A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''

comune 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 ...

'' (

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territorial subdivisions in the country. In the autonomous region of the

Aosta Valley , Valdostan or Valdotainian it, Valdostano (man) it, Valdostana (woman)french: Valdôtain (man)french: Valdôtaine (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = Official languages , population_blank1 = Italian French ...

, a ''frazione'' is officially called an ''hameau'' in French.

Description

Typically the term ''frazioni'' applies to the villages surrounding the main town (''

capoluogo 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 ...

'') of a ''

''. Subdivision of a ''comune'' is optional; some ''comuni'' have no ''frazioni'', but others have several dozen. The ''comune'' usually has the same name of the ''capoluogo'', but not always, in which case it is called a ''comune sparso''. In practice, most ''frazioni'' are small

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

s or

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

s, occasionally just a clump of houses. Not every hamlet is classified as a ''frazione''; those that are not are often referred to as ''

località A ''località'' is an inhabited place in Italy that is not accorded a more significant distinction in administrative law such as a ''frazione'', ''comune'', ''municipio'', ''circoscrizione'', or ''quartiere''. The word is cognate to English ''loc ...

'', for example, in the telephone book. In some cases, ''frazioni'' are more populous than the ''capoluogo'' of the ''comune''. Due to unusual circumstances or to the depopulation of the ''capoluogo'', the town hall and its administrative functions can move to one of the ''frazioni'': the ''comune'' still retains the name of the ''capoluogo''.

History

Historically, many ''frazioni'' came into being during the Fascist era, when a major effort was made to consolidate and rationalize the territorial subdivisions of the country. Sometimes, a ''frazione'' represents a former ''comune'' that was believed to be no longer viable. Until 2000, the central government established the frazioni and defined their borders, except in the case of the five

autonomous regions An autonomous administrative division (also referred to as an autonomous area, entity, unit, region, subdivision, or territory) is a subnational administrative division or internal territory of a sovereign state that has a degree of autonomy— ...

(see

Regions of Italy The regions of Italy ( it, regioni d'Italia) are the first-level administrative divisions of the Italian Republic, constituting its second NUTS administrative level. There are twenty regions, five of which have higher autonomy than the rest. U ...

), where this was controlled at the

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

al level. By the Legislative Decree 267/2000 to implement amendments to Title V of the Italian Constitution, the individual ''comuni'' now define the ''frazioni'' within their borders.

Officers

Under the former legislation, a ''frazione'' had the option of having a ''prosindaco'' (submayor), who was appointed by the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

(''il sindaco'') of the ''comune'', often on the recommendation of deliberative bodies such as the communal council (''consiglio'') or the ''giunta'', or as a result of a petition by enough residents of the ''frazione'' involved; although there was no official provision for ''frazioni'' to group together with the appointment of a single ''prosindaco'', this did happen quite often. Under current law, however, Article 54 of the d.lgs. 267/2000 provides that a mayor may delegate mayoral functions at the ''frazione'' level to a councillor of the ''comune''. In many ''comuni'', in addition to their advisory function, the ''frazioni'' have their clerks and recorders of deeds, but they do not maintain their own civil records.

Description

History

Officers

See also