Editing Local government (section)

===Italy===
The [[Constitution of Italy]] defines three levels of local government:
*[[Regions of Italy|Regions]]: they were first acknowledged after the [[1946 Italian institutional referendum|birth of the Italian republic]] in 1948. Numbering 20, they acquired a significant degree of autonomy after a constitutional reform was passed in 2001. Furthermore, 5 of them (namely Valle d'Aosta, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Trentino-Alto Adige, Sardinia and Sicily) have a special status and are given even more power than the 15 others.
*[[Provinces of Italy|Provinces]]: they were the only local bodies in effect during the [[Kingdom of Italy]] (from the [[unification of Italy]] in 1861 to the birth of the Republic in 1948). Consequently, they used to serve many functions, but these were reduced as Regions absorbed more and more competences. Nowadays they number 107 and mostly care to roads, school buildings, and local zoning and planning. Finally, from 2015 onwards, 14 provinces officially became ''[[metropolitan cities of Italy|metropolitan cities]]''.
*[[Comune|Communes]]: The Mayor and staff, caring for the needs of a single town or of a village and neighbouring minor towns or villages.

Major cities also have an extra tier of local government named ''Circoscrizione di Decentramento Comunale'' or, in some cities (e.g. Rome) ''Municipio''.