Italian provinces

The provinces or metropolitan cities of Italy

The provinces ( Italian province, singular provincia ) are together with the metropolitan cities the middle level of the territorial authorities in Italy .

18 out of 20 regions in Italy are divided into a total of 88 provinces - called free municipal consortia in the Sicily region - and 14 metropolitan cities, which have the status of self-governing local authorities. As of 2014, the metropolitan cities emerged from 14 provinces. The provinces of the Trentino-Alto Adige region , Trento and Bolzano-Alto Adige , have a special position: They are autonomous provinces and the same as the Italian regions .

In the Aosta Valley and Friuli-Venezia Giulia regions, there are no provinces in the sense of independent regional authorities. For statistical purposes, the Aosta Valley is listed as a province and the territory of Friuli-Venezia Giulia is divided into four provinces.

Basics

Administrative seat of the Province of Arezzo .

The Italian provinces (and the essentially equivalent metropolitan cities) are independent regional authorities with their own organs, functions and tasks according to the principles enshrined in the Italian constitution .

As self-governing local authorities, the Italian provinces are comparable to some extent with the districts in the Free State of Bavaria and with German districts . The central government and the regions can delegate additional tasks to the provincial self-governing bodies.

The autonomous provinces, on the other hand, are comparable to the German or Austrian federal states. Their independence is anchored in the constitutional provisions on the autonomy of South Tyrol .

In the regions with a normal statute, the entire state is responsible for the order of the provinces , in the regions with a special statute Friuli-Venezia Giulia , Sicily and Sardinia, the respective region is responsible. Additional special regulations apply to the Aosta Valley and Trentino-South Tyrol.

construction

Villa Cordellina Lombardi in Montecchio Maggiore , representative seat of the Province of Vicenza .

Until 2014, the provinces had a directly elected representative body, the provincial council (consiglio provinciale) . The provincial government consisted of the president of the province ( presidente della provincia, one-time re-election possible), directly elected by the people for five years, and the so-called provincial committee (giunta), in which , in addition to the president, so-called councilors or consultants (assessori) were represented, who directed certain administrative areas of the province.

On January 1, 2015, a reform of the provinces came into force, reorganizing the organs of these regional authorities in the regions with normal statutes and redefining their composition. As the organs of the province, the law now defines:

• the President of the Province (presidente della provincia): this is elected by the mayors as well as by the city councils for a term of office of a maximum of four years. The mayors of the respective province are eligible for election, provided the remaining term of office is at least 18 months. There is no longer an old type of provincial government with councilors;
• the Provincial Council (consiglio provinciale), chaired by the President of the Province. Depending on the size of the population, the council has ten to 16 members. These are also elected by the mayors as well as the city and municipal councils from among their own kind, whereby the term of office in this case is limited to a maximum of two years. If the term of office of mayors and city and municipal councils expires, they automatically lose their possible mandate at provincial level;
• the assembly of mayors (assemblea dei sindaci): In addition to the provincial council, there is also an assembly of all mayors of the respective provinces; however, this assembly only becomes active in matters of principle or takes on advisory functions.

These provisions also essentially apply to the province- equivalent free municipal consortia ( liberi consorzi comuali ) of the Autonomous Region of Sicily . The organs of the free community consortia are accordingly defined as follows:

• President of the Free Community Consortium (presidente del libero consorzio comunale) ;
• Council of the Free Municipal Consortium (consiglio del libero consorzio comunale) ;
• Assembly of the free parish consortium (assemblea del libero consorzio comunale) .

However, these provisions do not apply to Trentino-South Tyrol. There the two autonomous provinces still have a directly elected state parliament and a state government headed by a state governor. In Trentino the governor is directly elected by the people, in South Tyrol the state parliament has chosen to vote.

Functions

Vehicle of the Provincial Police of the Province of Salerno .

As part of a comprehensive reform, the functions of the provinces have been curtailed and essentially transferred to the regions. The provinces are only responsible for:

• Coordination of spatial planning and protection and enhancement of the environment
• Planning of transport pick-up services in the province, approvals and controls in the field of private transport , construction and operation of provincial roads and regulation of traffic on provincial roads
• Planning the school network
• Collection and processing of data, technical and administrative support for local authorities
• School building
• Control of discrimination in the workplace and promotion of equality between men and women in the provincial territory.

Provinces whose territory lies entirely in the mountains and borders on foreign countries are also responsible for the strategic development and operation of joint facilities and can conclude agreements with other provinces and regions, including those with special statutes, and with regional authorities of foreign states.

To carry out the protective functions assigned to them, the provinces maintain independent police organizations, the so-called Polizia Provinciale .

The free municipal consortia of Sicily essentially take over the functions of provinces. In contrast to other provinces, the two autonomous provinces of Bolzano and Trento have extensive legislative and executive powers and the associated financial resources.

Metropolitan cities

Administrative seat of the metropolitan city of Palermo .

→ Main article : Italian metropolitan cities

The metropolitan cities, in Italian Città metropolitane, are a body provided for by the constitution of the Italian Republic, which simultaneously takes on all functions of a province and also some superordinate municipal functions, in particular in the areas of spatial planning and local transport.

After the metropolitan cities had existed only on paper for a long time, State Law No. 56 of April 7, 2014 resolved their actual establishment in the regions with normal status. The law ordered the conversion of the previous provinces of Turin , Genoa , Milan , Venice , Bologna , Florence , Rome , Naples , Bari and Reggio Calabria into metropolitan cities. On January 1, 2015, the metropolitan cities were established, with the exception of Venice, which began operating on August 31, 2015, and Reggio Calabria, which was constituted on February 2, 2017.

In the regions with a special statute, it is not the state but the respective region that is responsible for the establishment of the metropolitan cities. So far, the Autonomous Region of Sicily and the Autonomous Region of Sardinia have made use of this power and set up the metropolitan cities of Palermo , Messina and Catania and Cagliari on their territory .

For statistical purposes, the metropolitan cities are recorded as provinces. They also take over the license plates of the former provinces.

State administrative units

The state central government maintains numerous branch offices in its decentralized administrative areas. These are usually geographically congruent with the regions or provinces or metropolitan cities.

Each decentralized state administrative unit is headed by the prefect sent by the central government . He is a local government representative and is directly responsible for the public safety and efficient administration of the government branches in the province.

See also : Political System of Italy # Decentralized State Administration

history

Memorial plaque at the Palazzo Reale in Turin. It commemorates a congress of the provinces of Italy that took place here in 1898.

Origins and development until 2014

The Italian nation-state emerged in 1861 from the Kingdom of Sardinia- Piedmont, which was largely based on the Napoleonic model and whose legal regulations were adopted by the local authorities. Accordingly, Italy was subdivided into provinces (province), districts (circondari), districts (mandamenti) and municipalities (comuni) . This subdivision corresponded to the French départements , arrondissements , cantons and communes . The politically independent regions established between 1946 and 1970 only existed as a group of provinces for statistical purposes and economic planning, rarely also for administrative purposes or as districts of appeal courts.

The provinces were both administrative units of the central government in Rome and independent self-governing bodies with elected representatives. The government in Rome maintained a prefecture in every Italian province, headed by a prefect. All decentralized state offices and agencies on site were subject to this. Together with his sub-prefects, he also supervised the self-government organs of the provinces and municipalities.

Many Italian Ministries talked in the provinces peripheral offices, including police headquarters ( questure ), education authorities ( provveditorati ) or building authorities (Genio Civile) . These offices often had other branches at the level of the circondari or circles, which were supervised there by a sub-prefect. In particular, tax and land registry offices as well as courts were located at this level. The subordinate mandamenti were abolished by the Mussolini cabinet in 1923, the circondari with the sub-prefectures in 1927. At the same time, several new provinces were created. Between 1871 and 1927 their number rose from 69 to 92.

Palazzo Ghilini, joint seat of the prefecture and self-government of the province of Alessandria .

As self-governing bodies, the provinces had had a people's representative body (consiglio provinciale) directly elected for five years from 1860 . This provincial council elected annually from its own ranks the members of the deputazione provinciale , an executive body presided over by the state prefect until 1889. After that the president of this body was also elected by the provincial council. Under fascism, the members of the deputazione provinciale were appointed by the government from 1923. At the end of 1928, the previous self-governing organs of the provinces were abolished and replaced by an appointed head (preside) and a rectorate (rettorato) with four to eight appointed members. From 1944 to 1951, the former self-governing organs revived, but their members were again appointed by the prefect. In 1951, in accordance with the principles of the republican constitution, the provincial councils elected by the people (consigli provinciali) were re-established, which elected the presidents of the provinces, who then formed the new executive organs of the provinces with the members of the provincial committees (giunte provinciali) . In 1993 the provincial presidents were directly elected. In 2000 the term of office of the president of the province and the term of office of the provincial council were extended from four to five years, as was the case with the corresponding organs of the municipalities.

The circondario lived after 1951 isolated as optional decentralization unit of self-government of provinces again. As a rule, they were established in particularly densely populated provinces or in spacious, sparsely populated provinces. In such circondari there were only smaller branch offices of the provincial administration for the purpose of being closer to the citizens.

In the 1990s, the central government in Rome began profound reforms in the ministerial bureaucracy . In the course of these reforms, many Italian ministries relocated their most important peripheral offices to the regional level and set up additional branches, sometimes independently of provincial borders. At the same time, the rights of the prefects in the provinces were reduced and the rights of regions and municipalities were strengthened. As a result, the provinces lost much of their original importance as administrative units of the central government.

State level reforms

Administrative seat of the province of Catanzaro .

Since the establishment of the Italian regions, the existence of the provinces as independent regional authorities has repeatedly been publicly questioned because, in the opinion of many, their maintenance was disproportionate to the relatively low level of responsibilities.

In 2012, the Monti government tried to drastically reduce the number of provinces, but was unable to implement the plan due to early elections. The following government, Letta, intended to completely abolish the provinces through a constitutional reform, a goal that was also pursued by the Renzi cabinet , but which failed due to a referendum .

In April 2014, the Renzi government passed a reform of the provinces in the regions with normal statutes, which came into force on January 1, 2015 and, among other things, provides that the provincial organs previously elected to be replaced by representatives of the municipalities . According to the government, the reform should result in savings of 160 million euros, as around 5,000 provincial politicians will no longer be paid. However, the application of a new population scale will increase the number of councilors and councilors in the approximately 8,100 Italian municipalities by around 26,000. According to the government, this should not incur any additional costs. The Monti government made drastic cuts in this area in 2011.

Reforms in the autonomous regions

Administrative seat of the province of Sassari

In a referendum on May 6, 2012, the vast majority of Sardinia's voters voted for the abolition of the eight provinces of their autonomous region. The Sardinian regional council then decided on May 25, 2012 that the competences of the provinces should be transferred to the municipalities or the region and that the provinces should be dissolved. This reorganization could not be implemented because the Italian constitutional court was brought before the regional administrative court. On February 4, 2016, the Regional Council passed a new law reforming the local authorities of Sardinia. The metropolitan city of Cagliari replaces the previous province, the remaining provinces of Sardinia have been reduced from seven to four.

In 2014 it was decided in Sicily to replace the nine provinces with so-called free municipal consortia ( liberi consorzi comunali ). The bodies of these new consortia are elected indirectly, as in the case of the provinces of the regions with normal status. Basically, the provinces of Sicily also continue to exist, albeit with a new internal order. In 2015 three of the nine Sicilian provinces were converted into metropolitan cities , so that in Sicily only six provinces formally continue to exist as so-called free municipal consortia.

In Friuli Venezia Giulia, the statute of the region was changed by a constitutional law in order to initiate the abolition of the provinces. On November 24, 2016, the regional council decided to finally abolish the provinces. Since the abolition of the provinces, the regional area of ​​Friuli-Venezia Giulia has been divided into 18 associations of municipalities, called Unioni Territoriali Intercomunali (UTI for short). Organs of the municipal associations are the assembly consisting of the mayors (Assemblea) , the president (Presidente) and the auditor (organo di revisione) . The municipalities of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region can manage certain functions within the framework of municipal associations: social services; local police including administrative police; commercial activities; Cadastre; Spatial planning and spatial planning on a supra-municipal level; Civil defense planning; Statistics; Preparation of EU-funded projects; Tax administration. The provinces of Gorizia, Pordenone, Trieste and Udine no longer exist as independent regional authorities, but they continue to exist as districts of decentralized state administrations (e.g. prefecture - district office of the government ) or as statistical units.

In the small Aosta Valley region , the region takes on the role of a province. A "Province of Aosta" only exists as a statistical or administrative term. The regional area includes eight associations of municipalities, called Unionen Aostataler municipalities (French Unités des Communes Valdôtaines ).

In Trentino-Alto Adige almost all tasks of the autonomous region were handed over to its two autonomous provinces. As autonomous provinces, South Tyrol and Trentino remain unaffected by the above-mentioned reforms in the other provinces. According to the stipulations of the respective provincial legislation, the area of ​​South Tyrol is divided into seven district communities , that of Trentino into 15 valley communities .

list

The following list represents the provinces of Italy, including metropolitan cities , autonomous provinces , free municipal consortia of Sicily, the Aosta Valley region, which is kept as a province for statistical purposes, and the former provinces of Friuli Venezia Giulia, which continue to exist as administrative districts and statistical areas. Provinces with a special statute are the provinces established according to the general legal situation (without the special regulations applicable to certain autonomous regions).

The first column names the respective two-letter abbreviations that are used, for example, in the vehicle registration number .

Abbreviation	Surname	status	region	Residents	Area (km²)	Inhabitant / km²	Communities
AG	Agrigento	Free community consortium	Sicily	00429.611	003,042	0141	0043
AL	Alessandria	Province with normal status	Piedmont	00440.481	003,559	0123	0190
ON	Ancona	Province with normal status	Brands	00469,750	001,940	0242	0047
AO	Aosta (Aosta Valley)	Autonomous Region	Aosta Valley	00128,376	003,263	0039	0074
AR	Arezzo	Province with normal status	Tuscany	00341,766	003,235	0106	0036
AP	Ascoli Piceno	Province with normal status	Brands	00206.363	001,228	0168	0033
AT	Asti	Province with normal status	Piedmont	00221,871	001,515	0146	0118
AV	Avellino	Province with normal status	Campania	00413,926	002,792	0148	0118
BA	Bari	Metropolitan city	Apulia	01,249,246	003,825	0327	0041
BT	Barletta-Andria-Trani	Province with normal status	Apulia	00388,390	001,538	0252	0010
BL	Belluno	Province with normal status	Veneto	00213.242	003,676	0058	0069
BN	Benevento	Province with normal status	Campania	00274.080	002,071	0132	0078
BG	Bergamo	Province with normal status	Lombardy	01,101,458	002,723	0404	0244
BI	Biella	Province with normal status	Piedmont	00185,701	000914	0203	0082
BO	Bologna	Metropolitan city	Emilia-Romagna	00995.693	003,702	0268	0060
BZ	Bolzano - South Tyrol	Autonomous Province	Trentino-South Tyrol	00508.863	007,400	0068	0116
BS	Brescia	Province with normal status	Lombardy	01,259,626	004,783	0263	0206
BR	Brindisi	Province with normal status	Apulia	00390,456	001,839	0212	0020th
CA	Cagliari	Metropolitan city	Sardinia	00430.914	001,248	0345	0017th
CL	Caltanissetta	Free community consortium	Sicily	00260.779	002.124	0123	0022nd
CB	Campobasso	Province with normal status	Molise	00218,679	002,910	0075	0084
CE	Caserta	Province with normal status	Campania	00922.171	002,640	0349	0104
CT	Catania	Metropolitan city	Sicily	01,104,974	003,553	0311	0058
CZ	Catanzaro	Province with normal status	Calabria	00354.851	002,392	0148	0080
CH	Chieti	Province with normal status	Abruzzo	00383.189	002,588	0148	0104
CO	Como	Province with normal status	Lombardy	00596.376	001,288	0463	0160
CS	Cosenza	Province with normal status	Calabria	00700,385	006,650	0105	0150
CR	Cremona	Province with normal status	Lombardy	00363.918	001,771	0205	0115
KR	Crotone	Province with normal status	Calabria	00170.718	001,716	099	0027
CN	Cuneo	Province with normal status	Piedmont	00592,782	006,902	0085	0250
EN	Enna	Free community consortium	Sicily	00162,368	002,561	0063	0020th
FM	Fermo	Province with normal status	Brands	00173.004	000860	0201	0040
FE	Ferrara	Province with normal status	Emilia-Romagna	00359.934	002,630	0136	0026th
FI	Florence	Metropolitan city	Tuscany	01,004,298	003,514	0286	0041
FG	Foggia	Province with normal status	Apulia	00616.310	007.175	0086	0061
FC	Forlì-Cesena	Province with normal status	Emilia-Romagna	00396.158	002,376	0166	0030th
FR	Frosinone	Province with normal status	Lazio	00485.241	003,244	0150	0091
GE	Genoa	Metropolitan city	Liguria	00883.419	001,839	0480	0067
GO	Gorizia (Gorizia)	former province	Friuli Venezia Giulia	00142.279	000466	0305	0025th
GR	Grosseto	Province with normal status	Tuscany	00220,785	004,504	0049	0028
IN THE	Imperia	Province with normal status	Liguria	00222,807	001,156	0192	0067
IS	Isernia	Province with normal status	Molise	00083,586	001,528	0055	0052
SP	La Spezia	Province with normal status	Liguria	00223.357	000881	0253	0032
AQ	L'Aquila	Province with normal status	Abruzzo	00296,491	005,035	0059	0108
LT	Latina	Province with normal status	Lazio	00576,655	002,251	0256	0033
LE	Lecce	Province with normal status	Apulia	00791.122	002,759	0287	0097
LC	Lecco	Province with normal status	Lombardy	00340,470	000816	0417	0090
LI	Livorno	Province with normal status	Tuscany	00333.509	001,211	0275	0019th
LO	Lodi	Province with normal status	Lombardy	00228.102	000782	0291	0061
LU	Lucca	Province with normal status	Tuscany	00388,678	001,773	0219	0033
MC	Macerata	Province with normal status	Brands	00312,146	002,774	0113	0055
MI	Milan	Metropolitan city	Lombardy	003,170,597	001,575	2.013	0134
MN	Mantua	Province with normal status	Lombardy	00416.230	002,339	0177	0070
MS	Massa Carrara	Province with normal status	Tuscany	00193.934	001,156	0168	0017th
MT	Matera	Province with normal status	Basilicata	00195.998	003,447	0057	0031
ME	Messina	Metropolitan city	Sicily	00620.721	003,247	0191	0108
MO	Modena	Province with normal status	Emilia-Romagna	00702,487	002,689	0261	0047
MB	Monza and Brianza	Province with normal status	Lombardy	00852,539	000405	2,105	0055
N / A	Naples	Metropolitan city	Campania	03,082,905	001,171	2633	0092
NO	Novara	Province with normal status	Piedmont	00372.109	001,339	0277	0088
NU	Nuoro	Province with normal status	Sardinia	00206.843	005,638	0037	0074
OR	Oristano	Province with normal status	Sardinia	00156.078	002,990	0052	0087
PD	Padua	Province with normal status	Veneto	00936.307	002.143	0436	0104
PA	Palermo	Metropolitan city	Sicily	01,243,328	004,992	0249	0082
PR	Parma	Province with normal status	Emilia-Romagna	00443.136	003,450	0128	0047
PV	Pavia	Province with normal status	Lombardy	00549.354	002,965	0185	0190
PG	Perugia	Province with normal status	Umbria	00655.403	006.334	0103	0059
PU	Pesaro and Urbino	Province with normal status	Brands	00357.137	002,564	0139	0053
PE	Pescara	Province with normal status	Abruzzo	00318,678	001,225	0260	0046
Pc	Piacenza	Province with normal status	Emilia-Romagna	00290.215	002,590	0112	0048
PI	Pisa	Province with normal status	Tuscany	00422.310	002,444	0173	0037
PT	Pistoia	Province with normal status	Tuscany	00293.059	000965	0304	0020th
PN	Pordenone	former province	Friuli Venezia Giulia	00315,631	002.130	0148	0051
PZ	Potenza	Province with normal status	Basilicata	00360.936	006,549	0055	0100
PO	Prato	Province with normal status	Tuscany	00258.152	000365	0707	0007th
RG	Ragusa	Free community consortium	Sicily	00321.215	001,614	0199	0012
RA	Ravenna	Province with normal status	Emilia-Romagna	00393,333	001,858	0211	0018th
RC	Reggio Calabria	Metropolitan city	Calabria	00541.278	003,184	0170	0097
RE	Reggio Emilia	Province with normal status	Emilia-Romagna	00531,433	002,292	0231	0045
RI	Rieti	Province with normal status	Lazio	00154,232	002,749	0056	0073
RN	Rimini	Province with normal status	Emilia-Romagna	00330.112	000863	0382	0027
RM	Rome	Metropolitan city	Lazio	04,333,274	005,352	0810	0121
RO	Rovigo	Province with normal status	Veneto	00248.195	001,790	0138	0050
SA	Salerno	Province with normal status	Campania	01,092,779	004,918	0222	0158
SS	Sassari	Province with normal status	Sardinia	00489,634	007,678	0064	0092
SV	Savona	Province with normal status	Liguria	00287,566	001,545	0186	0069
SI	Siena	Province with normal status	Tuscany	00266.238	003,821	0070	0035
SR	Syracuse	Free community consortium	Sicily	00397.037	002,108	0188	0021st
SO	Sondrio	Province with normal status	Lombardy	00183.158	003.210	0057	0078
SU	South Sardegna	Province with normal status	Sardinia	00347.005	006,530	0053	0107
TA	Tarent	Province with normal status	Apulia	00572,772	002,436	0235	0029
TE	Teramo	Province with normal status	Abruzzo	00307.412	001,948	0158	0047
TR	Terni	Province with normal status	Umbria	00224,882	002.122	0106	0033
TP	Trapani	Free community consortium	Sicily	00428.377	002,460	0174	0024
TV	Treviso	Province with normal status	Veneto	00889.835	002,477	0359	0095
TN	Trent	Autonomous Province	Trentino-South Tyrol	00530.671	006,203	0085	0217
TS	Trieste	former province	Friuli Venezia Giulia	00236,540	000212	1,115	0006th
TO	Turin	Metropolitan city	Piedmont	02,306,881	006,829	0337	0315
UD	Udine	former province	Friuli Venezia Giulia	00541.173	004,904	0110	0136
VA	Varese	Province with normal status	Lombardy	00885.283	001,199	0738	0141
VE	Venice	Metropolitan city	Veneto	00864.189	002,461	0351	0044
VB	Verbano-Cusio-Ossola	Province with normal status	Piedmont	00163.123	002,256	0072	0077
VC	Vercelli	Province with normal status	Piedmont	00179,484	002,088	0085	0086
VR	Verona	Province with normal status	Veneto	00922.210	003,120	0295	0098
VV	Vibo Valentia	Province with normal status	Calabria	00157.469	001,139	0138	0050
VI	Vicenza	Province with normal status	Veneto	00871.965	002,723	0320	0121
VT	Viterbo	Province with normal status	Lazio	00316.142	003,614	0087	0060
total				60,566,484	301,377	0201	8,061

See also

• List of coats of arms of Italian provinces
• NUTS: IT : Italian Groups of Regions (NUTS-1), Italian Regions (NUTS-2)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Legge 7 April 2014, n.56 - Disposizioni sulle citta 'metropolitane, sulle province, sulle unioni e fusioni di comuni. = Law No. 56 of April 7, 2014 - Provisions on metropolitan cities, provinces, associations of municipalities and associations of municipalities, In: normattiva.it (Italian), accessed on May 28, 2014
2. ↑ Regional Law (Sicily) No. 15 of August 4, 2015, also guidelines of the Autonomous Region of Sicily on electoral processes https://www.provincia.caltanissetta.it/010/elezioni_2019/linee_guida_per_lo_svolgimento_del_procedimento_elettorale.pdf
3. ↑ The obsolete Art. 19, Legislative Decree of August 18, 2000, No. 267, assigned the following functions to the provinces:
   • Soil protection , environmental protection , disaster control ;
   • Water protection and protection of energy resources;
   • Exploitation of cultural heritage
   • Traffic and transportation
   • Animal welfare and plant protection ;
   • Nature parks and nature reserves ;
   • Hunting and fishing in inland waters;
   • Waste disposal , measurement and control of waste water and exhaust gases;
   • Medical services , public hygiene and health care under state and regional laws;
   • Upper secondary school education , arts education, vocational training, including school construction , within the framework of state and regional laws;
   • Data collection, support for local bodies (mainly the municipalities).
4. ↑ Law No. 56 of April 7, 2014, Art. 1 Paragraph 85
5. ↑ Law No. 56 of 7 April 2014, Art. 1 para. 86
6. ↑ Art. 114, COSTITUZIONE DELLA REPUBBLICA ITALIANA / CONSTITUTION OF THE ITALIAN REPUBLIC http://www.regione.taa.it/normativa/costituzione.pdf
7. ↑ For the history, structure and perspectives of the “Città Metropolitane” see: Carlo Deodato, Staatsrat , Le città metropolitane: storia, ordinamento, prospettive: Archive link ( Memento of the original from February 27, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Italian). 
8. ↑ cf. Explanation of the law http://www.governo.it/GovernoInforma/documenti/sintesi_legge_Senato.pdf
9. ^ Ecco le novità della riforma Delrio In: La Stampa April 3, 2014, accessed on May 27, 2014
10. ↑ Regional Law (Sicily) No. 15 of August 4, 2015: Archive link ( Memento of the original of October 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
11. ↑ From 1818 to 1859 in Sardinia-Piedmont the four above-mentioned administrative levels were called divisione , provincia , mandamento and comune . In 1859 the designation divisione was replaced by provincia , the next level was now called circondario instead of provincia ( mandamento and comune unchanged). During the Napoleonic period the French system was in effect on the mainland until 1814, and the Savoy set up 15 prefectures on Sardinia. Gaetano Palombelli: L'evoluzione delle circoscrizioni provinciali dall'Unità d'Italia ad oggi . provincia.torino.gov.it (Italian), accessed May 28, 2014
12. ↑ The designations circondario and mandamento were then retained as designations of the continuing judicial districts of the "regional courts" (tribunale circondariale) and the "district courts" (pretura mandamentale) . In the course of rationalization, the pretura circondariale was created in 1989 , which was then completely abolished in 1999 in favor of the justice of the peace and the regional courts. Details on treccani.it (as of 1938)
13. ↑ deputazione provinciale on treccani.it
14. ↑ The prime minister takes on the middle administrative level. 35 provinces are to be dissolved. The reform will come into force in 2014. In: Die Presse , October 31, 2012, accessed September 21, 2013
15. ↑ Tobias Beyer, Italy will not get rid of its ruinous provincial regime In: Die Welt July 23, 2013, accessed on September 21, 2013
16. ^ Ecco le novità della riforma Delrio In: La Stampa April 3, 2014 (Italian), accessed on May 27, 2014
17. ^ Riforma Province, sì definitivo della Camera al ddl. Brunetta: “È un golpe”, Il Fatto Quotidiano , April 3, 2014 [1]
18. ↑ Nella riforma Delrio 26mila politici locali in più. Ma senza costi aggiuntivi, Il Sole 24 Ore, December 22, 2013 [2]
19. ↑ Legal text for the dissolution of the provinces Regional Council Sardinia, May 25, 2012 (Italian) Retrieved on July 4, 2012
20. ^ Province sì o no? Intanto la Sardegna sprofonda In: avantionline.it 23 December 2013 (Italian), accessed on 28 May 2014
21. ↑ Regional Law (Sardinia) No. 2 of February 4, 2016, Art. 17 http://www.consregsardegna.it/XVLegislatura/Leggi%20approvate/lr2016-02.asp
22. ↑ Sicilia, Assemblea "abolisce" le Province. Ma la Casta le trasforma in 9 Consorzi. In: Il Fatto Quotidiano March 12, 2014 (Italian), accessed May 28, 2014
23. ↑ Regional Law (Sicily) No. 15 of August 4, 2015: Archive link ( Memento of the original of October 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
24. ↑ Special Statute for Friuli Venezia Giulia ( Memento of the original from December 24, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. of January 31, 1963, last amended by the Constitutional Act of July 28, 2016, No. 1 
25. ^ Regional Committee of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, press release of November 24th, 2016 ABOLIZIONE PROVINCE: PANONTIN, SÌ A DDL CHIUDE PROCESSO RIFORMATORE = Abolition of the provinces: Panontin, with the yes to the bill, the process is completed
26. ↑ Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region UNIONI TERRITORIALI INTERCOMUNALI (UTI) ( Memento of the original from December 24, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
27. ↑ Regional Law Friuli Venezia Giulia No. 26 of December 12, 2014, Legge regional December 12, 2014, n. 26 , Art. 12, Paragraph 1
28. ^ Regional Law Friuli Venezia Giulia No. 26 of December 12, 2014, Art 26