Public Law Regions

Autonomous Territories
in the Italian Constitution
• The Italian Constitution establishes a unitary State in Art. 5, It. Const., which defines the Republic
as "one and indivisible". This consideration lays the necessary foundation for our speech
about the framework governing autonomous areas, as the fundamental yardsticks of unity and
indivisibility must be employed to studying possible territorial-based differences.
• Despite its emphasis in the Constitution, the unitary character of the State has not stopped the
development of a rather complex four-level system of autonomous territorial areas: Municipalities,
Provinces, Regions and the State (as regulated by new Art. 114, It. Const.). As a matter of fact, if
one continues with reading Art. 5, It. Const., the Constitution itself asks for a complex territorial
sharing of powers. This favours autonomous territories, as it states that the Italian Republic
"recognises and promotes local autonomous territories".
• The Constitution's use of the words "to recognise" suggests that local autonomous territories are
entities pre-existing the new legal order. Far from mere stylistic value, the word choice reinforces the
important role autonomous territorial units play in the Italian legal system.

3.

Autonomous Territories
in the Italian Constitution
• In the Middle Ages, Italy had a flowering municipalism centered on the Communes,
which often were true city-states, endowed with immense riches and wide-ranging
powers of self-government. Perhaps the most notable examples were those of
the four Maritime Republics (Venice, Genoa, Pisa and Amalfi) which, between
the Tenth and Thirteenth centuries, were the main military and economic
powers of their time, also thanks to the high levels of political autonomy
they enjoyed.
• In the light of this glorious past, it is quite easy to understand how the Republican
Constitution could not ignore forms of autonomy, so intimately linked to the Italian
history.

4.

Autonomous Territories
in the Italian Constitution
• Under Fascism, opportunities for territorial differentiation were
discouraged, and the tools of government were centralised in the
hands of the national executive.
• In 1926, for example, Fascism did away with administrative elections,
substituting municipal and regional councils (which had free and
popular elections) with the podestas ("podestà" at municipal level)
and the praesidia ("prèsidi" in the provinces). The latter two were
closely linked to an authoritarian government.

5.

Autonomous Territories
in the Italian Constitution
• Therefore, the Constituent Assembly found itself in a position of restating
forms of autonomy that the just-ended Fascism had suppressed. The 1948
Constitution establishes a complex system of autonomous territories based
on Municipalities and Provinces, as in the past. To these levels of
government, another level was added: the Regions.
• The Region was destined to take on a leading role in the recent history of
Italian autonomous territorialism, as the Constitution grants Regions (and
not Municipalities or Provinces) legislative powers, which have increased in
the last few years.

6.

Special Regions
• Some elements of Italian regionalism differ from most similar legal systems and certain forms
of asymmetry are due to specific historical events which have impacted areas of the country.
• Not all Regions are equal. While the majority of regions are Ordinary Regions, five Special Regions
exist. The classification as Regions for both types depends on the adoption procedures used for the
individual regional Statutes and, ultimately, on their hierarchical position as a source of law.
• Only the Special Statutes are adopted in compliance with constitutional laws of the Republic
and thus they are placed on a par with the Constitution. In other words, Special Statutes may
contain (and actually do contain) provisions differing from those generally contained in the
Constitution. Nevertheless, a substantial paradox can be highlighted. If Special Regions were actually
set up to provide certain territories with higher levels of autonomy than the ordinary regional legal
order, it is still worth noting that the Special Statutes have been adopted in compliance with a
centralized process, finalised with the passing of constitutional laws of the Republic. Thus, special
Regions have specific forms of autonomy, but they are not the "masters" of such, therefore, in order
to modify their own Statutes, they must ask the central Parliament to do so.

7.

Special Regions
• The special histories of the territories which benefit from such Statutes justify these special
legal frameworks. The Special Regions (Sicily, Sardinia, Valle d'Aosta/Valléè d'Aoste,
Trentino-Alto Adige Südtirol and Friuli-Venezia Giulia) include the two largest islands
(characterised, at the end of the authoritarism, by a considerable economic and social
backwardness) and border Regions (subject to specific disputes and sensitive issues
relating to ethnic and linguistic minorities).
• Sicily gained a particular form of autonomy in 1946, when a specially constituted
Regional Council prepared a draft Statute, which was approved whilst awaiting
coordination with the text of the planned Constitution then being drafted by the
Constituent Assembly.
• The Statute, which for the first time in the history of Italy granted wide-ranging
legislative powers to the Region itself, was passed in February 1948 as a
constitutional law by the Constituent Assembly.

8.

Special Regions
• The Sardinians did not to follow the Sicilian model; instead, they had to draft
a completely new Statute. In Sardinia, from 1944 onward, a special
council was set up in order to adopt an autonomous Statute, although
in this Region the statutory process was not as fast as the one in
Sicily.
• The Special Statute for Sardinia was approved at the end of January
1948, just after the new republican Constitution entered into force. As
mentioned above, special autonomous powers were also granted to
border Regions.

9.

Special Regions
• The Valle d'Aosta, for example, is characterised by a well-rooted bilinguism (Italian and
French) and has enjoyed a considerable degree of administrative autonomy since 1945
and, since 1948, a Special Statute.
• Even more important is the case of Trentino Alto Adige/Sűdtirol in which constitutional
issues mix with matters of international law. Relations between the Italian and Austrian
communities were at first governed by the 1945 De Gasperi-Gruber Agreement. This
document recognised the borders between Italy and Austria, and specific guarantees for
linguistic minorities were provided, ensuring the use of both Italian and German in schools
and in public administration.
• The most important characteristic of the legal systems of this Special Region is the
existence of two Autonomous Provinces, Trento and Bolzano. These Provinces, especially
after the significant 1971 statutory reform, have significantly eroded regional powers. In
other words, almost all "special" authority is no longer exercised by the Region, but rather,
separateley, by the Autonomous Provinces of Trento and Bolzano.

10.

Special Regions
• Finally, Friuli-Venezia Giulia followed a more complicated problems
due to problems of international law.
• The Peace Conference held just after the end of the Second
World War set up the "Free Territory of Trieste" without, however,
solving Italo-Yugoslav border disputes.
• These issues, as well as the one about the status of Trieste, were
only solved in 1961, and the Special Statute was approved only
in 1963.