Senate of the Republic

The Senate of the Republic or simply the Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Italian Parliament. The two houses together form a perfect bicameral system, meaning they perform identical functions, but do so separately. The Senate currently has 315 seats. Pursuant to the amended Articles 57, 58, and 59 of the Italian Constitution, the Senate has a variable number of members, of which 196 will be elected from Italian constituencies in the next election, 4 from Italian citizens living abroad, and a small number are senators for life, 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, itself a continuation of the Senato Subalpino of Sardinia established on 8 May 1848. Members of the Senate are styled Senator or The Honourable Senator and they meet at Palazzo Madama, Rome.