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Italy

 
     
    • Names: 
     
        conventional long form: 
        Italian Republic 
     
        conventional short form: 
        Italy 
     
        local long form: 
        Repubblica Italiana 
     
        local short form: 
        Italia 
     
        former: 
        Kingdom of Italy 
     
    • Digraph: 
      IT 
     
    • Type: 
      republic 
     
    • Capital: 
      Rome 
     
    • Administrative divisions: 
      20 regions (regioni, singular - regione); Abruzzi, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lazio, Liguria, Lombardia, Marche, Molise, Piemonte, Puglia, Sardegna, Sicilia, Toscana, Trentino-Alto Adige, Umbria, Valle d'Aosta, Veneto 
     
    • Independence: 
      17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed) 
     
    • National holiday: 
      Anniversary of the Republic, 2 June (1946) 
     
    • Constitution: 
      1 January 1948 
     
    • Legal system: 
      based on civil law system, with ecclesiastical law influence; appeals treated as trials de novo; judicial review under certain conditions in Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction 
     
    • Suffrage: 
      18 years of age; universal (except in senatorial elections, where minimum age is 25) 
     
    • Executive branch: 
     
        chief of state: 
        President Oscar Luigi SCALFARO (since 28 May 1992) 
     
        head of government: 
        Prime Minister (referred to in Italy as the President of the Council of Ministers) Lamberto DINI (since 1 February 1995) 
     
        cabinet: 
        Council of Ministers; nominated by the President of the Council (i.e., Prime Minister) and approved by the President of the Republic 
     
    • Legislative branch: 
      bicameral Parliament (Parlamento) 
     
        Senate (Senato della Repubblica): 
     
        Chamber of Deputies (Camera dei Deputati): 
         
    • Women's Share of Seats in Parliament:

      • 6% (1997 est.)
     
    • Judicial branch: 
      Constitutional Court (Corte Costituzionale) 
     
    • Political parties and leaders: 
      Forza Italia (FI), Silvio BERLUSCONI; National Alliance, Gianfranco FINI, party secretary; Northern League - Federal Italy (NL), Umberto BOSSI, president; Italian Social Movement, Pino RAUTI; Democratic Party of the Left (PDS, Massimo D'ALEMA, secretary; Communist Refoundation (RC), Fausto BERTINOTTI; Greens, Gianni MATTIOLI; Italian Socialists, Ottaviano DELTURCO; Rete (The Network), Leoluca ORLANDO; Christian Socialists, Ermanno GORRIERI; Pact for Italy, Mario SEGNI; Italian Popular Party (PPI), Rocco BUTTIGLIONE, Gerardo BIANCO; Christian Democratic Center (CCD), Pier Ferdinando CASINI; Union of the Democratic Center (UDC), Raffaele COSTA; Pannella List, Marco PANNELLA 
     
    • Other political or pressure groups: 
      the Roman Catholic Church; three major trade union confederations (Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro or CGIL which is PDS-dominated, Confederazione Italiana dei Sindacati Lavoratori or CISL which is centerist, and Unione Italiana del Lavoro or UIL which is center-left); Italian manufacturers and merchants associations (Confindustria, Confcommercio); organized farm groups (Confcoltivatori, Confagricoltura) 
     
    • Member of: 
      AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE, CEI, CERN, EBRD, EC, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, ESA, FAO, G- 7, G-10, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, MTCR, NACC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, ONUSAL, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMOGIP, UNOMOZ, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC 
     
    • Diplomatic representation in US: 
     
        chief of mission: 
        Ambassador Boris BIANCHERI-CHIAPPORI 
     
        chancery: 
        1601 Fuller Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 
     
        telephone: 
        [1] (202) 328-5500 
     
        consulate(s) general: 
        Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco 
     
        consulate(s): 
        Detroit and New Orleans 
     
    • US diplomatic representation: 
     
        chief of mission: 
        Ambassador Reginald BARTHOLOMEW 
     
        embassy: 
        Via Veneto 119/A, 00187-Rome 
     
        mailing address: 
        PSC 59, Box 100, Rome; APO AE 09624 
     
        telephone: 
        [39] (6) 46741 
     
        FAX: 
        [39] (6) 4882672 
     
        consulate(s) general: 
        Florence, Milan, Naples 
     
    • Flag: 
      three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; similar to the flag of Ireland, which is longer and is green (hoist side), white, and orange; also similar to the flag of the Cote d'Ivoire, which has the colors reversed - orange (hoist side), white, and green