Chamber of Deputies (Italy)

The Chamber of Deputies (Italian: Camera dei deputati) is the lower house of the bicameral Italian Parliament, with the upper house being the Senate of the Republic. Together, these two houses form a perfect bicameral system, meaning they share the same responsibilities but operate separately. The Chamber of Deputies has 400 seats, with 392 deputies elected from Italian constituencies and 8 from Italian citizens living abroad. Members of the Chamber are respected figures, styled as The Honourable (Italian: Onorevole), and they meet in the historic Palazzo Montecitorio. This important group plays a key role in making laws and decisions for Italy.

Location

The Chamber of Deputies meets in the Palazzo Montecitorio, a building in Rome that has been their home since 1871. Before that, they met in Turin and then in Florence. During World War II, a different group took their place for a few years.

Normal operation

The Chamber of Deputies is made up of all its members meeting together at a place called Montecitorio. They can also watch government meetings and ministers if they need to. Sometimes, the government must come to these sessions when asked.

The Chamber of Deputies, like the Senate, normally works for five years. But there are two special cases when it can keep working longer:

• If the current term ends, members keep working until the new group meets for the first time.
• The term can also be extended if there is a war.

Electoral system

Main article: Italian electoral law of 2017

The electoral system for choosing members of the Chamber of Deputies uses a mixed approach. About 37% of the seats are decided by a simple voting system where the candidate with the most votes wins, and 63% are decided by a system that shares seats based on the percentage of votes each party receives.

The 400 seats in the Chamber of Deputies are filled as follows:

• 147 seats are from single-member areas, where the candidate with the most votes wins.
• 245 seats come from larger areas, shared among parties based on their overall vote share in the country.
• 8 seats are for Italian citizens living outside of Italy, chosen in the same way as the larger areas.

Each voter has a few ways to cast their vote, which can support both a local candidate and the party lists that back them. The election must happen within 70 days after the Chamber is dissolved, and the new members must meet within 20 days of the election.

President

Main article: List of presidents of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy)

The President of the Chamber of Deputies is like the speaker of the house. They are chosen during the first meeting after an election. Until the new president is chosen, the vice president from the last group of lawmakers takes on this role. If two people were elected at the same time, the older one becomes the president.

The President also leads when both parts of the Italian Parliament meet together to vote. Right now, Lorenzo Fontana is the current president of the Chamber of Deputies.

Membership

Main article: List of members of the Chamber of Deputies of Italy, 2022–present

The Chamber of Deputies has 400 members. They were last elected during the 2022 general election.

Reform proposals

In 2019, Italy’s parliament changed the rules to reduce the number of seats in the Chamber of Deputies from 630 to 400. People voted for this change in a special vote in 2020. The first time the Chamber of Deputies met with only 400 members was during the 19th Legislature.

Historical composition

1861–1924

The Chamber of Deputies began its role in Italy’s government in 1861. Over the years until 1924, the number of seats and how members were chosen changed many times. This period saw many new rules and ways to pick leaders for Italy.

Since 1945

After World War II in 1945, the Chamber of Deputies continued as part of Italy’s Parliament. Today, it has 400 seats. Most of these seats—392—are filled by people voting in Italy. The other 8 seats are for Italian citizens living outside the country, letting their voices be heard too.

Predecessors

The Chamber of Deputies in Italy has had several forms throughout history. It began as the Chamber of Deputies (Kingdom of Sardinia) from March 4, 1848, to March 17, 1861. It then became the Chamber of Deputies (Kingdom of Italy) from March 17, 1861, to March 23, 1939. During a different time, it was known as the Chamber of Fasces and Corporations from March 23, 1939, to August 2, 1943. After that, it was called the National Council (Italy) from September 25, 1945, to June 2, 1946, and finally the Constituent Assembly of Italy from June 2, 1946, to January 31, 1948.