Italian Administration - Liguria

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Italian Administration - Liguria

Italy is divided into 20 regions (regioni) and each region is divided into smaller provinces (province). Each province is further split into communes (comuni).

The 20 regions are loosely formed from historical borders and are each individual in their character and customs. There are 96 provinces that manage the local government.

The levels of government deal with different issues, for example:

• Regional government deals with health care, education and general law abidance
• Provincial government is responsible for vehicle registration and licencing, policing and local economy
• The commune deals with local issues such as of building permits, refuse collection and street lighting, the registry of births and deaths, and contracting for local roads and public works

Questura

The Questura is the main police office where foreigners arriving in Italy must register.

• To find a Questura click the link and select the required province: Click here

Liguria Regional Government

Regional government is the most important and influential after the national government based in Rome. Each region has an elected council - the executive committee (Giunta Regionale) - and an elected president.

The regional governments are responsible for de-centralising state legislation on major issues to ensure that resources and standards are equal across the region. The regional government has the jurisdiction to set laws within the state constitution.

• Regione Liguria
  At: Piazza De Ferrari 1, 16121 Genoa
  Tel: (information) 800 445 445
  Tel: (forest protection) 800 807 047
  Tel: (civil protection) 010 548 5990
  e-mail
  Website

Liguria Provincial Governments

• Provincia di Genova
  At: Piazzale Mazzini 2, 16122 Genoa
  Tel: 010 549 91
  Fax: 010 549 9244
  e-mail
  Website
• Public Relations Office
  Tel: 800 509 420
• Provincia di Imperia
  At: Viale Matteotti 147, 18100 Imperia
  Tel: 0183 704 327 / 0183 704 236 / 0183 7041
  Fax: 0183 704 318
  e-mail
  Website
• Provincia Della Spezia
  At: Via Vittorio Veneto 2, 19124 La Spezia
  Tel: 0187 7421 or 0187 742 281 or 0187 742 210
  Website
• Provincia di Savona
  At: Via Sormano 12, 17100 Savona
  Tel: 019 831 31 or 019 831 3700 or 0182 544 358
  e-mail
  Website

Liguria Communal Representation

Each commune (comune) is responsible for the local issues affecting the towns and surrounding villages. Communes (comuni) could be described as municipal districts.

A commune is usually made up of:

• a principal town, the capoluogo, which almost always gives its name to the comune (often the Town Hall is referred to as the "comune")
• a territorial subdivision called a frazione (abbreviated Fraz.)
• a very small area called a località (abbreviated Loc.)

The Commune is run by an elected mayor and council. EU citizens may vote in local elections or stand as candidate.

Follow the links below from each of Liguria's provinces to find the commune websites:

• Genoa
• Imperia
• La Spezia
• Savona

Some Terminology

• Questura: Police HQ (as in Polizia and not Carabinieri)
• Anagrafe: Registry Office (general term for all registry offices)
• Prefettura: Prefecture, the office of the prefect (prefetto), the State's representative in a province
• Tribunale Civile: Civil court
• Municipio: Town Hall of a larger town (municipality), also known as a commune and used for smaller towns and villages

Further Information

• For links to regional and provincial government websites: Click here 
• See the AngloINFO INFOrmation page, Voting in Italian Elections