Italian Senate
Encyclopedia
The Senate of the Republic is the upper house
of the Italian Parliament
. It was established in its current form on 8 May 1948, but previously existed during the Kingdom of Italy
as Senato del Regno (Senate of the Kingdom), itself a continuation of the Senato Subalpino (Subalpine Senate) of Sardinia-Piedmont established on 8 May 1848. It sits in Palazzo Madama
in Rome
.
(former President), Giulio Andreotti
(former Prime Minister), Rita Levi Montalcini (Nobel Prize winner for Medicine 1986), Emilio Colombo
(former Prime Minister), Sergio Pininfarina
(Designer), Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
(former President), Mario Monti
(Economist). The current Italian President, Giorgio Napolitano
, was a life senator before his election in 2006; his membership of the Senate is suspended whilst in Presidential office.
The Italian Senate is unusual among European upper houses in that it has almost the same power as its lower counterpart: other than the budget, any law can be initiated in either house, and must be approved in the same form by both houses; additionally the Government must have the consent of both to remain in office (a position which is known as "perfect bicameralism").
The Senate may be dissolved before the expiration of its normal term by the President of the Republic, when no government can obtain a majority.
Parliamentary groups after 2008 election and current (July 2011)
|- bgcolor="#e9e9e9" style="text-align: center"
!colspan="2"|Parties
!Inauguration
!Current
|-
|style="background-color:#4682B4"|
|style="text-align: center"| The People of Freedom
|146 seats
|128 seats
|-
|style="background-color:orange"|
|style="text-align: center"| Democratic Party
|119 seats
|106 seats
|-
|style="background-color:green"|
|style="text-align: center"| Northern League
| 26 seats
| 25 seats
|-
|style="background-color:brown"|
|style="text-align: center"| Italy of Values
| 14 seats
| 12 seats
|-
|style="background-color:red"|
|style="text-align: center"| Union of the Centre
| 11 seats
with SVP
| 15 seats
with SVP
and UV
|-
|style="background-color:aqua"|
|style="text-align: center"| To the Third Pole
| 0 seats
| 13 seats
|-
|style="background-color:violet"|
|style="text-align: center"| National Cohesion
| 0 seats
| 12 seats
|-
|style="background-color:yellow"|
|style="text-align: center"| Mixed group
(Independents
and Senators for life
)
| 6 seats
| 11 seats
|- bgcolor="#e9e9e9"
|colspan="2" style="text-align: center"| Parties
|| 322 seats || 322 seats
|-
|}
In addition to overseeing the business of the chamber, chairing and regulating debates, deciding whether motions and bills are admissible, representing the Senate, etc., the President of the Senate
stands in for the President of the Republic when the president is unable to perform the duties of the office. The current President of the Senate (since 29 April 2008) is Renato Schifani
.
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Since 1871, the Senate has met in Palazzo Madama
in Rome
, an old patrician palace completed in 1505 for the Medici family. The palace takes its name from Madama Margherita of Austria, daughter of Charles V
and wife of Alessandro de' Medici.
After the extinction of the Medici, the palace was handed over to the House of Lorraine
and, later, it was sold to Papal Government
.
In 1849, Pius IX moved the Ministries of Finances and of the Public Debt here, as well as the Papal Post Offices. After the conquest of Rome
by the newly formed Kingdom of Italy
, the palace was chosen to became the seat of the Senato del Regno, or Senate of the Kingdom.
The current façade was built in the mid 1650s by both Cigoli
and Paolo Maruccelli. The latter added the ornate cornice and whimsical decorative urns on the roof. Among the rooms one of the most significant (and perhaps the most impressive from the political point of view) is the "Sala Maccari," which takes its name from Cesare Maccari
, the artist who decorated it in 1880 and created the frescoes , among which stands out as one that depicts Cicero
makes his indictment of Catiline
, who listens, isolated from their seats.
The chamber where the Senate met for the first time on 27 November 1871 was designed by Luigi Gabet. A plaque on the wall behind the speaker's chair commemorates the king's address to Parliament when first convened in the new seat of government:
Above this has been placed a plaque bearing the inscription:
To the viewers left stand the flags of the Italian Republic
(with a ribbon embroidered with the words SENATO DELLA REPUBBLICA) and the European Union.
Upper house
An upper house, often called a senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house; a legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral.- Possible specific characteristics :...
of the Italian Parliament
Parliament of Italy
The Parliament of Italy is the national parliament of Italy. It is a bicameral legislature with 945 elected members . The Chamber of Deputies, with 630 members is the lower house. The Senate of the Republic is the upper house and has 315 members .Since 2005, a party list electoral law is being...
. It was established in its current form on 8 May 1948, but previously existed during the Kingdom of Italy
Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was its legal predecessor state...
as Senato del Regno (Senate of the Kingdom), itself a continuation of the Senato Subalpino (Subalpine Senate) of Sardinia-Piedmont established on 8 May 1848. It sits in Palazzo Madama
Palazzo Madama
Palazzo Madama is a palace in Rome that is currently the home of the Senate of the Italian Republic.It was built atop the ruins of the ancient baths of Nero, next to Piazza Navona...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
.
Composition
The Senate consists of 315 elected members, and seven senators for life. The elected senators must be over 40 years of age, are elected by an electorate composed of Italian citizens aged 25 or over and, save for six senators who represent Italians living outside Italy, are elected on a regional basis. The senators for life are composed of former Presidents of the Italian Republic, who hold office ex officio and those who are appointed by the president for "for outstanding merits in the social, scientific, artistic or literary field". The seven current life senators are: Oscar Luigi ScalfaroOscar Luigi Scalfaro
Oscar Luigi Scalfaro , Italian politician and magistrate, was the ninth President of the Italian Republic from 1992 to 1999, and is currently a senator for life...
(former President), Giulio Andreotti
Giulio Andreotti
Giulio Andreotti is an Italian politician of the now dissolved centrist Christian Democracy party. He served as the 42nd Prime Minister of Italy from 1972 to 1973, from 1976 to 1979 and from 1989 to 1992. He also served as Minister of the Interior , Defense Minister and Foreign Minister and he...
(former Prime Minister), Rita Levi Montalcini (Nobel Prize winner for Medicine 1986), Emilio Colombo
Emilio Colombo
Emilio Colombo is an Italian politician who was Prime Minister of Italy from 1970 to 1972. In addition to having held top positions in Italian governments, he was also active in European politics.-Biography:...
(former Prime Minister), Sergio Pininfarina
Sergio Pininfarina
Sergio Pininfarina is an Italian automobile designer, like his father Battista Farina. After joining his father at Carrozzeria Pininfarina, he quickly became integral to the company, and during his career oversaw many of the designs for which the company is famous...
(Designer), Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
dr. Carlo Azeglio Ciampi is an Italian politician and banker. He was the 73rd Prime Minister of Italy from 1993 to 1994 and was the tenth President of the Italian Republic from 1999 to 2006...
(former President), Mario Monti
Mario Monti
Mario Monti is an Italian economist and academic who is Prime Minister of Italy, as well as Minister of Economy and Finance, since November 2011. Monti served as a European Commissioner from 1995 to 2004, with responsibility for the Internal Market, Services, Customs and Taxation from 1995 to 1999...
(Economist). The current Italian President, Giorgio Napolitano
Giorgio Napolitano
Giorgio Napolitano is an Italian politician who has been the 11th President of Italy since 2006. A long-time member of the Italian Communist Party and later the Democrats of the Left, he served as President of the Chamber of Deputies from 1992 to 1994 and as Minister of the Interior from 1996 to...
, was a life senator before his election in 2006; his membership of the Senate is suspended whilst in Presidential office.
The Italian Senate is unusual among European upper houses in that it has almost the same power as its lower counterpart: other than the budget, any law can be initiated in either house, and must be approved in the same form by both houses; additionally the Government must have the consent of both to remain in office (a position which is known as "perfect bicameralism").
The Senate may be dissolved before the expiration of its normal term by the President of the Republic, when no government can obtain a majority.
Membership
The current membership of the Italian Senate, following the latest political elections of 13 April and 14 April 2008:Parliamentary groups
Parliamentary groups in the Italian Senate, at the inauguration and after the latest changes.Parliamentary groups after 2008 election and current (July 2011)
|- bgcolor="#e9e9e9" style="text-align: center"
!colspan="2"|Parties
!Inauguration
!Current
|-
|style="background-color:#4682B4"|
|style="text-align: center"| The People of Freedom
The People of Freedom
The People of Freedom is a centre-right political party in Italy. With the Democratic Party, it is one of the two major parties of the current Italian party system....
|146 seats
|128 seats
|-
|style="background-color:orange"|
|style="text-align: center"| Democratic Party
Democratic Party (Italy)
The Democratic Party is a social-democratic political party in Italy, that is the second-largest in the country. The party is led by Pier Luigi Bersani, who was elected in the 2009 leadership election....
|119 seats
|106 seats
|-
|style="background-color:green"|
|style="text-align: center"| Northern League
| 26 seats
| 25 seats
|-
|style="background-color:brown"|
|style="text-align: center"| Italy of Values
Italy of Values
Italy of Values is a centrist, populist and anti-corruption political party in Italy. The party, which is affiliated to the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party , is headed by former Mani pulite prosecutor Antonio Di Pietro, who entered politics in 1996.The party aims to gather and give...
| 14 seats
| 12 seats
|-
|style="background-color:red"|
|style="text-align: center"| Union of the Centre
| 11 seats
with SVP
South Tyrolean People's Party
The South Tyrolean People's Party is a regionalist Christian democratic political party active in the Italian province of South Tyrol.Founded in 1945, the SVP represents the German-speaking population of the province, as well as Ladin speakers. Since the first election of the Provincial Council in...
| 15 seats
with SVP
South Tyrolean People's Party
The South Tyrolean People's Party is a regionalist Christian democratic political party active in the Italian province of South Tyrol.Founded in 1945, the SVP represents the German-speaking population of the province, as well as Ladin speakers. Since the first election of the Provincial Council in...
and UV
Valdotanian Union
The Valdotanian Union is a regionalist-centrist Italian political party active in Aosta Valley. Its leaders are Ego Perron, party president, and Augusto Rollandin, President of the Region....
|-
|style="background-color:aqua"|
|style="text-align: center"| To the Third Pole
New Pole for Italy
The New Pole for Italy , referred also either as the Third Pole or Pole of the Nation , is a centre-right coalition of parties in Italy....
| 0 seats
| 13 seats
|-
|style="background-color:violet"|
|style="text-align: center"| National Cohesion
National Cohesion
National Cohesion is a centre-right parliamentary party active in the Italian Senate.Launched on 2 March 2011, the group was supportive of Berlusconi IV Cabinet. The group's president is Pasquale Viespoli, formerly leader of Future and Freedom in the Senate, and its counterpart in the Chamber of...
| 0 seats
| 12 seats
|-
|style="background-color:yellow"|
|style="text-align: center"| Mixed group
(Independents
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
and Senators for life
Senator for life
A senator for life is a member of the senate or equivalent upper chamber of a legislature who has life tenure. , 7 Italian Senators out of 322, 4 out of the 47 Burundian Senators and all members of the British House of Lords have lifetime tenure...
)
| 6 seats
| 11 seats
|- bgcolor="#e9e9e9"
|colspan="2" style="text-align: center"| Parties
|| 322 seats || 322 seats
|-
|}
Presidents
Under the current Constitution, the Senate must hold its first sitting no later than 20 days after a general election. That session, presided by the oldest senator, proceeds to elect the President of the Senate for the following parliamentary period. On the first two attempts at voting, an absolute majority of all senators is needed; if a third round is needed, a candidate can be elected by an absolute majority of the senators present and voting. If this third round fails to produce a winner, a final ballot is held between the two senators with the highest votes in the previous ballot. In the case of a tie, the elder senator is deemed the winner.In addition to overseeing the business of the chamber, chairing and regulating debates, deciding whether motions and bills are admissible, representing the Senate, etc., the President of the Senate
President of the Senate
The President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate, and is the speaker of other assemblies.The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's succession for its top executive office: for example, the President of the Senate of Nigeria is second in line...
stands in for the President of the Republic when the president is unable to perform the duties of the office. The current President of the Senate (since 29 April 2008) is Renato Schifani
Renato Schifani
Renato Maria Giuseppe Schifani is an Italian politician and a prominent member of the centre-right People of Freedom. Since 29 April 2008 he has been President of the Italian Senate. Schifani was born in Palermo.-Berlusconi's chief whip:...
.
Vice Presidents
- Emma BoninoEmma BoninoEmma Bonino is an Italian politician, former Member of the European Parliament and current Member of the Italian Senate. She is a leading member of the Italian Radicals, a political party that supports economic and social libertarianism, and human rights...
- Vannino Chiti
- Rosi Mauro
- Domenico Nania
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Quaestors
- Benedetto Adragna
- Romano Comincioli
- Paolo Franco
|width=40|
|valign=top|
Secretaries
- Silvana Amati
- Emanuela Baio
- Cinzia Bonfrisco
- Alessio Butti
- Lucio MalanLucio MalanLucio Malan is an Italian politician.Malan was born in Luserna San Giovanni, Turin. He earned his BA in Literature at the University of Turin, then he obtained a master's degree in history at University of Nevada Las Vegas, where Lucio Malan was also tutor-assistant.Lucio Malan is member of the...
- Colomba Mongiello
- Piergiorgio Stiffoni
- Marco Stradiotto
|}
Past Presidents (recent years)
- See List of Presidents of the Italian Senate for the full list.
| President | From | To | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9th Legislature | |||
| Francesco Cossiga Francesco Cossiga Francesco Cossiga was an Italian politician, the 43rd Prime Minister and the eighth President of the Italian Republic. He was also a professor of constitutional law at the University of Sassari.... |
12 July 1983 | 24 June 1985 | elected President of the Italian Republic |
| Amintore Fanfani Amintore Fanfani Amintore Fanfani was an Italian career politician and the 33rd man to serve the office of Prime Minister of the State. He was one of the well-known Italian politicians after the Second World War, and a historical figure of the Christian Democracy .Fanfani and Giovanni Giolitti are still actually... |
9 July 1985 | 17 April 1987 | resigned once elected Prime Minister |
| Giovanni Malagodi | 22 April 1987 | 1 July 1987 | |
| 10th Legislature | |||
| Giovanni Spadolini Giovanni Spadolini Giovanni Spadolini was a liberal Italian politician, the 45th Prime Minister of Italy, newspaper editor, journalist and a noted historian.-Biography:Spadolini was born in Florence.... |
2 July 1987 | 22 April 1992 | |
| 11th Legislature | |||
| Giovanni Spadolini Giovanni Spadolini Giovanni Spadolini was a liberal Italian politician, the 45th Prime Minister of Italy, newspaper editor, journalist and a noted historian.-Biography:Spadolini was born in Florence.... |
24 April 1992 | 14 April 1994 | |
| 12th Legislature | |||
| Carlo Scognamiglio | 16 April 1994 | 8 May 1996 | |
| 13th Legislature | |||
| Nicola Mancino Nicola Mancino Nicola Mancino is an Italian politician. He was President of the Italian Senate from 1996 to 2001. He was also Minister of the Interior from 1992 to 1994.Mancino was born in Montefalcione, province of Avellino... |
9 May 1996 | 29 May 2001 | |
| 14th Legislature | |||
| Marcello Pera Marcello Pera Marcello Pera is an Italian philosopher and politician. He was the President of the Italian Senate from 2001 to 2006.-Career:... |
30 May 2001 | 27 April 2006 | |
| 15th Legislature | |||
| Franco Marini Franco Marini Franco Marini is an Italian politician and a prominent member of the centre-left Democratic Party. From 2006 to 2008 he was President of the Italian Senate.-Biography:... |
29 April 2006 | 28 April 2008 | |
| 16th Legislature | |||
| Renato Schifani Renato Schifani Renato Maria Giuseppe Schifani is an Italian politician and a prominent member of the centre-right People of Freedom. Since 29 April 2008 he has been President of the Italian Senate. Schifani was born in Palermo.-Berlusconi's chief whip:... |
29 April 2008 | ||
Palazzo Madama
Palazzo Madama
Palazzo Madama is a palace in Rome that is currently the home of the Senate of the Italian Republic.It was built atop the ruins of the ancient baths of Nero, next to Piazza Navona...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, an old patrician palace completed in 1505 for the Medici family. The palace takes its name from Madama Margherita of Austria, daughter of Charles V
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
and wife of Alessandro de' Medici.
After the extinction of the Medici, the palace was handed over to the House of Lorraine
House of Lorraine
The House of Lorraine, the main and now only remaining line known as Habsburg-Lorraine, is one of the most important and was one of the longest-reigning royal houses in the history of Europe...
and, later, it was sold to Papal Government
Papal States
The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...
.
Capture of Rome
The Capture of Rome was the final event of the long process of Italian unification known as the Risorgimento, which finally unified the Italian peninsula under King Victor Emmanuel II of the House of Savoy...
by the newly formed Kingdom of Italy
Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was its legal predecessor state...
, the palace was chosen to became the seat of the Senato del Regno, or Senate of the Kingdom.
The current façade was built in the mid 1650s by both Cigoli
Cigoli
Lodovico Cardi , also known as Cigoli, was an Italian painter and architect of the late Mannerist and early Baroque period, trained and active in his early career in Florence, and spending the last nine years of his life in Rome.Lodovico Cardi was born at Villa Castelvecchio di Cigoli, in Tuscany,...
and Paolo Maruccelli. The latter added the ornate cornice and whimsical decorative urns on the roof. Among the rooms one of the most significant (and perhaps the most impressive from the political point of view) is the "Sala Maccari," which takes its name from Cesare Maccari
Cesare Maccari
Cesare Maccari was an Italian painter and sculptor, most famous for his 1888 painting Cicerone denuncia Catalina .-Biography:...
, the artist who decorated it in 1880 and created the frescoes , among which stands out as one that depicts Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
makes his indictment of Catiline
Catiline
Lucius Sergius Catilina , known in English as Catiline, was a Roman politician of the 1st century BC who is best known for the Catiline conspiracy, an attempt to overthrow the Roman Republic, and in particular the power of the aristocratic Senate.-Family background:Catiline was born in 108 BC to...
, who listens, isolated from their seats.
The chamber where the Senate met for the first time on 27 November 1871 was designed by Luigi Gabet. A plaque on the wall behind the speaker's chair commemorates the king's address to Parliament when first convened in the new seat of government:
Above this has been placed a plaque bearing the inscription:
To the viewers left stand the flags of the Italian Republic
Flag of Italy
The flag of Italy is a tricolour featuring three equally sized vertical pales of green, white, and red, with the green at the hoist side...
(with a ribbon embroidered with the words SENATO DELLA REPUBBLICA) and the European Union.
See also
- Parliament of ItalyParliament of ItalyThe Parliament of Italy is the national parliament of Italy. It is a bicameral legislature with 945 elected members . The Chamber of Deputies, with 630 members is the lower house. The Senate of the Republic is the upper house and has 315 members .Since 2005, a party list electoral law is being...
- Italian Chamber of DeputiesItalian Chamber of DeputiesThe Italian Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the Parliament of Italy. It has 630 seats, a plurality of which is controlled presently by liberal-conservative party People of Freedom. Twelve deputies represent Italian citizens outside of Italy. Deputies meet in the Palazzo Montecitorio. A...
- SenateSenateA senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a legislature or parliament. There have been many such bodies in history, since senate means the assembly of the eldest and wiser members of the society and ruling class...
- Roman SenateRoman SenateThe Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
- Senato Italiano (TV channel)Senato Italiano (TV channel)Senato Italiano is an Italian TV channel dedicated to broadcast live coverage of Italian Senate from Palazzo Madama in Rome, Italy.-References:...