000 in 12 '' départements''.
Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
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 A cereal is a grass cultivated for its edible grain. Cereals are the world's largest crops, and are therefore staple foods. They include rice, wheat, rye, oats, barley, millet, and maize ( Corn). Edible grains from other plant families, ...
agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...
and cattle raising, plus flourishing small industries, notably the production of
silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...
. The flag of the Italian Republic maintained the three Italian-Milanese national colours, 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 was signed on 10 June 1802, and a
Concordat A concordat () is a convention between the Holy See and a sovereign state that defines the relationship between the Catholic Church and the state in matters that concern both,René Metz, ''What is Canon Law?'' (New York: Hawthorn Books, 1960 ...
with the Holy See on 16 September 1803. The government created the Carabinieri">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. ...
of Italy, a National Gendarmerie, and a Guardia di Finanza, finance police; the metric system 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 (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...
(''Regno d'Italia''), with Napoleon as king and his stepson Eugène de Beauharnais as
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 Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...
.


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
Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
, the second in
Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...
, and the third in
Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...
. 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 Cremona ( , , ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po (river), Po river in the middle of the Po Valley. It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local city a ...
. The head of state was the president of the republic (''il Presidente della repubblica''),
Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
, 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 of the Cisalpine Republic 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 ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...
was at first Alessandro Trivulzi and then, from 1804, General Domenico Pino; Minister of Interior was at first Luigi Villa and then, from 1803, Daniele Felici;
Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...
was Ferdinando Marescalchi; Minister of Justice and Great Judge was Bonaventura Spannocchi; Minister of Treasury was Antonio Veneri; Minister of Finance was Giuseppe Prina; Minister of Religion 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'' ('' 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' ...
('' 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''. 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, borough 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 an executive 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 (capital Novara) ** District of Novara, District of Vigevano, District of Domodossola, District of Varallo, District of Arona * Crostolo (capital
Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia (; ), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until Unification of Italy, 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 172,51 ...
) * Lario (capital Como) ** District of Como, District of Varese, District of Sondrio, District of Lecco * Lower Po (capital
Ferrara Ferrara (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, capital of the province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main ...
) * Mella (capital
Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...
) ** District of Brescia, District of Chiari, District of Verolanuova, District of Salò * Mincio (capital
Mantua Mantua ( ; ; Lombard language, Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, eponymous province. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2 ...
) ** District of Mantua, District of Revere, District of Verona, District of Castiglione * Olona (capital
Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
) ** District of Milan, District of Pavia, District of Monza, District of Gallarate * Panaro (capital
Modena Modena (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025. A town, and seat of an archbis ...
) * Reno (capital
Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...
) * Rubicone (capital Forlì) * Serio (capital
Bergamo Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...
) ** District of Bergamo, District of Clusone, District of Treviglio, District of Breno * Upper Po (capital
Cremona Cremona ( , , ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po (river), Po river in the middle of the Po Valley. It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local city a ...
) ** District of Cremona, District of Crema, District of Lodi, District of Casalmaggiore


See also

* French client republic * Cisalpine Republic


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