Acomune (Italian:[koˈmuːne];pl.:comuni,pronounced[koˈmuːni]) is anadministrative division ofItaly, roughly equivalent to atownship ormunicipality.^[1] It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions (regioni) and provinces (province). Thecomune can also have thetitle ofcittà (lit. 'city').[2]

Formedpraeter legem according to the principles consolidated inmedieval municipalities,^[3] thecomune is provided for by article 114 of theConstitution of Italy.^[4] It can be divided intofrazioni, which in turn may have limited power due to special elective assemblies.^[5]

In the autonomous region of theAosta Valley, acomune is officially called acommune in French.

Thecomune provides essential public services:registry of births and deaths,registry of deeds, and maintenance of local roads and public works.^[6][7][8] Manycomuni have aPolizia Comunale (lit. 'Communal Police'), which is responsible for public order duties.[9] Thecomune also deal with the definition and compliance with thepiano regolatore generale (lit. 'general regulator plan'), a document that regulates the building activity within the communal area.[10]

All communal structures or schools, sports and cultural structures such as communal libraries, theaters, etc. are managed by thecomuni.^[11]Comuni must have their own communal statute and have a climatic and seismic classification of their territory for the purposes of hazard mitigation andcivil protection.^[12]Comuni also deal with thewaste management.^[13]

It is headed by amayor (sindaco orsindaca) assisted by a legislative body, theconsiglio comunale (lit. 'communal council'), and an executive body, thegiunta comunale (lit. 'communal committee').[14] The mayor and members of theconsiglio comunale are elected together by resident citizens: the coalition of the elected mayor (who needs a relative majority or an absolute majority in the first or second round of voting, depending on the population) gains three fifths of theconsiglio's seats.^[15]

Thegiunta comunale is chaired by the mayor, who appoints others members, calledassessori, one of whom serves as deputy mayor (vicesindaco).^[16] The offices of thecomune are housed in a building usually called themunicipio, orpalazzo comunale (lit. 'town hall').^[17]

As of January 2021, there were 7,904comuni in Italy;^[18] they vary considerably in size and population. For example, thecomune ofRome, inLazio, has an area of 1,287.36 km² (497.05 sq mi) and a population of 2,758,454 inhabitants, and is both the largest and the most populated.^[19]

Atrani in theprovince of Salerno (Campania) was the smallestcomune by area, with only 0.1206 km² (0.0466 sq mi),^[20] andMorterone (Lombardy) is the smallest by population.^[21] Many present-daycomuni trace their roots along timescales spanning centuries and at times millennia.^[22][23]

The northernmostcomune isPredoi, the southernmost oneLampedusa e Linosa, the westernmostBardonecchia and the easternmostOtranto.^[24] Thecomune with the longest name isSan Valentino in Abruzzo Citeriore,^[25] while thecomuni with the shortest name areLu,Ro,Ne,Re andVo'.^[26]

The population density of thecomuni varies widely byprovince andregion. Theprovince of Barletta-Andria-Trani, for example, has 381,091 inhabitants in 10comuni,^[27] or over 39,000 inhabitants percomune; whereas theprovince of Isernia has 81,415 inhabitants in 52 comuni,^[28] or 1,640 inhabitants percomune—roughly 24 times more communal units per inhabitant.

The coats of arms of thecomuni are assigned by decree of thePrime Minister of Italy by the Office of State Ceremonial and Honors, Honors and Heraldry Service (division of the Presidency of the Council born from the transformation of the RoyalConsulta Araldica, eliminated pursuant to the provisions final of theConstitution of Italy).^[29]

Administrative subdivisions withincomuni vary according to their population size.

Comuni with at least 250,000 residents are divided intocircoscrizioni^[31] (roughly equivalent to Frencharrondissements orLondon boroughs) to which thecomune delegates administrative functions such as the running of schools, social services and waste collection; the delegated functions vary fromcomune tocomune. These bodies are headed by an elected president and a local council.

Smallercomuni usually comprise:

• A main city, town or village, that almost always gives its name to thecomune; such a place is referred to as thecapoluogo (lit. 'head-place' or'capital';cf.Tooltip confer theFrenchchef-lieu) of thecomune; the wordcomune is also used in casual speech to refer to the city hall.
• Outlying areas often calledfrazioni (sg.:frazione, abbreviated:fraz.;lit. 'fraction'), each usually centred on a small town or village. Thesefrazioni usually never had pasts as independent settlements, but occasionally are former smallercomuni consolidated into a larger one. They may also represent settlements which predate thecapoluogo. The ancient town ofPollentia (today Pollenzo), for instance, is afrazione ofBra. In recent years thefrazioni have become more important due to the institution of theconsiglio di frazione (lit. 'fraction council'), a local form ofgovernment which can interact with thecomune to address local needs, requests and claims. Even smaller places are calledlocalità (abbreviated:loc.;lit. 'localities').
• Smaller administrative divisions calledmunicipi,^[32] which are similar todistricts andneighbourhoods.

Sometimes afrazione might be more populated than thecapoluogo; and rarely, owing to unusual circumstances (such as depopulation), the town hall and its administrative functions can be moved to one of thefrazioni, but thecomune still retains the name of thecapoluogo.

In some cases, acomune might not have the same name as thecapoluogo. In these cases, it is acomune sparso (lit. 'dispersed municipality') and thefrazione which hosts the town hall (municipio) is asede municipale (comparecounty seat).

Some towns refer to neighborhoods within acomune as arione (Italian:[riˈoːne];pl.:rioni) or acontrada (pl.:contrade). The term originated from the administrative divisions of Rome, and is derived from theLatin wordregio (pl.:regiones), 'region'. All currently extantrioni are located inMunicipio I of Rome.^[33] The term has been adopted as a synonym ofquartiere in the Italiancomuni.^[33]Terzieri,quartieri,sestieri,rioni, and their analogues are usually no longer administrative divisions of these towns, but historical and traditional communities, seen especially in towns' annualPalio.

Aterziere (pl.:terzieri) is a subdivision of several towns in Italy. The word derives fromterzo (lit. 'third') and is thus used only for towns divided into three neighborhoods.Terzieri are most commonly found inUmbria, for example inTrevi,Spello,Narni andCittà della Pieve; towns divided intoterzieri in other regions includeLucca inTuscany, andAncona andMacerata in theMarches. The medievalLordship of Negroponte, on the island ofEuboea, was also divided into three distinct rulerships, which were known asterzieri.

Aquartiere (Italian:[kwarˈtjɛːre];pl.:quartieri) is a territorial subdivision, properly used, for towns divided into four neighborhoods (quarto;lit. 'fourth') by the two main roads. It has been later used as a synonymous of neighbourhood, and an Italian town can be now subdivided into a larger number ofquartieri. The Swiss town ofLugano (in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino) is also subdivided into quarters.^[34]

The English wordquarter to mean an urban neighbourhood (e.g. the French Quarter in New Orleans, Louisiana) is derived from the cognate old French wordquartier.

Asestiere (pl.:sestieri) is a subdivision of certain Italian towns and cities. The word is fromsesto (lit. 'sixth'), so it is thus used only for towns divided into six districts. The best-known example is thesestieri of Venice, butAscoli Piceno,Genoa,Milan andRapallo, for example, were also divided intosestieri. The medievalLordship of Negroponte, on the island ofEuboea, was also at times divided into six districts, each with a separate ruler, through the arbitration of Venice, which were known assestieri. The island ofCrete, a Venetian colony (theKingdom of Candia) from theFourth Crusade, was also divided into six parts, named after thesestieri of Venice herself, while the capitalCandia retained the status of acomune of Venice. The island ofBurano north of Venice is also subdivided intosestieri.

A variation of the word is occasionally found: thecomune ofLeonessa, for example, is divided intosesti or sixths.

There are not many perfect homonymouscomuni. There are only six cases in 12comuni:^[35]

• Castro:Castro, Apulia andCastro, Lombardy
• Livo:Livo, Lombardy andLivo, Trentino
• Peglio:Peglio, Lombardy andPeglio, Marche
• Samone:Samone, Piedmont andSamone, Trentino
• San Teodoro:San Teodoro, Sardinia andSan Teodoro, Sicily

This is mostly due to the fact the name of the province or region was appended to the name of thecomune in order to avoid the confusion. Two provincial capitals share the nameReggio:Reggio nell'Emilia, the capital of theprovince of Reggio Emilia, in theEmilia-Romagna region, andReggio di Calabria, the capital of thehomonymous metropolitan city, in theCalabria region. Many other towns or villages are likewise partial homonyms (e.g.Anzola dell'Emilia andAnzola d'Ossola, orBagnara Calabra andBagnara di Romagna).

The title ofcittà (lit. 'city') in Italy is granted tocomuni that have been awarded it by decree of theKing of Italy (until 1946) or of the provisional head of state (from 1946 to 1948) or, subsequently, of thePresident of the Republic (after 1948), on the proposal of theMinistry of the Interior, to which thecomune concerned sends an application for a concession, by virtue of their historical, artistic, civic or demographic importance.^[2]

Thecomuni endowed with the title ofcittà usually carry the golden crown above their coat of arms, except with different provisions in the decree approving the coat of arms or in the presence). "The crown of the city ([...]) is formed by a golden circle opened by eight city gates (five visible) with two cordoned walls on the margins, supporting eight towers (five visible) joined by curtain walls, all in gold and black walled."^[36]

The following is a list of the largestcomuni in Italy, in descending order of surface area, according toISTAT data referring to 9 October 2011.^[37] Theprovincial capitals are highlighted in bold.

The following is a list of the smallestcomuni in Italy, in ascending order of surface area, according toISTAT data referring to 9 October 2011.^[37]

The following is a list of the firstcomuni by altitude, in descending order.^[38] The indicated altitude coincides with the height abovesea level of the town hall.

List of the firstcomuni by population in descending order, according toISTAT data updated to 28 February 2022.^[39] Theregional capitals are in bold.

The data is updated as of 1 January 2021.^[40]

The data is updated as of 1 January 2021.^[40]

• Regions of Italy
• Metropolitan cities of Italy
• Provinces of Italy
• List of municipalities of Italy
• List of renamed municipalities in Italy
• Alphabetical list of municipalities of Italy
• Fusion of municipalities of Italy
• Municipalities of Switzerland – those inItalian-speaking areas of the country are calledcomuni
• Circoscrizione
• Frazione
• Località
• Rioni of Rome

• "Terzière".Enciclopedia Italiana di Scienze, Lettere e Arti (in Italian). Retrieved2 January 2024.

• Associazione Nazionale Comuni Italiani(in Italian)