Rome

Government

The Italian Republic is divided into 20 regions, five of which (Sicily, Sardinia, Trentino-Alto Adige, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and Valle d ' Aosta) enjoy a special status; there is a large degree of regional autonomy. Each locale has a council elected every five years by universal suffrage, and a Giunta regionale is responsible to the regional council. The regional council is a legislative assembly while the Giunta holds executive power. The regions are subdivided into a total of 95 provinces.

Officers of the government include the president, who is chief of state, and the prime minister, who is head of government. The prime minister is generally head of a majority party or a majority coalition of parties but can also be appointed from other parties. A proposed prime minister must be approved by a parliamentary vote of confidence and can be removed from office at any time if parliament passes a vote of no confidence.