The Italian Republic ( it, Repubblica Italiana) was a short-lived (1802–1805)

republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

located in

Northern Italy Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

served as president and its capital was Milan.

The republic

The Italian Republic was the successor of the Cisalpine Republic, which changed its constitution to allow the French First Consul Napoleon to become its president. The new constitution changed the name of the state to the "Italian Republic"; it consisted of the same areas that had comprised the Cisalpine Republic, primarily

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 ...

and

Romagna Romagna ( rgn, Rumâgna) is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna, North Italy. Traditionally, it is limited by the Apennines to the south-west, the Adriatic to t ...

. The republic had a territory of more than , and a population of 3,240,000 in 12 '' départements''. Milan was the capital city, the main center having 124,000 inhabitants in 1764. The country was prosperous despite the plundering experienced in preceding centuries. Its economy was based on

cereal A cereal is any Poaceae, grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, Cereal germ, germ, and bran. Cereal Grain, grain crops are grown in greater quantit ...

agriculture and cattle raising, plus flourishing small industries, notably the production of silk. The flag of the Italian Republic maintained the three Italian-Milanese national colours, but with a new, less revolutionary, pattern. The coat of arms was specified in a decree on 13 May 1802. A treaty of friendship and commerce with the Republic of San Marino was signed on 10 June 1802, the Concordat with the Holy See on 16 September 1803. The government created the National Guard of Italy, a National

Gendarmerie Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...

, and a finance police; the metric system was introduced and a national currency was planned, although never minted during the Republican era. In 1805, following Bonaparte's assumption of the title of Emperor of the French, the Italian Republic was transformed into the Kingdom of Italy (''Regno d'Italia''), with Napoleon as king and his stepson Eugène de Beauharnais as viceroy.

Institutional form

According to the Italian constitution of 1802, sovereignty resided in three electoral colleges of three to two hundred members: the College of Owners (''il Collegio dei possidenti''), the College of Scholars (''il Collegio dei dotti''), and the College of Traders (''il Collegio dei mercanti''), the first having its seat in Milan, the second in Bologna, and the third in Brescia. All the colleges elected a commission of control and supreme rule, called the Censorship (''la Censura''), composed of twenty-one members and based in

Cremona Cremona (, also ; ; lmo, label= Cremunés, Cremùna; egl, Carmona) is a city and ''comune'' in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po river in the middle of the ''Pianura Padana'' ( Po Valley). It is the capital of th ...

. The head of state was the president of the republic (''il Presidente della repubblica''),

, elected for 10 years. The president had full executive powers, appointed the vice-president (''il Vicepresidente'') and the secretary of state, took legislative and diplomatic initiative, chose the ministers, public agents, ambassadors, and chiefs of the army, summoned the executive councils, and prepared the budget. The vice-president,

Francesco Melzi d'Eril Francesco Melzi d'Eril, Duke of Lodi, Count of Magenta (6 March 1753 – 16 January 1816) was an Italian politician and patriot, serving as vice-president of the Napoleonic Italian Republic (1802–1805). He was a consistent supporter of the Ita ...

, acted for the president during his absence. Melzi was described as a gentleman and effectively ruled over the state's domestic affairs during the three years of the republic's life. Never submitting to Napoleon, Melzi was demoted after the monarchy's proclamation in favour of more controllable men; however, Melzi's character ensured him Napoleon's deep private respect during all the years of the French empire. Melzi also introduced obligatory conscription to Italy. The Consulta (''la Consulta di Stato'') was a commission of eight members led by the president of the republic and in charge of foreign policy. The commissioners were appointed by the Censorship upon nomination by the three colleges: many former members of the Directory of the Cisalpine Republic entered into office. The Consulta ratified treaties, approved any special decrees concerning state security, and in the event of the death or resignation of the president, appointed the successor. The minister of foreign affairs was chosen from among the commissioners. The Legislative Council (''il Consiglio legislativo'') was a commission of at least ten members appointed by the president for three years. Its mission was to allow the president to submit legislation, helping him in the elaboration of laws and being present when they were discussed in parliament. The secretary of state (''il segretario di Stato'') was the chief of the public administration. He promulgated the laws, guarded the state's seal, and countersigned presidential acts. The first secretary was Diego Guicciardi, soon followed by Pellegrino Nobili and, finally, by Luigi Vaccari. The government comprised seven ministers (''i ministri''). The Minister of War was at first Alessandro Trivulzi and then, from 1804, General Domenico Pino; Minister of Interior was at first

Luigi Villa Luigi Villa is a backgammon player from Milan, Italy.Allen, Henry. "Gammonoid the Conqueror," ''The Washington Post''. 17 July 1979, p. B1 In 1979, he was the winner of the World Championship held in Monte Carlo.Bray, Chris. "Man vs. Machine", ''T ...

and then, from 1803, Daniele Felici; Minister of Foreign Affairs was

Ferdinando Marescalchi Ferdinando, comte Marescalchi (26 February 1754, Bologna - 22 June 1816, Milan) was an Italian diplomat and politician. Life The Republics of Italy He was from an old noble family which had originated in Vicenza. He studied law at the University ...

; Minister of Justice and Great Judge was Bonaventura Spannocchi; Minister of Treasury was Antonio Veneri; Minister of Finance was

Giuseppe Prina Count Giuseppe Prina (20 July 1766 in Novara – 20 April 1814) was an Italian statesman killed in the Milan riots of 1814. Biography Prina gave early evidence of his rare talent. After studying at the University of Pavia, he became a doctor of ...

; Minister of Religion was

Giovanni Bovara Giovanni Bovara Rejna (30 September 1734, Malgrate, not far from Como - 12 October 1812, Milan) was an Italian priest and politician. Life Early years The second son of Cristoforo Bovara Rejna and Teodora Brentano Riati, Bovara's family had become ...

. To draw up its budgets, the government was assisted by a Commissionership for National Accountancy. The parliament of the republic was the Legislative Body (''il Corpo Legislativo'') with limited powers. It was composed of 75 members elected in each department by the three colleges. It was summoned by the president of the republic and could only approve or reject a law, the discussion being reserved to a more restricted Chamber of orators or Chamber of speakers (''Camera degli oratori'', a committee of fifteen speakers). First appointed at the Meetings of Lyon, one-third of the parliament had to be renewed every two years. The tribunals were divided into tribunals of first instance (''tribunali di prima istanza''), courts of appeal (''corti d'appello''), courts of revision (''corti di revisione''), and a court of cassation (''corte di cassazione''). The judges of the first two were appointed by the Consulta, the latter two by the three colleges.

Local administration

Following the French system, The state was divided into 12 '' départements'' ('' dipartimenti''). The chief of the department was the prefect (''

prefetto Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

''), an office created on 6 May 1802. The prefect was the state's representative in each province (dipartimento), and had two main functions: the first was to implement the administrative decisions of the central government and to control the local authorities, the second was leadership of the police. The local legislative body was the

General Council General council may refer to: In education: * General Council (Scottish university), an advisory body to each of the ancient universities of Scotland * General Council of the University of St Andrews, the corporate body of all graduates and senio ...

(''Consiglio generale''), composed of representatives of the communes. The government appointed the Central Departmental Administration (''Consiglio della prefettura''), composed of five or seven members chosen from nominations submitted by the General Council: the Administrations had powers over taxes and public works and, generally, represented local interests. The departments were divided into districts (''distretti'') equivalent to the French ''

arrondissements An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements'' ...

''. The chief of the district was the vice-prefect, which had powers similar to those of the prefect, but for a smaller area. However, the structure of the districts was not uniform over all the territory of the republic, and some districts were administered by a district council and a chancellor. The districts were divided into '' communes''. Communes with more than 3,000 inhabitants had a city council ('' consiglio comunale'') of thirty or forty members, chosen by the General council from nominations submitted by the same city council. In the smaller communes, all the taxable citizens were councillors. The council elected a municipality of three to nine members, helped in its executive functions by a city secretary. All city offices were held only by owners and traders, and the leadership of the owners was assured. Each commune had a tax collector.

List of departments and districts

* Agogna (capital Novara) **

District of Novara A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

District of Vigevano A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

, District of Domodossola,

District of Varallo A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

District of Arona A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

* Crostolo (capital

Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia ( egl, Rèz; la, Regium Lepidi), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has abou ...

) * Lario (capital Como) **

District of Como A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

District of Varese A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

District of Sondrio A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

District of Lecco A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

* Lower Po (capital

Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...

) * Mella (capital Brescia) **

District of Brescia A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

District of Chiari A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

District of Verolanuova A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

District of Salò A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

* Mincio (capital Mantua) **

District of Mantua A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

District of Revere A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

, District of Verona,

District of Castiglione A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

* Olona (capital Milan) **

District of Milan The District of Milan was one of the four divisions of the , the province of Milan during the Napoleonic Italian Republic. It received the numeral I and its capital was Milan. Founded on May 13, 1801, it had a population of 217,807 inhabitants. C ...

District of Pavia The District of Pavia was one of the four divisions of the , the province of Milan during the Napoleonic Italian Republic. It received the numeral II and its capital was Pavia. The district Founded on May 13, 1801, it had a population of 119,105 in ...

District of Monza The District of Monza was one of the four divisions of the , the province of Milan during the Napoleonic Italian Republic. It received the numeral III and its capital was Monza. The district Founded on May 13, 1801, it had a population of 78,201 ...

District of Gallarate The District of Gallarate was one of the four divisions of the , the province of Milan during the Napoleonic Italian Republic. It received the numeral IV and its capital was Gallarate. The district Founded on May 13, 1801, it had a population of 11 ...

* Panaro (capital

Modena Modena (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern I ...

) * Reno (capital Bologna) * Rubicone (capital Forlì) * Serio (capital

Bergamo Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Como ...

) ** District of Bergamo,

District of Clusone A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

District of Treviglio A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

District of Breno A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

* Upper Po (capital

) **

District of Cremona A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

District of Crema A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

District of Lodi A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

District of Casalmaggiore A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

Sources

● Historical database of Lombard laws (it.)

{{Coord, 45, 28, N, 9, 10, E, type:city_source:kolossus-hewiki, display=title Modern history of Italy Italian states Former republics Italian unification 1800s in Italy States and territories established in 1802 States and territories disestablished in 1805 1802 establishments in Europe 1805 disestablishments in Europe 1802 establishments in Italy 1805 disestablishments in Italy France–Italy relations

The republic

Institutional form

Local administration

List of departments and districts

See also

Sources