thumb|upright=1.4|[[Italy#Administrative divisions|Administrative divisions of Italy:<br />Regions (black borders)<br />Provinces (dark gray borders)<br /> (light grey borders)]]
A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the title of ().
Formed according to the principles consolidated in medieval municipalities, the is provided for by article 114 of the Constitution of Italy. It can be divided into , which in turn may have limited power due to special elective assemblies.
In the autonomous region of the Aosta Valley, a is officially called a in French.
Overview
The provides essential public services: registry of births and deaths, registry of deeds, and maintenance of local roads and public works. Many have a (), which is responsible for public order duties. The also deal with the definition and compliance with the (), a document that regulates the building activity within the communal area.
All communal structures or schools, sports and cultural structures such as communal libraries, theaters, etc. are managed by the . must have their own communal statute and have a climatic and seismic classification of their territory for the purposes of hazard mitigation and civil protection. also deal with the waste management.
It is headed by a mayor ( or ) assisted by a legislative body, the (), and an executive body, the (). The mayor and members of the 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 the 's seats.
The is chaired by the mayor, who appoints others members, called , one of whom serves as deputy mayor (). The offices of the are housed in a building usually called the , or ().
As of January 2021, there were 7,904 in Italy; they vary considerably in size and population. For example, the of Rome, in Lazio, has an area of and a population of 2,758,454 inhabitants, and is both the largest and the most populated.
thumb|[[Mural crown for the title of . It is located in the upper part of the coat of arms of the .]]
Atrani in the province of Salerno (Campania) is the smallest by area, with only , and Morterone (Lombardy) is the smallest by population. Many present-day trace their roots along timescales spanning centuries and at times millennia.
The northernmost is Predoi, the southernmost one Lampedusa e Linosa, the westernmost Bardonecchia and the easternmost Otranto. The with the longest name is San Valentino in Abruzzo Citeriore, while the with the shortest name are Lu, Ro, Ne, Re and Vo'.
The population density of the varies widely by province and region. The province of Barletta-Andria-Trani, for example, has 381,091 inhabitants in 10 , or over 39,000 inhabitants per ; whereas the province of Isernia has 81,415 inhabitants in 52 , or 1,640 inhabitants per —roughly 24 times more communal units per inhabitant.
The coats of arms of the are assigned by decree of the Prime 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 Royal , eliminated pursuant to the provisions final of the Constitution of Italy).
Subdivisions
{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; border: 2px solid #BBB; margin: .6em 0 0 .8em;"
|+ Number of and population in Italy
|-
! Year !! Number !! Population !! Pop/
|-
| 1861||7,720||22,171,946||2,872
|-
| 1871||8,383||27,295,509||3,256
|-
| 1881||8,260||28,951,546||3,505
|-
| 1901||8,263||32,963,316||3,989
|-
| 1911||8,324||35,841,563||4,306
|-
| 1921||9,195||39,396,757||4,285
|-
| 1931||7,311||41,043,489||5,614
|-
| 1936||7,339||42,398,489||5,777
|-
| 1951||7,810||47,515,537||6,084
|-
| 1961||8,035||50,623,569||6,300
|-
| 1971||8,056||54,136,547||6,720
|-
| 1981||8,086||56,556,911||6,994
|-
| 1991||8,100||56,885,336||7,023
|-
| 2001||8,101||56,995,744||7,036
|-
| 2011||8,092||59,433,744||7,345
|-
| 2021||7,904||59,236,213||7,494
|}
Administrative subdivisions within vary according to their population size.
with at least 250,000 residents are divided into (roughly equivalent to French arrondissements or London boroughs) to which the delegates administrative functions such as the running of schools, social services and waste collection; the delegated functions vary from to . These bodies are headed by an elected president and a local council.
Smaller usually comprise:
- A main city, town or village, that almost always gives its name to the ; such a place is referred to as the (; the French ) of the ; the word is also used in casual speech to refer to the city hall.
- Outlying areas often called (: , abbreviated: ; )<!-- To be checked. Not in every the outlying areas are divided in . And also in with