Legislature I of Italy

Legislature I of Italy

I legislatura della Repubblica Italiana
Legislature I of Italy; I legislatura della Repubblica Italiana
1st legislature
Type
Type	bicameral
Houses	Chamber of Deputies ; Senate of the Republic
History
Founded	8 May 1948
Disbanded	24 June 1953; (5 years, 47 days)
Preceded by	Constituent Assembly
Succeeded by	II Legislature
Leadership
President of the Senate	List Ivanoe Bonomi, PSLI ; (8 may 1948 – 20 April 1951); Enrico De Nicola, PLI ; (28 April 1951 – 24 June 1952); Giuseppe Paratore, PLI ; (26 June 1952 – 23 March 1953); Meuccio Ruini, Ind ; (25 March 1953 – 24 June 1953);
President of the Chamber of Deputies	Giovanni Gronchi, DC ; since 8 May 1948
Structure
Seats	574 (C); 343 (S)
Chamber of Deputies political groups	DC (305); FDP (183); US (33); BN (19); PNM (14); PRI (9); MSI (6); SVP (3); PdCI (1); PSd'Az (1);
Senate political groups	DC (148); PCI (77); PSI (41); US (23); PRI (11); BN (10); MSI (3); SVP (2); PSd'Az (1); Others (27);
Elections
Chamber of Deputies voting system	Proportional
Senate voting system	Proportional
Last general election	18 April 1948
Meeting place
	Palazzo Montecitorio, Rome (C)
	Palazzo Madama, Rome (S)
Website
	First Legislature – Chamber of Deputies ; First Legislature – Senate
Constitution
	Constitution of Italy

Last updated August 16, 2025

The Legislature I of Italy (Italian : I Legislatura della Repubblica Italiana) was the 1st legislature of the Italian Republic, and lasted from 8 May 1948 until 24 June 1953.^[1]^[2] Its composition was the one resulting from the general election of 18 April 1948.

Main chronology

In the 1948 general election Christian Democracy (DC) went on to win a decisive victory with the support of the Catholic Church and obtained 48.5% of the vote, defeating the leftist social-communist alliance of the Popular Democratic Front (FDP). Despite his party's absolute majority in the Italian Parliament, Prime Minister Alcide De Gasperi continued to govern at the head of the centrist coalition, which was successively abandoned by the Italian Liberal Party (PLI) in 1950 and by the Socialist Party of Italian Workers (PSLI) in 1951.

Under De Gasperi, the first republican Parliament carried out major land reforms to help the poorer rural regions in the early postwar years, with farms appropriated from the large landowners and parcelled out to the peasants. In addition, the Parliament passed a number of laws safeguarding employees from exploitation, established a national health service, and initiated low-cost housing in Italy’s major cities.^[3] Here's a list of the main laws approved by the Parliament:

Law 28 February 1949, n. 43 – "Measures to increase workers' employment, facilitating the construction of houses for workers". The law, also known as Fanfani house program, was promoted by the Minister of Labour Amintore Fanfani and launched a seven-year plan for popular housing to increase the stock of economic housing by means of construction or purchase of economic accommodation. The law also established a special housing fund, the so-called "INA-Casa", within the National Institute for Insurance.
Law 10 August 1950, n. 646 – "Establishment of the Fund for extraordinary works of public interest in Southern Italy". The law established the Cassa per il Mezzogiorno (Fund for the South) to encourage the development of public works and infrastructure (roads, bridges, hydroelectric and irrigation) projects, and to provide credit subsidies and tax advantages to promote investments in the poor and mainly agricultural regions of Southern Italy.
Law 21 October 1950, n. 841 – "Rules for expropriation, reclamation, transformation and assignment of land to peasants", also known as the "Agrarian Reform". The law promoted the redistribution of lands to peasants in the poorer rural regions and the formation of agricultural cooperatives.
Law 24 February 1951, n. 84 – "Rules for the election of municipal councils". The reform changed the electoral law used for the election of the municipal councils, introducing a block voting system and abolishing the proportional representation.
Law 31 March 1953, n. 87 – "Amendments to the law for the election of the Chamber of Deputies", also known as Scam Law.

The end of the legislature was characterized by some controversial changes in the electoral law proposed by the government. Even if the general structure remained uncorrupted, the government introduced a superbonus of two thirds of seats in the Chamber of Deputies for the coalition which would obtain at-large the absolute majority of votes. The change was hugely opposed by the opposition parties as well as the smaller DC coalition partners, which had no realistic chances of success. The new law was called Scam Law by its detractors,^[4] including some dissidents of minor government parties who founded special opposition groups to deny the artificial landslide to the DC.

Presidential election

On 10 May 1948 the newly elected Parliament met to elect the first President of Italy. On 11 May 1948 liberal economist Luigi Einaudi was elected on the fourth ballot with 518 votes out of 900.

Government

Prime Minister		Party	Term of office		Government	Composition
Prime Minister		Party	Took office	Left office	Government	Composition
	Alcide De Gasperi (1881–1954)	Christian Democracy	23 May 1948	27 January 1950	De Gasperi V	DC • PSLI • PLI • PRI ( Centrism )
			27 January 1950	26 July 1951	De Gasperi VI	DC • PSLI • PRI ( Centrism )
			26 July 1951	16 July 1953	De Gasperi VII	DC • PRI ( Centrism )

Confidence votes

De Gasperi V Cabinet

16 June–2 July 1948 Investiture votes for De Gasperi V Cabinet
House of Parliament	Vote	Parties	Votes
Chamber of Deputies (Voting: 513 of 574, Majority: 257)	YYes	DC, PSLI, PLI, PRI	346 / 513
Chamber of Deputies (Voting: 513 of 574, Majority: 257)	NNo	FDP, MSI, PNM	167 / 513
Senate of the Republic (Voting: 255 of 343, Majority: 128)	YYes	DC, PSLI, PLI, PRI	184 / 255
	NNo	PCI, PSI, MSI, PNM	67 / 255
	Abstention	Others	4 / 255

De Gasperi VI Cabinet

14 February–1 March 1950 Investiture votes for De Gasperi VI Cabinet
House of Parliament	Vote	Parties	Votes
Chamber of Deputies (Voting: 503 of 574, Majority: 252)	YYes	DC, PSLI, PRI	314 / 503
Chamber of Deputies (Voting: 503 of 574, Majority: 252)	NNo	PCI, PSI, PLI, MSI, PNM	189 / 503
Senate of the Republic (Voting: 296 of 343, Majority: 149)	YYes	DC, PSLI, PRI	176 / 296
	NNo	PCI, PSI, PLI, MSI, PNM	110 / 296
	Abstention	Others	10 / 296

De Gasperi VII Cabinet

8–9 August 1951 Investiture votes for De Gasperi VII Cabinet
House of Parliament	Vote	Parties	Votes
Senate of the Republic (Voting: 260 of 343, Majority: 131)	YYes	DC, PRI	151 / 260
	NNo	PCI, PSI, PSLI, PLI, MSI, PNM	101 / 260
	Abstention	Others	8 / 260
Chamber of Deputies (Voting: 466 of 574, Majority: 234)	YYes	DC, PRI	291 / 466
Chamber of Deputies (Voting: 466 of 574, Majority: 234)	NNo	PCI, PSI, PSLI, PLI, MSI, PNM	175 / 503

Parliamentary composition

Chamber of Deputies

President : Giovanni Gronchi (DC), elected on 8 May 1948
Vice Presidents: Giuseppe Fruschini (DC, until 10 July 1949), Gaetano Martino (PLI), Giuseppe Chiostergi (PRI), Ferdinando Targetti (PSI, until 21 January 1953)

Parliamentary groups in the Chamber of Deputies
Parliamentary group			Seats	Parliamentary group			Seats	Change
Initial composition^[5] (8 May 1948)				Final composition^[5] (24 June 1953)
	Christian Democracy		305		Christian Democracy		300	5
	Popular Democratic Front		183		Italian Communist Party		126	4
	Popular Democratic Front		183		Italian Socialist Party		53	4
	Socialist Unity		33		Socialist Unity		33
	National Bloc		19		Italian Liberal Party		13	6
	Monarchist National Party		14		Monarchist National Party		19	5
	Italian Republican Party		9		Italian Republican Party		8	1
	Italian Social Movement		6		Italian Social Movement		6
	Mixed		5		Mixed		16	11
		Südtiroler Volkspartei	3			Südtiroler Volkspartei	3
		Peasants' Party of Italy	1			Peasants' Party of Italy	1
		Sardinian Action Party	1			Sardinian Action Party	1
						Independents – Non inscrits	11	11

Total seats			574	Total seats			574

Senate of the Republic

Presidents of the Senate: Ivanoe Bonomi (1948–1951), Enrico De Nicola (1951–1952), Giuseppe Paratore (1951–1952), Meuccio Ruini (1952–1953)

Presidents :
- Ivanoe Bonomi (PSLI), elected on 8 May 1948 and resigned on 20 April 1951;
- Enrico De Nicola (PLI), elected on 28 April 1951 and resigned on 24 June 1952;
- Giuseppe Paratore (PLI), elected on 26 June 1952 and resigned on 23 March 1953;
- Meuccio Ruini (Ind), elected on 25 March 1953.
Vice Presidents: Antonio Alberti (DC, until 16 March 1953), Salvatore Aldisio (DC, until 26 January 1950), Mauro Scoccimarro (PCI), Enrico Molé (US), Adone Zoli (DC, from 3 March 1950 to 25 July 1951), Giovanni Battista Bertone (DC, from 10 August 1951), Umberto Tupini (DC, from 17 March 1953)

Parliamentary groups in the Senate of the Republic
Parliamentary group			Seats	Parliamentary group			Seats	Change
Initial composition^[6] (8 May 1948)				Final composition^[6] (24 June 1953)
	Christian Democracy		148		Christian Democracy		146	2
	Italian Communist Party		77		Italian Communist Party		73	4
	Italian Socialist Party		41		Italian Socialist Party		38	3
	Socialist Unity		23		Socialist Unity		21	2
	Italian Republican Party		11		Italian Republican Party		7	4
	National Bloc		10		Italian Liberal Party		9	1
	Italian Social Movement		3		Italian Social Movement		3
	Mixed		30		Mixed		20	10
		Südtiroler Volkspartei	2			Südtiroler Volkspartei	2
		Sardinian Action Party	1			Sardinian Action Party	1
		Independents – Non inscrits	27			Independents – Non inscrits	17	10

Total seats			343	Total seats			317^[a]	26

↑ Senators elected in 1948 were actually 237. The new Senate was initially composed by newly-elected senators and former members of the Constituent Assembly, of which 32 died during the term and weren't replaced. 8 new lifetime senators were appointed during the term by President Luigi Einaudi.

Senators for Life

Senator	Motivation	Appointed by	From	Till
Enrico De Nicola	Former President of Italy	ex officio ^{[ broken anchor ]}	12 May 1948	Next legislature
Guido Castelnuovo	Merits in the scientific field	President Luigi Einaudi	5 December 1949	27 April 1952 (deceased)
Arturo Toscanini	Merits in the artistic field	President Luigi Einaudi	5 December 1949	7 December 1949 (resigned)
Pietro Canonica	Merits in the artistic field	President Luigi Einaudi	1 December 1950	Next legislature
Gaetano De Sanctis	Merits in the social and literary field	President Luigi Einaudi	1 December 1950	Next legislature
Pasquale Jannaccone	Merits in the social field	President Luigi Einaudi	1 December 1950	Next legislature
Carlo Alberto Salustri, known as "Trilussa"	Merits in the literary field	President Luigi Einaudi	1 December 1950	21 December 1950 (deceased)
Luigi Sturzo	Merits in the social field	President Luigi Einaudi	17 September 1952	Next legislature
Umberto Zanotti Bianco	Merits in the artistic and social field	President Luigi Einaudi	17 September 1952	Next legislature

Gallery

Giovanni Gronchi as President of the Chamber of Deputies in 1948
President Luigi Einaudi inaugural address on 12 May 1948
Prime Minister De Gasperi with ministers Pacciardi and Scelba in front of the Chamber of Deputies (1948)

References

↑ "Camera dei Deputati – 1ª Legislatura". www.storia.camera.it (in Italian). Retrieved 17 January 2021.
↑ "Senato della Repubblica – 1ª Legislatura". www.senato.it (in Italian). Retrieved 17 January 2021.
↑ Library of Nations: Italy, Time-Life Books, 1985
↑ Also its parliamentarian exam had a disruptive effect: "Among the iron pots of political forces that faced in the Cold War, Senate cracked as earthenware pot": Buonomo, Giampiero (2014). "Come il Senato si scoprì vaso di coccio". L'Ago e Il Filo. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
1 2 "I Legislatura della Repubblica italiana / Legislature / Camera dei deputati – Portale storico". storia.camera.it (in Italian). Retrieved 17 January 2021.
1 2 "senato.it – Composizione dei gruppi parlamentari nella I Legislatura". www.senato.it (in Italian). Retrieved 17 January 2021.

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[7] Senators elected in 1948 were actually 237. The new Senate was initially composed by newly-elected senators and former members of the Constituent Assembly, of which 32 died during the term and weren't replaced. 8 new lifetime senators were appointed during the term by President Luigi Einaudi.

[senato-1] "Camera dei Deputati – 1ª Legislatura". www.storia.camera.it (in Italian). Retrieved 17 January 2021.

[camera-2] "Senato della Repubblica – 1ª Legislatura". www.senato.it (in Italian). Retrieved 17 January 2021.

[3] Library of Nations: Italy, Time-Life Books, 1985

[4] Also its parliamentarian exam had a disruptive effect: "Among the iron pots of political forces that faced in the Cold War, Senate cracked as earthenware pot": Buonomo, Giampiero (2014). "Come il Senato si scoprì vaso di coccio". L'Ago e Il Filo. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2021.

[chamber_composition-5] 1 2 "I Legislatura della Repubblica italiana / Legislature / Camera dei deputati – Portale storico". storia.camera.it (in Italian). Retrieved 17 January 2021.

[senate_composition-6] 1 2 "senato.it – Composizione dei gruppi parlamentari nella I Legislatura". www.senato.it (in Italian). Retrieved 17 January 2021.

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