List of forms of government
35-461: A comune ( Italian: [koˈmuːne] ; pl. : comuni , Italian: [koˈmuːni] ) is an 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 comune can also have the title of città ( lit. ' city ' ). Formed praeter legem according to
70-468: A Polizia Comunale ( lit. ' Communal Police ' ), which is responsible for public order duties. The comune also deal with the definition and compliance with the piano regolatore generale ( lit. ' 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
105-825: A comune as rione ( Italian: [riˈoːne] ; pl. : rioni ) or contrade . The term originated from the administrative divisions of Rome, and is derived from the Latin word regio ( pl. : regiones ), meaning "region". All currently extant rioni are located in Municipio I of Rome. The term has been adopted as a synonym of quartiere in the Italian comuni . Terzieri , quartieri , sestieri , rioni , and their analogues are usually no longer administrative divisions of these towns, but historical and traditional communities, seen especially in towns' annual Palio . A terziere ( pl. : terzieri )
140-559: A country is sometimes called the " first-level (or first-order ) administrative division" or "first administrative level". Its next subdivision might be called "second-level administrative division" or "second administrative level" and so on. An alternative terminology is provided by the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics which terms the principal division as the second level or NUTS-2. Administrative divisions are conceptually separate from dependent territories , with
175-406: A number of smaller entities. Within those entities are the large and small cities or towns, which may or may not be the county seat . Some of the world's larger cities culturally, if not officially, span several counties, and those crossing state or provincial boundaries have much in common culturally as well, but are rarely incorporated within the same municipal government. Many sister cities share
210-660: A particular independent sovereign state is divided. Such a unit usually has an administrative authority with the power to take administrative or policy decisions for its area. Usually, sovereign states have several levels of administrative division. Common names for the principal (largest) administrative divisions include: states (subnational states, rather than sovereign states), provinces , lands , oblasts and regions . These in turn are often subdivided into smaller administrative units known by names such as comarcas , raions or districts , which are further subdivided into municipalities , communes or communities constituting
245-427: A province, region, canton, land, governorate, oblast, emirate, or country. Administrative units that are not federated or confederated but enjoy a greater degree of autonomy or self-government than other territories within the same country can be considered autonomous regions or de facto constituent states of that country. This relationship is by some authors called a federacy or asymmetric federalism . An example
280-538: A separate ruler, through the arbitration of Venice, which were known as sestieri . The island of Crete , a Venetian colony (the Kingdom of Candia ) from the Fourth Crusade , was also divided into six parts, named after the sestieri of Venice herself, while the capital Candia retained the status of a comune of Venice. The island of Burano north of Venice is also subdivided into sestieri . A variation of
315-619: A synonymous of neighbourhood, and an Italian town can be now subdivided into a larger number of quartieri . The Swiss town of Lugano (in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino) is also subdivided into quarters. The English word quarter to mean an urban neighbourhood (e.g. the French Quarter in New Orleans, Louisiana) is derived from the cognate old French word quartier . A sestiere ( pl. : sestieri )
350-635: A water boundary, which quite often serves as a border of both cities and counties. For example, Cambridge and Boston , Massachusetts appear to the casual traveler as one large city, while locally they each are quite culturally different and occupy different counties. General terms for these incorporated places include " municipality ", " settlement ", "locality", and "populated place". San Valentino in Abruzzo Citeriore San Valentino in Abruzzo Citeriore
385-514: Is Predoi , the southernmost one Lampedusa e Linosa , the westernmost Bardonecchia and the easternmost Otranto . The comune with the longest name is San Valentino in Abruzzo Citeriore , while the comuni with the shortest name are Lu , Ro , Ne , Re and Vo' . The population density of the comuni varies widely by province and region . The province of Barletta-Andria-Trani , for example, has 381,091 inhabitants in 10 comuni , or over 39,000 inhabitants per comune ; whereas
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#1732775989569420-467: Is (by area or population), the fewer levels of administrative divisions it has. For example, Vatican City does not have any administrative subdivisions, and Monaco has only one level (both are city-states ), while such countries as France and Pakistan have five levels each. The United States is composed of states, possessions, territories , and a federal district , each with varying numbers of subdivisions. The principal administrative division of
455-519: Is a list of the largest comuni in Italy, in descending order of surface area, according to ISTAT data referring to 9 October 2011. The provincial capitals are highlighted in bold. The following is a list of the smallest comuni in Italy, in ascending order of surface area, according to ISTAT data referring to 9 October 2011. The following is a list of the first comuni by altitude, in descending order. The indicated altitude coincides with
490-695: Is a mountain hill town in the province of Pescara , part of the Abruzzo region in central Italy . Nestled in the Apennines , less than 40 kilometres (25 mi) from the Adriatic coast, the medieval town lies on the northern edge of the National Park of Majella . The town's name comes from St. Valentine and that of the old province in which the town was located, Abruzzo Citeriore . One of San Valentino's most important architectural landmarks
525-454: Is a subdivision of certain Italian towns and cities. The word is from sesto ( lit. ' sixth ' ), so it is thus used only for towns divided into six districts. The best-known example is the sestieri of Venice , but Ascoli Piceno , Genoa , Milan and Rapallo , for example, were also divided into sestieri . The medieval Lordship of Negroponte , on the island of Euboea , was also at times divided into six districts, each with
560-609: Is a subdivision of several towns in Italy . The word derives from terzo ( lit. ' third ' ) and is thus used only for towns divided into three neighborhoods. Terzieri are most commonly found in Umbria , for example in Trevi , Spello , Narni and Città della Pieve ; towns divided into terzieri in other regions include Lucca in Tuscany , and Ancona and Macerata in
595-410: Is chaired by the mayor, who appoints others members, called assessori , one of whom serves as deputy mayor ( vicesindaco ). The offices of the comune are housed in a building usually called the municipio , or palazzo comunale ( lit. ' town hall ' ). As of January 2021, there were 7,904 comuni in Italy; they vary considerably in size and population. For example,
630-723: Is granted to comuni that have been awarded it by decree of the King of Italy (until 1946) or of the provisional head of state (from 1946 to 1948) or, subsequently, of the President of the Republic (after 1948), on the proposal of the Ministry of the Interior , to which the comune concerned sends an application for a concession, by virtue of their historical, artistic, civic or demographic importance. The comuni endowed with
665-730: Is no fixed rule, for " all politics is local " as is perhaps well demonstrated by their relative lack of systemic order. In the realm of self-government, any of these can and does occur along a stretch of road—which for the most part is passing through rural, unsettled countryside. Since the terms are administrative political divisions of the local regional government, their exact relationship and definitions are subject to home rule considerations, tradition, as well as state statute law and local governmental (administrative) definition and control. In British cultural legacy, some territorial entities began with fairly expansive counties which encompass an appreciably large area, but were divided over time into
700-485: Is the autonomous republic of Karakalpakstan within Uzbekistan . Due to variations in their use worldwide, consistency in the translation of terms from non-English to English is sometimes difficult to maintain. In many of the following terms originating from British cultural influence, areas of relatively low mean population density might bear a title of an entity one would expect to be either larger or smaller. There
735-575: The comune of Rome , in Lazio , has an area of 1,287.36 km (497.05 sq mi) and a population of 2,758,454 inhabitants, and is both the largest and the most populated. Atrani in the province of Salerno ( Campania ) was the smallest comune by area, with only 0.1206 km (0.0466 sq mi), and Morterone ( Lombardy ) is the smallest by population. Many present-day comuni trace their roots along timescales spanning centuries and at times millennia. The northernmost comune
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#1732775989569770-431: The comuni . Comuni must have their own communal statute and have a climatic and seismic classification of their territory for the purposes of hazard mitigation and civil protection . Comuni also deal with the waste management . It is headed by a mayor ( sindaco or sindaca ) assisted by a legislative body, the consiglio comunale ( lit. ' communal council ' ), and an executive body,
805-411: The frazioni , but the comune still retains the name of the capoluogo . In some cases, a comune might not have the same name of capoluogo . In these cases, it is a comune sparso ( lit. ' dispersed comune ' ) and the frazione which hosts the town hall ( municipio ) is a sede municipale (compare county seat ). Some towns refer to neighborhoods within
840-401: The giunta comunale ( lit. ' communal committee ' ). The mayor and members of the consiglio comunale 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 consiglio 's seats. The giunta comunale
875-485: The Marches . The medieval Lordship of Negroponte , on the island of Euboea , was also divided into three distinct rulerships, which were known as terzieri . A quartiere ( Italian: [kwarˈtjɛːre] ; pl. : quartieri ) is a territorial subdivision, properly used, for towns divided into four neighborhoods ( quarto ; lit. ' fourth ' ) by the two main roads. It has been later used as
910-643: The province of Isernia has 81,415 inhabitants in 52 comuni , or 1,640 inhabitants per comune – roughly 24 times more communal units per inhabitant. The coats of arms of the comuni are assigned by decree of the Prime Minister of Italy by the Office of State Ceremonial and Honors, Honors and Heraldry Service (division of the Presidency of the Council born from the transformation of
945-558: The Royal Consulta Araldica , eliminated pursuant to the provisions final of the Constitution of Italy ). Administrative subdivisions within comuni vary according to their population size. Comuni with at least 250,000 residents are divided into circoscrizioni (roughly equivalent to French arrondissements or London boroughs ) to which the comune delegates administrative functions like
980-526: The capital of the province of Reggio Emilia , in the Emilia-Romagna region, and Reggio di Calabria , the capital of the homonymous metropolitan city , in the Calabria 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 ). The title of città ( lit. ' city ' ) in Italy
1015-431: The former being an integral part of the state and the other being only under some lesser form of control. However, the term "administrative division" can include dependent territories as well as accepted administrative divisions (for example, in geographical databases ). Communities united in a federation under a federal government are more specifically known as federated states . A federated state may be referred to as
1050-563: The height above sea level of the town hall. List of the first comuni by population in descending order, according to ISTAT data updated to 28 February 2022. The regional capitals are in bold. The data is updated as of 1 January 2021. The data is updated as of 1 January 2021. Administrative division Administrative divisions (also administrative units , administrative regions , #-level subdivisions , subnational entities , or constituent states , as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which
1085-652: The principles consolidated in medieval municipalities , the comune is provided for by article 114 of the Constitution of Italy . It can be divided into frazioni , which in turn may have limited power due to special elective assemblies. In the autonomous region of the Aosta Valley , a comune is officially called a commune in French. The comune provides essential public services: registry of births and deaths, registry of deeds , and maintenance of local roads and public works. Many comuni have
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1120-443: The running of schools, social services and waste collection; the delegated functions vary from comune to comune . These bodies are headed by an elected president and a local council. Smaller comuni usually comprise: Sometimes a frazione might be more populated than the capoluogo ; and rarely, owing to unusual circumstances (like depopulation), the town hall and its administrative functions can be moved to one of
1155-402: The smallest units of subdivision (the local governments ). Some administrative division names (such as departments , cantons , prefectures , counties or governorates ) can be used for principal, second-level, or third-level divisions. The levels of administrative divisions and their structure largely varies by country (and sometimes within a single country). Usually the smaller the country
1190-428: The title of città 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." The following
1225-426: The word is occasionally found: the comune of Leonessa , for example, is divided into sesti or sixths. There are not many perfect homonymous comuni . There are only six cases in 12 comuni : This is mostly due to the fact the name of the province or region was appended to the name of the comune in order to avoid the confusion. Two provincial capitals share the name Reggio : Reggio nell'Emilia ,
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