Provinces of Italy

The provinces of Italy are important parts that help organize the country. They sit between smaller towns, called municipalities, and larger areas, called regions. Since 2015, these provinces are known as "institutional bodies of second level."

Right now, Italy has 110 of these special areas. They include 82 ordinary provinces, 2 autonomous provinces, 4 regional decentralization entities, 6 free municipal consortia, and 15 metropolitan cities. There is also the Aosta Valley region, which acts like a province too.

Most of these provinces match what is called NUTS 3 regions in Europe, except for the ones in Sardinia. This system helps Italy manage its many towns and regions better.

Overview

A province in the Italian Republic is made up of many towns, called municipalities (or comune). Usually, several provinces come together to form a region, but the Aosta Valley is special—it is not split into provinces, and the region itself handles provincial tasks.

Provinces help with important local jobs like planning areas, providing local police and fire services, and managing transportation, such as car registrations and local road care. Since 2015, provinces are led by a President or Commissioner, helped by a group called the Provincial Council. The people who work in these roles are chosen by mayors and city council members from the towns in the province.

The Aosta Valley region is not split into provinces because it is small enough that the region handles everything directly. South Tyrol and Trentino are special kinds of provinces called autonomous provinces, meaning they have more power than other provinces and are not under the control of the region they are part of, Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol.

Type

In some parts of Italy, leaders of areas similar to provinces are chosen by local mayors and councilors. In bigger cities called metropolitan cities, the main mayor acts like the leader of the area.

Other special areas have their own ways of choosing leaders. For example, in Sicily and Sardinian areas, leaders are picked by regional governments. In Trentino-Alto Adige, each area picks its own leader. In Aosta Valley, the regional government handles the work normally done by a province.

List of provinces

List

Note: the data is updated as of 1 June 2025.

Data

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Italian provinces by population

Italian provinces by population density

• Sardinia — in 2016, Sardinia changed its groups. Cagliari became a metropolitan city. Some old groups closed, and a new group, South Sardinia, was made. South Sardinia closed on 1 June 2025, and the other groups started working again with new names. Sassari became a metropolitan city.
• Sicily — in 2013, the groups in Sicily were replaced by six free groups of towns. In 2015, three metropolitan cities were made.
• Friuli-Venezia Giulia — in 2016, the groups in this area were closed and replaced by 18 groups of towns. In 2019, the old groups started again but with new names and jobs.
• Metropolitan cities — in 2015, 14 metropolitan cities replaced the groups in Bari, Bologna, Cagliari, Catania, Florence, Genoa, Messina, Milan, Naples, Palermo, Reggio Calabria, Rome, Turin, and Venice.

Maps

[Abruzzo](/wiki/Abruzzo)

[Aosta Valley](/wiki/Aosta_Valley)

[Apulia](/wiki/Apulia)

[Basilicata](/wiki/Basilicata)

[Calabria](/wiki/Calabria)

[Campania](/wiki/Campania)

[Emilia-Romagna](/wiki/Emilia-Romagna)

[Friuli-Venezia Giulia](/wiki/Friuli-Venezia_Giulia)

[Lazio](/wiki/Lazio)

[Liguria](/wiki/Liguria)

[Lombardy](/wiki/Lombardy)

[Marche](/wiki/Marche)

[Molise](/wiki/Molise)

[Piedmont](/wiki/Piedmont)

• .svg)

  Sardinia

[Sicily](/wiki/Sicily)

[Tuscany](/wiki/Tuscany)

[Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol](/wiki/Trentino-Alto_Adige/Südtirol)

[Umbria](/wiki/Umbria)

[Veneto](/wiki/Veneto)

History

National unification

In 1861, the Kingdom of Italy was created with 59 provinces. Some places like Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, and Lazio were not yet part of the kingdom.

In 1866, after a war, Italy added Veneto and Friuli, bringing in nine new provinces: Belluno, Mantua, Padua, Rovigo, Treviso, Venice, Verona, Vicenza, and Udine. These places used to belong to the Austrian Empire. In 1870, when Rome joined Italy, the number of provinces grew to 69.

Interwar period

In 1927, many changes happened to the provinces. Seventeen new ones were added: Aosta, Vercelli, Varese, Savona, Bolzano, Gorizia, Pistoia, Pescara, Rieti, Terni, Viterbo, Frosinone, Brindisi, Matera, Ragusa, Castrogiovanni, and Nuoro. The same year, the province of Caserta was dissolved, and Girgenti was renamed Agrigento. Smaller areas called circondari were also removed.

In 1930, Spezia became La Spezia, and in 1931, Bari delle Puglie became Bari. The province of Littoria (Latina) was created in 1934, and the province of Asti in 1935. In 1939, the province of Aquila degli Abruzzi became the province of L'Aquila, and in 1940, the province of Friuli was renamed the province of Udine.

After World War II

In 1945, after World War II ended, the province of Aosta changed its name to Aosta Valley and Littoria to Latina. The new province of Caserta was recreated again.

With the Paris Peace Treaties in 1947, Italy lost the provinces of Fiume, Pola, and Zara, and parts of Trieste and Gorizia.

The province of Ionio was renamed Taranto in 1951, and in 1954, the province of Trieste was returned to Italy.

Recent history

The province of Pordenone was created in 1968, the province of Isernia in 1970, and the province of Oristano in 1974. In 1992, eight new provinces were added: Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, Biella, Lecco, Lodi, Rimini, Prato, Crotone, and Vibo Valentia. Forlì was renamed Forlì-Cesena.

In 2001, four new provinces were created in Sardinia, starting in 2005: Olbia-Tempio, Ogliastra, Medio Campidano, and Carbonia-Iglesias. In 2004, three more provinces were added: Monza and Brianza, Fermo, and Barletta-Andria-Trani, bringing the total to 110 provinces.

Former provinces

Historical abolished provinces

• Province of Aosta existed from 1927 to 1945 and became the Autonomous Region of Aosta Valley in 1948.
• The Province of Terra di Lavoro was from 1861 to 1927. It split into the provinces of Frosinone, Latina, and Caserta.

Provinces of Istria, Kvarner, and Dalmatia

• Province of Zara was formed in 1923 after World War I and lasted until 1947.
• Province of Pola was created in 1923 in Istria.
• Province of Fiume was established in 1924 in Kvarner.

Provinces established during World War II

Further information: Invasion of Yugoslavia

• Province of Ljubljana existed from 1941 to 1943 during World War II.
• Province of Spalato was created during World War II.
• Province of Cattaro was formed during World War II.

Colonial provinces

Further information: Italian Empire

• The Province of Rhodes lasted from 1923 to 1947.
• Italian Libya had four provinces from 1939.

Theoretical provinces

Further information: Italian occupation of France during World War II, Invasion of Yugoslavia, Greco-Italian War, and German invasion of Greece

• Plans existed for a Province of the Western Alps during World War II.
• Ideas were made to create a Province of Corsica after World War II.
• A Province of Ragusa in Dalmatia was also planned.
• Additional provinces were planned for islands in Greece.

Controversies

Some people think that the provinces in Italy are not useful, and there have been ideas to get rid of them. In 2013, Enrico Letta, who was the new Prime Minister of Italy, said that changes to the constitution were needed, including getting rid of the provinces. But these ideas were stopped because changing the constitution is very hard, and many people and politicians did not agree with the changes. Later, in 2016, a vote was held to decide on these changes, and the idea to remove the provinces was not accepted.