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]
Mural crown for the title ofcomune. It is located in the upper part of the coat of arms of thecomune.
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 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.
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).
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.
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 firstcomuni by altitude, in descending order.[38] The indicated altitude coincides with the height abovesea level of the town hall.
.svg)
.jpg)
_alt_colours.jpg)
