Italia Profilo Governo

nome: Rome

coordinate geografiche: 41 54 N, 12 29 E

differenza di tempo: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

17 Marzo 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; Italy was not finally unified until 1871)

Giorno Di Repubblica, 2 Giugno (1946)

history: previous 1848 (originally for the Kingdom of Sardinia and adopted by the Kingdom of Italy in 1861); latest enacted 22 Dicembre 1947, adopted 27 Dicembre 1947, entered into force 1 Gennaio 1948

amendments: proposed by both houses of Parliament; passage requires two successive debates and approval by absolute majority of each house on the second vote; a referendum is only required when requested by one fifth of the members of either house, by voter petition, or by five Regional Councils (elected legislative assemblies of the 15 first-level administrative regions and 5 autonomous regions of Italy); referendum not required if an amendment has been approved by a two-thirds majority in each house in the second vote; amended many times, last in 2012; note - a referendum held on 4 Dicembre 2016 on constitutional amendments was defeated (2017)

18 anni; universal except in senatorial elections, where minimum age is 25

capo dello stato: Presidente Sergio MATTARELLA (da allora 3 February 2015)

capo di governo: Prime Minister Giuseppe CONTE (da allora 1 June 2018); the prime minister's official title is Presidente of the Council of Ministers; note - CONTE resigned on 20 August 2019 but returned as prime minister after PD and M5S agreed to form a new coalition government on 28 August 2019

cabinet: Council of Ministers proposed by the prime minister, known officially as the Presidente of the Council of Ministers and locally as the Premier; nominated by the president; the current deputy prime ministers, known officially as vice-presidents of the Council of Ministers, are Matteo Salvini (L) and Luigi Di Maio (M5S) (da allora 1 June 2018)

elections/appointments: president indirectly elected by an electoral college consisting of both houses of Parliament and 58 regional representatives for a 7-year term (no term limits); election last held on 31 January 2015 (next to be held in 2022); prime minister appointed by the president, confirmed by parliament

election results: Sergio MATTARELLA (independent) elected president; electoral college vote count in fourth round - 665 out of 1,009 (505-vote threshold)