The Italian State was born in 1861, as a monarchy. Since its constitution, the Italian State has a law system based on liberal-democratic principles; however, from 1922 to 1945, the Italian State became a dictatorship (fascism) which lasted until the end of the Second World War.

In 1946, Italians chose the form of the republic through a referendum where women voted for the very first time at national level. The new Constitution of the Italian Republic came into force on the 1st of January 1948. The Constitution pays a strong attention to ethic, social and economic aspects. In the last two decades, the text of the Constitution has been modified to give more power to the central and peripheral governments and to reform the system of local autonomies.

Italy was one of the foundation countries of the ECSC (European Coal and Steal Community) in 1951, the EEC (European Economic Community) in 1957, the European Union in 1991 and one of the first countries to adhere to the EURO.