| Senate of the Republic Senato della Repubblica |
|
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Type | Upper house |
| Leadership | |
| President of the Senate | Renato Schifani, PdL since April 29, 2008 |
| Structure | |
| Members | 315 7 lifetime senators |
| Political groups | PdL 128 PD 106 LN 25 UDC-Aut. 15 IdV 12 TP 13 NC 12 Mixed gr. 11 |
| Elections | |
| Last election | April 13–14, 2008 |
| Meeting place | |
| Palazzo Madama, Rome | |
| Website | |
| http://www.senato.it | |
| Italy |
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The Senate of the Republic (Italian: Senato della Repubblica) 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.
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The Senate consists of 315 elected members, and as of 2011[update] 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 Scalfaro (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.
The current membership of the Italian Senate, following the latest political elections of 13 April and 14 April 2008:
| Parties and alliances | Votes | % | Change | Seats | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S. Berlusconi coalition |
15,678,114 12,678,790 |
46.94 37.96 |
+4.33[1] –0.24 |
174 146 |
+39 +24 |
|
W. Veltroni coalition
|
12,620,660 11,052,577 |
37.79 33.10 |
+6.30[2] +5.01 |
134 118 |
+21 +12 |
|
| Union of the Centre | 1,898,842 | 5.69 | –0.95 | 3 | –18 | |
| The Left – The Rainbow | 1,093,135 | 3.27 | –8.06[3] | 0 | –38 | |
| The Right–Tricolour Flame | 703,685 | 2.11 | +1.48 | 0 | — | |
| Socialist Party | 285,802 | 0.86 | –1.95[4] | 0 | — | |
| South Tyrolean People's Party | 98,947 | 0.30 | –0.04 | 2 | ±0 | |
| Union Valdotaine | 29,186 | 0.09 | +0.02 | 1 | +1 | |
| Movimento Associativo Italiani all'Estero | —[5] | — | — | 1 | +1 | |
| Others | 969,825 | 2.95 | –1.13 | — | –6 | |
| Total | 33,396,196 | 100% | 315 | |||
Parliamentary groups in the Italian Senate, at the inauguration and after the latest changes.[6][7]
| Parties | Inauguration | Current | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The People of Freedom | 146 seats | 128 seats | |
| Democratic Party | 119 seats | 106 seats | |
| Northern League | 26 seats | 25 seats | |
| Italy of Values | 14 seats | 12 seats | |
| Union of the Centre | 11 seats with SVP |
15 seats with SVP and UV |
|
| To the Third Pole | 0 seats | 13 seats | |
| National Cohesion | 0 seats | 12 seats | |
| Mixed group (Independents and Senators for life) |
6 seats | 11 seats | |
| Parties | 322 seats | 322 seats | |
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 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.
President |
Vice Presidents
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Quaestors
|
Secretaries
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| President | From | To | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9th Legislature | |||
| Francesco Cossiga | 12 July 1983 | 24 June 1985 | elected President of the Italian Republic |
| Amintore Fanfani | 9 July 1985 | 17 April 1987 | resigned once elected Prime Minister |
| Giovanni Malagodi | 22 April 1987 | 1 July 1987 | |
| 10th Legislature | |||
| Giovanni Spadolini | 2 July 1987 | 22 April 1992 | |
| 11th Legislature | |||
| Giovanni Spadolini | 24 April 1992 | 14 April 1994 | |
| 12th Legislature | |||
| Carlo Scognamiglio | 16 April 1994 | 8 May 1996 | |
| 13th Legislature | |||
| Nicola Mancino | 9 May 1996 | 29 May 2001 | |
| 14th Legislature | |||
| Marcello Pera | 30 May 2001 | 27 April 2006 | |
| 15th Legislature | |||
| Franco Marini | 29 April 2006 | 28 April 2008 | |
| 16th Legislature | |||
| Renato Schifani | 29 April 2008 |
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:
L'ITALIA È RESTITVITA A SE STESSA E A
ROMA • QVI DOVE E NOI RICONOSCIAMO LA
PATRIA DEI NOSTRI PENSIERI OGNI COSA
CI PARLA DI GRANDEZZA MA NEL TEMPO
STESSO OGNI COSA CI RICORDA I NOSTRI
DOVERI •
VITTORIO EMANVELE II
27 NOVEMBRE MDCCCLXXI
"Italy is restored to herself and to Rome... Here, where we recognise the fatherland of our thoughts, all things speak to us of greatness; but at the same time all things remind us of our duties..." - Victor Emmanuel II, 27 November 1871
Above this has been placed a plaque bearing the inscription:
IL 2 GIUGNO 1946
PER SUFFRAGIO DI POPOLO
A PRESIDIO DI PUBBLICHE LIBERTÀ
E A CERTEZZA DI PROGRESSO CIVILE
FU PROCLAMATA
LA REPUBBLICA ITALIANA
On 2 June 1946/ by popular suffrage/ in defence of public liberty/ and a certainty of civic progress/ was proclaimed/ the Italian Republic
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.
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