Statuto Albertino

▪ Italian constitution

      (March 4, 1848), constitution granted to his subjects by King Charles Albert of Piedmont-Sardinia; when Italy was unified under Piedmontese leadership (1861), it became the constitution of the Kingdom of Italy. Originally it was a rather conservative document that set up a strong constitutional monarchy; its spirit was subsequently altered, at first in a liberal way, to adapt it to the parliamentary government of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and then in an authoritarian direction under Benito Mussolini's Fascist regime (1922–43).

      The Statuto, which was granted by the king during the liberal Revolutions of 1848, was based on the French Charter of 1830. It ensured citizens equality before the law and gave them limited rights of free assembly and of free press but gave voting rights to less than 3 percent of the population. The Statuto established the three classic branches of government: the executive, which meant the king; the legislative, divided between the royally appointed Senate and an elected Chamber of Deputies; and a judiciary, also appointed by the king. Originally, it was the king who possessed the widest powers: he controlled foreign policy and had the prerogative of nominating and dismissing ministers of state.

      In practice, the Statuto was modified to weaken the king's power. The ministers of state became responsible to the parliament, and the office of prime minister, not provided for in the constitution, became prominent. The king, however, retained an important influence in foreign affairs, and in times of domestic crisis his role was pivotal. The social base of the constitution was gradually broadened so that by 1913 universal adult male suffrage was virtually achieved. Under the Fascist regime the Statuto was substantially modified to put control of the government in the hands of the Fascist Party. The Statuto was officially abolished when the constitution of the Italian republic went into effect in 1948.

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