Municipality, province, region: who does what

The four layers

Italy has a layered structure that settled over time, in which some competences are clear and others overlap. Simplified without distortion:

Level	How many	What it actually decides
State	1	Justice, public order, taxation, social security, defence, state schools, immigration
Region	20	Healthcare, local public transport, right to education, training, tourism, agriculture
Province or metropolitan city	Around a hundred	Provincial roads, upper-secondary school buildings, environment, area-wide planning
Municipality	About 7,900	Civil registry, civil status, building, planning, waste, social services, municipal police

The municipality: where life actually happens

The body you will deal with most, and the one deciding the things you notice every day.

• Civil registry: residency, certificates, identity card, household certificate.
• Civil status: births, marriages and civil unions, deaths, transcription of foreign records, citizenship.
• Local taxes: TARI, IMU, tourist tax.
• Education services: municipal nurseries, pre-school, meals, school transport, before- and after-school care.
• Social services: family support, disability, elderly care, housing emergencies.
• Building and planning: building permits, notifications, the local plan. The desk is called SUE; for businesses it is the SUAP.
• Municipal police: traffic, ZTL, local fines, residency checks, trade.
• Waste, parks, cemeteries, street lighting, urban roads.

The mayor has a double nature: head of the municipal administration, but for civil registry, civil status and electoral matters they act as an officer of the State. That is why the municipality keeps registers that are national.

The region: healthcare and much more

The level that weighs most on your wallet and your quality of life, and the one newcomers underestimate.

• Healthcare: it organises the ASLs and the hospitals, sets co-payments, exemptions, waiting times and how you book.
• Local public transport: regional trains, intercity buses, fares and passes.
• The right to education: grants, textbooks, contributions.
• Vocational training and labour policy.
• Public housing, agriculture, tourism, environment, civil protection.

Regions hold their own legislative power: in some fields they legislate exclusively, in others within principles set by the State. That is why the same situation can be governed differently two hundred kilometres away.

The special-statute regions

Five regions — Sicily, Sardinia, Valle d'Aosta, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Trentino-Alto Adige — have a special statute with broader competences and more resources retained locally. In Trentino-Alto Adige the powers sit mainly with the autonomous provinces of Trento and Bolzano, which for example run their own school systems and, in Bolzano, a system organised by language group.

If you are choosing where to live, this affects services, local taxes and schooling more than the word "statute" suggests.

The province and the metropolitan city

After the reforms of recent years the role has shrunk, and to a citizen it is almost invisible. What remains:

• provincial roads, those outside built-up areas;
• upper-secondary school buildings;
• some environmental permits, hunting and fishing;
• area-wide spatial planning.

In the fourteen metropolitan cities — Rome, Milan, Naples, Turin, Palermo, Bari, Catania, Florence, Bologna, Genoa, Venice, Messina, Reggio Calabria, Cagliari — this body replaced the province with some additional powers over mobility and area services.

The State out in the country

Not everything national sits in Rome. Locally, the State appears under different names:

• Prefecture — Territorial Government Office: one per province. Appeals against fines, citizenship by residence, driving licences, civil protection, liaison with municipalities.
• Questura: passports, residence permits, criminal complaints, public order.
• Agenzia delle Entrate and Agenzia delle Entrate-Riscossione: tax and collection, two separate bodies.
• INPS: pensions, allowances, contributions.
• Regional School Office: the network of state schools.
• Motorizzazione Civile: licences and vehicles.
• Fire brigade, customs agency, chamber of commerce for businesses.

The practical question: who do I go to?

I need…	I go to…
Residency, certificates, identity card	The municipality, registry office
Tax code, lease registration, tax return	Agenzia delle Entrate
Family doctor, health card, exemptions	The ASL, therefore the region
Enrolling a child in school	The school; for meals and transport, the municipality
Study grants and books	The region
Child allowance, ISEE, pension	INPS or a patronato
Italian passport, residence permit, criminal complaints	The Questura
Appealing a fine	The Prefecture or the justice of the peace
Citizenship by residence	The Interior Ministry's portal, processed by the Prefecture
TARI, IMU, ZTL, parking permits	The municipality
Renovating a home	The municipality, SUE
Starting a business	The municipality, SUAP, plus the chamber of commerce

Common mistakes

• Looking for everything at the town hall. Half of what you need is regional or national.
• Confusing Agenzia delle Entrate with Agenzia delle Entrate-Riscossione. Similar names, different bodies, different counters.
• Assuming a rule applies everywhere. Health, school and transport change with the region.
• Ignoring the regional level when choosing where to live. Two villages half an hour apart, but in different regions, have different waiting lists and co-payments.
• Not asking the URP. It is free and it is literally their job.