A mountain community () in Italy is a territorial association of mountain and foothill
municipalities
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 ...
. Mountain communities were established by law on 3 December 1971 as
statutory bodies with compulsory municipal membership within their defined territory. It is constituted by the president of the
regional council and the mountain and foothill
''comuni'', even those that may be located in different
provinces
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...
. Their purpose is to jointly exercise certain municipal functions and to execute their functions specifically assigned by the region.
Debate
Mountain communities are the subject of much debate in Italy. In
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
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, they were abolished in 1986. In
Friuli-Venezia Giulia
(man), it, Friulana (woman), it, Giuliano (man), it, Giuliana (woman)
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, they were abolished in 2001, were later reintroduced in 2004, and were once again abolished on 1 August 2016. In
Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
, they were abolished in 2007. In Molise, after proposing a reduction in the number of mountain communities, they were abolished. In
Lombardy
Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...
, since 2009, the number of mountain communities dropped from 30 to 23.
Puglia
it, Pugliese
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abolished mountain communities, but the
Constitutional Court of Italy
The Constitutional Court of the Italian Republic ( it, Corte costituzionale della Repubblica Italiana) is the highest court of Italy in matters of constitutional law. Sometimes, the name ''Consulta'' is used as a metonym for it, because its sessi ...
declared the act partially unlawful. In
Liguria
Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...
, their number was reduced from 19 to 12 in 2009, and were abolished altogether on 1 May 2011. The mountain communities of
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
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, after a reorganization in 2010, were abolished in 2012.
References
{{Italy-geo-stub
Subdivisions of Italy
Administrative divisions in Europe