Palazzo Madama (Italian pronunciation: [paˈlattso maˈdaːma]) in Rome is the seat of the Senate of the Italian Republic, the upper house of the Italian Parliament.
Palazzo Madama (Italian pronunciation: [paˈlattso maˈdaːma]) in Rome is the seat of the Senate of the Italian Republic, the upper house of the Italian Parliament.
A legislature (UK: /ˈlɛdʒɪslətʃər/, US: /-ˌleɪtʃər/) is a deliberative assembly that holds the legal authority to make law and exercise political oversight within a political entity such as a state, nation, or city. Legislatures are among the principal institutions of state, typically contrasted with the executive and judicial institutions. They may exist at different levels of governance—national, subnational (state, provincial, or regional), local, or supranational—such as the European Parliament.
In most political systems, the laws enacted by legislatures are referred to as primary legislation. Legislatures may also perform oversight, budgetary, and representative functions. Members of a legislature, called legislators, may be elected, indirectly chosen, or appointed, and legislatures may be unicameral, bicameral, or multicameral, depending on their constitutional design.
The Senate of the Republic (Italian: Senato della Repubblica), or simply the Senate (Italian: Senato [seˈnaːto]), is the upper house of the bicameral Italian Parliament, the lower house being the Chamber of Deputies. The two houses together form a perfect bicameral system, meaning they perform identical functions, but do so separately.
Pursuant to the Articles 57, 58, and 59 of the Italian Constitution, the Senate has 200 elective members, of which 196 are elected from Italian constituencies, and 4 from Italian citizens living abroad. Furthermore, a small number (currently 5) serve as senators for life (senatori a vita), either appointed or ex officio. It was established in its current form on 8 May 1948, but previously existed during the Kingdom of Italy as Senato del Regno (Senate of the Kingdom), itself a continuation of the Senato Subalpino (Subalpine Senate) of Sardinia established on 8 May 1848. Members of the Senate are styled Senator or The Honourable Senator (Italian: Onorevole Senatore) and they meet at Palazzo Madama, Rome.