Italian Republic (Napoleonic) - Local Administration

Local Administration

Following the French system, The state was divided into 12 départements. The chief of the department was the prefect, an office created on May 6, 1802. The prefect was the state's representative in each province, and had two main functions: the first was to implement the administrative decisions of the central government and to control the local authorities, the second was leadership of the police. The local legislative body was the General Council, composed of representatives of the communes. The government appointed the Central Departmental Administration, composed of five or seven members chosen from nominations submitted by the General Council: the Administrations had powers over taxes and public works and, generally, represented local interests.

The departments were divided into districts equivalent to the French arrondissements. The chief of the district was the vice-prefect, which had powers similar to those of the prefect, but for a smaller area. However, the structure of the districts was not uniform over all the territory of the republic, and some districts were administered by a district council and a chancellor.

The districts were divided into communes. Communes with more than 3,000 inhabitants had a city council (Consiglio Comunale) of thirty or forty members, chosen by the general council from nominations submitted by the same city council. In the smaller communes, all the taxable citizens were councillors. The council elected a municipality of three to nine members, helped in its executive functions by a city secretary. All city offices were held only by owners and traders, and the leadership of the owners was assured. Each commune had a tax collector.