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)

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

National holiday: Anniversary of the Republic, 2 June (1946)

Political parties and leaders: Christian Democratic Party (DC), Fermo Mino MARTINAZZOLI, general secretary; Rosa Russo JERVOLINO, president; Socialist Party (PSI), Giorgio BENVENUTO, party secretary; Social Democratic Party (PSDI), Enrico FERRI, party secretary; Liberal Party (PLI); Democratic Party of the Left (PDS - was Communist Party, or PCI, until January 1991), Achille OCCHETTO, secretary general; Italian Social Movement (MSI), Gianfranco FINI, national secretary; Republican Party (PRI), Giorgio BOGI, political secretary; Lega Nord (Northern League), Umberto BOSSI, president; Communist Renewal (RC), Sergio GARAVINI

Other political or pressure groups: the Roman Catholic Church; three major trade union confederations (CGIL - formerly Communist dominated, CISL - Christian Democratic, and UIL - Social Democratic, Socialist, and Republican); Italian manufacturers association (Confindustria); organized farm groups (Confcoltivatori, Confagricoltura)

Suffrage: 18 years of age, universal (except in senatorial elections, where minimum age is 25)

Elections:

Senate: last held 5-6 April 1992 (next to be held by April 1997); results - DC 27.3%, PDS 17.0%, PSI 13.6%, Northern Leagues 8.2%, other 33.9%; seats - (326 total; 315 elected, 11 appointed senators-for-life) DC 107, PDS 64, PSI 49, Leagues 25, other 70

Chamber of Deputies: last held 5-6 April 1992 (next to be held by April 1997); results - DC 29.7%, PDS 16.1%, PSI 13.6%, Northern Leagues 8.7%, RC 5.6%, MSI 5.4%, PRI 4.4%, PLI 2.8%, PSDI 2.7%, other 11%; seats - (630 total) DC 206, PDS 107, PSI 92, Northern Leagues 55, RC 35, MSI 34, PRI 27, PLI 17, PSDI 16, other 41

Executive branch: president, prime minister (president of the Council of Ministers)

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament (Parlamento) consists of an upper chamber or Senate of the Republic (Senato della Repubblica) and a lower chamber or Chamber of Deputies (Camera dei Deputati)

Judicial branch: Constitutional Court (Corte Costituzionale)

Leaders:

Chief of State: President Oscar Luigi SCALFARO (since 28 May 1992)

Head of Government: Prime Minister Carlo Azeglio CIAMPI (29 April 1993)

Member of: AfDB, AG (observer), Australia Group, AsDB, BIS, CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE, CEI, CERN, COCOM, CSCE, EBRD, EC, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, ESA, FAO, G-7, G-10, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IEA, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), LORCS, MINURSO, MTCR, NACC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNMOGIP, UNOMOZ, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

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