A regional council (''Consiglio regionale'') in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

is the elected legislative assembly of a

region of Italy The regions of Italy () are the first-level administrative divisions of the Italy, Italian Republic, constituting its second Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics, NUTS administrative level. There are twenty regions, #Autonomous regio ...

. In

Emilia-Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both , ; or ; ) is an Regions of Italy, administrative region of northern Italy, comprising the historical regions of Emilia (region), Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of , and a population of 4.4 m ...

and

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, the legislative bodies are called the Legislative Assembly of Emilia-Romagna and the Sicilian Regional Assembly, officially nicknamed as Sicilian Parliament, respectively.

Origins

The '' regional idea'' was born, in Italy, during the national

Risorgimento The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the annexation of various states of the Italian peninsula and its outlying isles to the Kingdom of ...

and the first decades after the

unification of Italy The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century Political movement, political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, annexation of List of historic states of ...

, but any proposal was rejected until the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After the collapse of

fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...

and the end of the war a violent independence movement that led to the institution of the region and the concession of the

Statute A statute is a law or formal written enactment of a legislature. Statutes typically declare, command or prohibit something. Statutes are distinguished from court law and unwritten law (also known as common law) in that they are the expressed wil ...

, based on the model of

federal state A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governing status of the c ...

s was born in Sicily. A similar route followed

Friuli-Venezia Giulia Friuli-Venezia Giulia () is one of the 20 regions of Italy and one of five autonomous regions with special statute. The regional capital is Trieste on the Gulf of Trieste, a bay of the Adriatic Sea. Friuli-Venezia Giulia has an area of and a ...

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol ( ; ; ), often known in English as Trentino-South Tyrol or by its shorter Italian name Trentino-Alto Adige, is an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy, located in the ...

and

Valley of Aosta The Aosta Valley ( ; ; ; or ), officially the Autonomous Region of Aosta Valley, is a mountainous autonomous region in northwestern Italy. It is bordered by Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France, to the west; by Valais, Switzerland, to the north; a ...

. The other regions were instituted by the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

of 1948, but the first elections of regional councils were in 1970.

Powers

Councils had the power to elect the president and other members ( assessors) of regional government (''Giunta Regionale''). With the constitutional reforms of 1999 and 2001, they lost these powers (because the president is elected by the people and the assessors are appointed by the president). On the other hand, the regional councils obtained a lot of new legislative powers, including the regional electoral system, which had been decided by the State. The Sicilian Assembly has the powers of a parliament, and its members have the same status of the national MPs and the European MEPs.

Electoral system

Until the 1990s, all councils were elected with

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...

. In order to prevent political instability, a new electoral law, called '' Legge Tatarella'', was introduced for the ordinary regions in 1995, and gradually extended with little changes to the other regions. Now, the coalition of parties that receives the biggest number of votes obtains the absolute majority of the council's seats, and its leader is elected as the President of the region. In Aosta Valley the President is elected by the council. In Trentino- South Tirol, the council is the joint session of the two provincial councils, each one with its own electoral law.

List

The 20 Italian regional councils are as follows: * Regional Council of Aosta Valley *

Regional Council of Piedmont The Regional Council of Piedmont () is the parliament, legislative assembly of Piedmont. It was first elected in 1970, when the Regions of Italy, ordinary regions were instituted, on the basis of the Constitution of Italy of 1948. Composition T ...

Regional Council of Lombardy The Regional Council of Lombardy () is the parliament, legislative assembly of Lombardy, Italy. It was first elected in 1970, when the Regions of Italy, ordinary regions were instituted, on the basis of the Constitution of Italy of 1948. Compos ...

Regional Council of Trentino-Alto Adige In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

Regional Council of Veneto The Regional Council of Veneto () is the parliament, legislative assembly of Veneto, Italy. The council, which has its seat at Palazzo Ferro Fini, located along the Grand Canal (Venice), Grand Canal in Venice. was first elected in 1970, when Re ...

Regional Council of Friuli-Venezia Giulia The Regional Council of Friuli-Venezia Giulia (; ; ; ) is the legislative assembly of the autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The assembly was elected for the first time in 1964. Its first location was in Piazza Unità d'Italia; then ...

* Legislative Assembly of Emilia-Romagna *

Regional Council of Liguria The Regional Council of Liguria () is the legislative assembly of Liguria. It was first elected in 1970, when the ordinary regions were instituted, on the basis of the Constitution of Italy of 1948. Composition The Regional Council of Liguria ...

Regional Council of Tuscany The Regional Council of Tuscany () is the parliament, legislative assembly of Tuscany. It was first elected in 1970, when the Regions of Italy, ordinary regions were instituted, on the basis of the Constitution of Italy of 1948. Composition The ...

Legislative Assembly of Marche The Legislative Assembly of Marche () is the legislative assembly of Marche. Founded as "Regional Council of Marche", it changed its name into "Legislative Assembly" in 2004. It was first elected in 1970, when the ordinary regions were instit ...

* Legislative Assembly of Umbria * Regional Council of Lazio *

Regional Council of Abruzzo The Regional Council of Abruzzo (''Consiglio Regionale dell'Abruzzo'') is the parliament, legislative assembly of Abruzzo. It was first elected in 1970, when the Regions of Italy, ordinary regions were instituted, on the basis of the Constitutio ...

* Regional Council of Molise *

Regional Council of Campania The Regional Council of Campania () is the legislative assembly of Campania. It was first elected in 1970, when the ordinary regions were instituted, on the basis of the Constitution of Italy of 1948. Composition The Regional Council of Campa ...

* Regional Council of Apulia * Regional Council of Basilicata * Regional Council of Calabria * Sicilian Regional Assembly *

Regional Council of Sardinia The Regional Council of Sardinia (''Consiglio Regionale della Sardegna''; Sardinian language, Sardinian: ''Cunsìgiu regionale de Sardìgna'') is the parliament, legislative assembly of the autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous reg ...

References

Constitutional law {{constitutional-law-stub