The (; plural: ) is a local
administrative division
Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...
of
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, roughly equivalent to a
township
A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries.
Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...
or
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 g ...
. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions (''
regioni'') and provinces (''
province
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 outs ...
''). The can also have the title of ('
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
').
Formed ''
praeter legem'' according to the principles consolidated in
medieval municipalities, the is provided for by art. 114 of the
Constitution of Italy
The Constitution of the Italian Republic ( it, Costituzione della Repubblica Italiana) was enacted by the Constituent Assembly on 22 December 1947, with 453 votes in favour and 62 against. The text, which has since been amended sixteen times, ...
. It can be divided into ''
frazioni
A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) 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 territ ...
'', which in turn may have limited power due to special elective assemblies.
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 ''comune'' is officially called a ''commune'' in French.
Overview
The provides essential public services:
registry of births and deaths,
registry of deeds
Recorder of deeds or deeds registry is a government office tasked with maintaining public records and documents, especially records relating to real estate ownership that provide persons other than the owner of a property with real rights over ...
, 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
Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal.
This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitori ...
.
It is headed by a
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 ...
( 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
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually ho ...
").
As of January 2021, there were 7,904 in Italy;
they vary considerably in size and population. For example, the of
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus ( legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, in
Lazio
it, Laziale
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
, has an area of and a population of 2,758,454 inhabitants, and is both the largest and the most populated.
Atrani
Atrani is a city and ''comune'' on the Amalfi Coast in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-western Italy. It is located to the east of Amalfi, several minutes drive down the coast.
The municipality of Atrani has a surface area ...
in the
province of Salerno
The Province of Salerno ( it, Provincia di Salerno) is a province in the Campania region of Italy.
__TOC__
Geography
The largest towns in the province are: Salerno, the capital, which has a population of 131,950; Cava de' Tirreni, Battipagl ...
(
Campania
(man), it, Campana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demog ...
) was the smallest by area, with only , and
Morterone
Morterone ( Valassinese lmo, Murterun) is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Lecco in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about northeast of Lecco. With a population of 33 persons, it was considere ...
(
Lombardy
(man), (woman) lmo, lumbard, links=no (man), (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
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, ...
) 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
Otranto (, , ; scn, label=Salentino, Oṭṛàntu; el, label= Griko, Δερεντό, Derentò; grc, Ὑδροῦς, translit=Hudroûs; la, Hydruntum) is a coastal town, port and '' comune'' in the province of Lecce (Apulia, Italy), in a fert ...
. 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
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 outs ...
and
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 ...
. The
province of Barletta-Andria-Trani
The Province of Barletta-Andria-Trani is a province of Italy in the Apulia region. The establishment of the province took effect in June 2009, and Andria was appointed as its seat of government on 21 May 2010.
It was created from 10 municipaliti ...
, 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
The Prime Minister of Italy, officially the President of the Council of Ministers ( it, link=no, Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri), is the head of government of the Italian Republic. The office of president of the Council of Ministers is ...
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 The ''Consulta Araldica'' ( en, College of Arms) was a college instituted by royal decree on 10 October 1869 to advise the Italian government on noble titles, coats of arms and related matters. It was a department of the Ministry of the Interior, ...
'', suppressed pursuant to the provisions final of the
Constitution of Italy
The Constitution of the Italian Republic ( it, Costituzione della Repubblica Italiana) was enacted by the Constituent Assembly on 22 December 1947, with 453 votes in favour and 62 against. The text, which has since been amended sixteen times, ...
).
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 borough
The London boroughs are the 32 local authority districts that together with the City of London make up the administrative area of Greater London; each is governed by a London borough council. The present London boroughs were all created at t ...
s) 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
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...
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
district
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, subdivision ...
s and
neighbourhood
A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...
s.
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
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...
).
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
Peglio is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pesaro and Urbino in the Italian region Marche, located about west of Ancona and about southwest of Pesaro.
Peglio borders the following municipalities: Lunano, Sant'Angelo in Vado, ...
* Samone:
Samone, Piedmont
Samone is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about north of Turin. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,513 and an area of .All demographics and other statistics: Ital ...
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
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 ...
, the capital of the
province of Reggio Emilia, in the
Emilia-Romagna
egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title ...
region, and
Reggio di Calabria
Reggio di Calabria ( scn, label= Southern Calabrian, Riggiu; el, label=Calabrian Greek, Ρήγι, Rìji), usually referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the largest city in Calabria. It has an estimated popul ...
, the capital of the
homonymous metropolitan city, in the
Calabria
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
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
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
') in Italy is granted to that have been awarded it by decree of the
King of Italy
King of Italy ( it, links=no, Re d'Italia; la, links=no, Rex Italiae) was the title given to the ruler of the Kingdom of Italy after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The first to take the title was Odoacer, a barbarian military leader ...
(until 1946) or of the provisional head of state (from 1946 to 1948) or, subsequently, of the
President of Italy
The president of Italy, officially denoted as president of the Italian Republic ( it, Presidente della Repubblica Italiana) is the head of state of Italy. In that role, the president represents national unity, and guarantees that Italian pol ...
(after 1948), on the proposal of the
Ministry of the Interior
An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs.
Lists of current ministries of internal affairs
Named "ministry"
* Ministr ...
, 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
The Italian National Institute of Statistics ( it, Istituto nazionale di statistica; Istat) is the main producer of official statistics in Italy. Its activities include the census of population, economic censuses and a number of social, economi ...
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
The Italian National Institute of Statistics ( it, Istituto nazionale di statistica; Istat) is the main producer of official statistics in Italy. Its activities include the census of population, economic censuses and a number of social, economi ...
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
Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...
of the town hall.
Largest comuni by population
List of the first by population in descending order, according to
ISTAT
The Italian National Institute of Statistics ( it, Istituto nazionale di statistica; Istat) is the main producer of official statistics in Italy. Its activities include the census of population, economic censuses and a number of social, economi ...
data updated to 28 February 2022.
The
regional
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 ...
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
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. ...
*
Metropolitan cities of Italy
The metropolitan cities of Italy (Italian: ''città metropolitane d'Italia'') are administrative divisions of Italy, operative since 2015, which are a special type of sub-provinces (''province''). The metropolitan city, as defined by law, include ...
*
Provinces of Italy
The provinces of Italy ( it, province d'Italia) are the second-level administrative divisions of the Italian Republic, on an intermediate level between a municipality () and a region (). Since 2015, provinces have been classified as "instituti ...
*
List of municipalities of Italy
In Italy, municipalities (''comuni'') are the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.
Overall
* Alphabetical list of municipalities of Italy
Central Italy
...
*
List of renamed municipalities in Italy
*
Alphabetical list of municipalities of Italy
*
Fusion of municipalities of Italy
The fusion of Italian municipalities (Italian: ''fusione di comuni'') is the physical-territorial union between two or more contiguous ''comune, comuni''.
The following list contains only the municipalities that are within the present-day borders ...
*
Municipalities of Switzerland
Municipalities (german: Gemeinden, ' or '; french: communes; it , comuni; rm, vischnancas) are the lowest level of administrative division in Switzerland. Each municipality is part of one of the Swiss cantons, which form the Swiss Confeder ...
– those in
Italian-speaking areas of the country are called
References
External links
Associazione Nazionale Comuni Italiani
*
*
{{authority control
Types of administrative division
Subdivisions of Italy
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...