Comuni

The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also have the title of ('city').

Formed ''praeter legem'' according to the principles consolidated in medieval municipalities, the is provided for by art. 114 of the Constitution of Italy. It can be divided into ''frazioni'', which in turn may have limited power due to special elective assemblies.

In the autonomous region of the Aosta Valley, a ''comune'' is officially called a ''commune'' in French.

Overview

The provides essential public services: registry of births and deaths, registry of deeds, and maintenance of local roads and public works. Many have a '' Polizia Comunale'' (communal police), which is responsible for public order duties. The also deal with the definition and compliance with the (general regulator plan), a document that regulates the building activity within the communal area.

All communal structures or schools, sports and cultural structures such as communal libraries, theaters, etc. are managed by the . must have their own communal statute and have a climatic and seismic classification of their territory for the purposes of prevention and civil protection. also deal with the waste management.

It is headed by a mayor ( or ) assisted by a legislative body, the (communal council), and an executive body, the (communal committee). The mayor and members of the are elected together by resident citizens: the coalition of the elected mayor (who needs a relative majority or an absolute majority in the first or second round of voting, depending on the population) gains three fifths of the 's seats.

The is chaired by the mayor, who appoints others members, called , one of whom serves as deputy mayor (). The offices of the are housed in a building usually called the , or ("town hall").

As of January 2021, there were 7,904 in Italy; they vary considerably in size and population. For example, the of Rome, in Lazio, has an area of and a population of 2,758,454 inhabitants, and is both the largest and the most populated.

Atrani in the province of Salerno (Campania) was the smallest by area, with only , and Morterone (Lombardy) is the smallest by population. Many present-day trace their roots along timescales spanning centuries and at times millennia.

The northernmost is Predoi, the southernmost one Lampedusa e Linosa, the westernmost Bardonecchia and the easternmost Otranto. The with the longest name is San Valentino in Abruzzo Citeriore, while the with the shortest name are Lu, Ro, Ne, Re and Vo'

The population density of the varies widely by province and region. The province of Barletta-Andria-Trani, for example, has 381,091 inhabitants in 10 , or over 39,000 inhabitants per ; whereas the province of Isernia has 81,415 inhabitants in 52 , or 1,640 inhabitants per – roughly 24 times more communal units per inhabitant.

The coats of arms of the are assigned by decree of the Prime Minister of Italy by the Office of State Ceremonial and Honors, Honors and Heraldry Service (division of the Presidency of the Council born from the transformation of the Royal ''Consulta Araldica'', suppressed pursuant to the provisions final of the Constitution of Italy).

Subdivisions

Administrative subdivisions within vary according to their population size.

with at least 250,000 residents are divided into (roughly equivalent to French arrondissements or London boroughs) to which the delegates administrative functions like the running of schools, social services and waste collection; the delegated functions vary from to . These bodies are headed by an elected president and a local council.

Smaller usually comprise:
* A main city, town or village, that almost always gives its name to the ; such a place is referred to as the ('head-place' or 'capital'; the French ) of the ; the word is also used in casual speech to refer to the city hall.
* Outlying areas often called (singular: , abbreviated: , literally 'fraction'), each usually centred on a small town or village. These usually never had pasts as independent settlements, but occasionally are former smaller consolidated into a larger one. They may also represent settlements which predate the . The ancient town of Pollentia (today Pollenzo), for instance, is a of Bra. In recent years the have become more important due to the institution of the (fraction council), a local form of government which can interact with the to address local needs, requests and claims. Even smaller places are called ('localities', abbreviated: ).
* Smaller administrative divisions called , , , , or , which are similar to districts and neighbourhoods.

Sometimes a might be more populated than the ; and rarely, owing to unusual circumstances (like depopulation), the town hall and its administrative functions can be moved to one of the , but the still retains the name of the .

In some cases, a might not have a but only some . In these cases, it is a (' dispersed comune') and the which hosts the town hall () is a (compare county seat).

Homonymy

There are not many perfect homonymous . There are only six cases in 12 :
* Calliano: Calliano, Piedmont and Calliano, Trentino
* Castro: Castro, Apulia and Castro, Lombardy
* Livo: Livo, Lombardy and Livo, Trentino
* Peglio: Peglio, Lombardy and Peglio, Marche
* Samone: Samone, Piedmont and Samone, Trentino
* San Teodoro: San Teodoro, Sardinia and San Teodoro, Sicily

This is mostly due to the fact the name of the province or region was appended to the name of the in order to avoid the confusion. Remarkably two provincial capitals share the name : Reggio nell'Emilia, the capital of the province of Reggio Emilia, in the Emilia-Romagna region, and Reggio di Calabria, the capital of the homonymous metropolitan city, in the Calabria region. Many other towns or villages are likewise partial homonyms (e.g. Anzola dell'Emilia and Anzola d'Ossola, or Bagnara Calabra and Bagnara di Romagna).

Title of city

The title of ('city') in Italy is granted to that have been awarded it by decree of the King of Italy (until 1946) or of the provisional head of state (from 1946 to 1948) or, subsequently, of the President of Italy (after 1948), on the proposal of the Ministry of the Interior, to which the concerned sends an application for a concession, by virtue of their historical, artistic, civic or demographic importance.

The endowed with the title of usually carry the golden crown above their coat of arms, except with different provisions in the decree approving the coat of arms or in the presence). "The crown of the city ( .. is formed by a golden circle opened by eight city gates (five visible) with two cordoned walls on the margins, supporting eight towers (five visible) joined by curtain walls, all in gold and black walled".

Statistics

Largest comuni by area

The following is a list of the largest in Italy, in descending order of surface area, according to ISTAT data referring to 9 October 2011. The provincial capitals are highlighted in bold.

Smallest comuni by area

The following is a list of the smallest in Italy, in ascending order of surface area, according to ISTAT data referring to 9 October 2011.

Highest comuni by altitude

The following is a list of the first by altitude, in descending order. The indicated altitude coincides with the height above sea level of the town hall.

Largest comuni by population

List of the first by population in descending order, according to ISTAT data updated to 28 February 2022. The regional capitals are in bold.

Comuni by demographic ranges

The data is updated as of 1 January 2021.

Demographic ranges by macroregion

The data is updated as of 1 January 2021.

See also

* Regions of Italy
* Metropolitan cities of Italy
* Provinces of Italy
* List of municipalities of Italy
* List of renamed municipalities in Italy
* Alphabetical list of municipalities of Italy
* Fusion of municipalities of Italy
* Municipalities of Switzerland – those in Italian-speaking areas of the country are called

References

External links

Associazione Nazionale Comuni Italiani

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{{authority control

Types of administrative division
Subdivisions of Italy
Italy