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History
Italy was once a monarch, meaning it was ruled by royalty. Italy was unified by Napolon, who crowned himself king of Italy in 1805, but in 1815 Austria once again became the dominant power in a disunited Italy. In the 1830s, Giuseppe Mazzini, a brilliant liberal nationalist, organized a plan for the unification of Italy. Italian patriots looked to the House of Savoy for leadership. In 1860, Giuseppe Garibaldi conquered Sicily and Naples and turned them over to Sardinia. Victor Emmanuel II, king of Sardinia, was proclaimed king of Italy in 1861. The House of Savoy ruled Italy from the 1861 up until the end of world war two. During this time there were other leaders that also came along, the most famous of which is Mussolini. Mussolini was a former socialist, who created fascism in Italy. He had a group of followers that were called black shirts. He led his Black Shirts in a march on Rome and in 1922 he became prime minister. He transformed Italy into a dictatorship, allying himself with Adolf Hitler When the Allies invaded Italy in 1943, Mussolini's dictatorship collapsed. He is known as one of the most vicious dictators to date.

democratic republic, and is broken up into four different categories. Italy also has a multi-party government system, and citizens are free to choose which party they identify with, or to not choose a party at all. Head of Government The President of the Italy has many of the duties previously given to the king. The President is a point of connection between the three other branches of government. The lawmakers elect the president, and he appoints the executive branch of government. Much like the US the president of Italy is also commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Parliament and three representatives of each region of Italy, except for the very small region of Aosta Valley, which gets only one representative, elect the President for seven years. Their people in their region elect these delegates so that all people are represented. The president must be elected by majority vote. Legislative Branch All Italians are guaranteed the right to vote the people exercise their power through their elected representatives in the Parliament. The Parliament consists of the Chamber of deputies and the Senate, elected every five years. The Chamber of deputies gets elected by direct votes from those who are eighteen and older. There are 630 deputies, and anyone who is the age of twenty-five on election day is eligible to be a deputy. The Senate is elected by voters who are ages twenty-five and older. There are 315 senators, but there also some people who can be senators for life. Only

Modern Government
Article one of the Italian constitution states Italy is a democratic Republic founded on labor. Sovereignty belongs to the people and is exercised by the people in the forms and within the limits of the Constitution. Italy is a

2 people such as former Presidents, or citizens appointed by the President, can hold this honor. The Italian judicial system is based on Roman law. Judges in Italy are subject only to the law, so the judiciary branch is independent. The Minister of Justice is the person who is responsible for the organization and functioning of those services involved with justice and has the power to originate disciplinary actions against judges, which then go to a higher power overseen by the President. When the Court declares a law unconstitutional, the law ceases to have effect the day after the publication of the ruling. The Constitutional Court is composed of 15 judges one of whom is the President of the Italian Constitutional Court. The President appoints One third of the judges, one-third are elected by Parliament, and the supreme courts elect one-third. Italian appeals are treated almost as new trials.

Executive Branch
The Government of Italy is composed of the Prime Minister and Ministers. The President of Italy appoints the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister then forms his cabinet. The cabinet can be formed by the people that won the election, or it can be formed by a person of the Presidents choice if and only if it is a time of crisis for the nation. If the majority no longer supports the government, the Prime Minister can be voted out of office, and a new government must be formed, or new elections scheduled.

Judicial Branch