Mayor of Rome
Sindaco di Roma
Incumbent Roberto Gualtieri since 21 October 2021
Seat	Palazzo Senatorio
Appointer	Electorate of Rome
Term length	5 years, renewable once
Inaugural holder	Francesco Rospigliosi Pallavicini
Formation	23 September 1870
Deputy	Silvia Scozzese
Salary	€4,500 monthly
Website

The mayor of Rome (Italian: sindaco di Roma) is an elected politician who, along with the Rome City Council (Italian: Assemblea Capitolina) of 48 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Rome. As Rome is a comune speciale since 2009, the office is different from the offices of the other Italian cities. The title is the equivalent of Lord Mayor in the meaning of an actual executive leader.

Overview

Current seat of the Mayor, Palazzo Senatorio on Capitoline Hill.

According to the City of Rome Statutes, the Mayor of Rome is a member of the Rome City Council (Italian: Assemblea Capitolina) ex-oficio as its overall head.

The Mayor is elected by the population of Rome. Citizens elect also the members of the City Council, which also controls the mayor's policy guidelines and is able to enforce the mayor's resignation by a motion of no confidence. The mayor is entitled to appoint and release the members of the Council, which are twelve (Italian: Assessori delle Giunta Capitolina) according to the Italian Constitution.

The seat of the City Council is the city hall Palazzo Senatorio on the Capitoline Hill.

History

When the City of Rome was founded, it was initially ruled by Kings. After the last King was overthrown, it would be ruled by Consuls who were elected by the Assembly of the Centuries. The Assembly of the Centuries was an extremely oligarchic voting system, with voters organized into blocks based on wealth, and each block having but one vote to elect the Consuls.

There were two Consuls at a time, known as the Consul Priori and the Consul Posteriori, and they served a 1-year term. Technically the Consul Priori was in charge of the city as well as the larger Roman Republic, and the Consul Posteriori was his second-in-command, but in practice both Consuls shared power except in times of national emergency. (Said emergencies would lead to either Senatus Consultum Ultimum, or failing that the true last resort was a Dictatorship, to be held by the Consul Priori.)

Roman Emperors were essentially Mayors of Rome ex officio, although the Consuls continued to exist in a largely ceremonial role. The Assembly of the Centuries was abolished, and the power to elect Consuls was transferred to the Senate alone. Once the Western Roman Empire ended, Consuls retook charge of the city, even as Kings once again ruled larger territories that included Rome. By this time there were no longer two Consuls in Rome, but one, the position of Consul Posteriori having been ceded to the younger Eastern Roman Empire.

In 534, a man named Decius Paulinus served as the very last Consul of Rome. (The last Consul was Byzantine Emperor Leo VI, but he did not rule from Rome.) The Senate survived as a city council of sorts, until it passed its final acts and voted to disband in 603. All the while, law and order were largely kept by various foreign occupiers (and their appointed city-governors).

In 756, the Donation of Pepin made Rome the capital of a newly formed Federation of the Papal States. After this, the city would be directly ruled by the same Popes who also ruled the much larger Papal States territory. During the final third or so of its existence, the Papal States also had a Governor of Rome, appointed by the Pope to rule the city in his name, allowing the Pope himself to focus on national and ecclesial matters.

Having been the capital of the Papal States, Rome did not receive its modern Mayor until 1870, when it became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy. The new Mayor served as a member of the city council, and he was appointed every three years by the King of Italy. Then since 1889 the Mayor was elected every four years by the City Council. However, the fascist dictatorship abolished mayors and City councils in 1926, replacing them with a single authoritarian Rector (Podestà) chosen by the National Fascist Party. The rector of Rome was called "Governatore" (Governor).

After World War II, the Mayor was chosen by the City Council. In 1993, the election of the Mayor was transferred from the City Council to direct election by the people. In 2001, the schedule of such elections was changed from every 4 years to every 5 years.

List of Mayors of Rome

Republic of Italy (1946–present)

City Council election (1946–1993)

From 1946 to 1993, the Mayor of Rome was chosen by the City Council.

	Mayor		Term start	Term end	Party	Coalition	Election
17		Salvatore Rebecchini (1891–1977)	10 December 1946	5 November 1947	DC	DC	1946
			5 November 1947	4 July 1952		DC  • PLI  • UQ	1947
			4 July 1952	2 July 1956		DC  • PLI  • PRI	1952
18		Umberto Tupini (1889–1973)	2 July 1956	10 January 1958	DC	Centrism (DC  • PLI  • PRI  • PSDI)	1956
19		Urbano Cioccetti (1905–1978)	10 January 1958	11 July 1961	DC
-	Special Prefectural Commissioner tenure (11 July 1961 – 17 July 1962)[lower-alpha 1]						1960
20		Glauco Della Porta (1920–1976)	17 July 1962	12 March 1964	DC	Organic Centre-left (DC  • PSI  • PSDI  • PRI)	1962
21		Amerigo Petrucci (1922–1983)	12 March 1964	28 July 1966	DC
			28 July 1966	29 December 1967			1966
22		Rinaldo Santini (1914–2013)	29 December 1967	30 July 1969	DC
23		Clelio Darida (1927–2017)	30 July 1969	7 August 1971	DC	DC  • PSI  • PSDI
			7 August 1971	9 August 1976		DC	1971
24		Giulio Carlo Argan (1909–1992)	9 August 1976	29 September 1979	SI	Red Executive (PCI  • PSI  • PSDI  • PRI)	1976
25		Luigi Petroselli (1932–1981)	29 September 1979	7 October 1981[lower-alpha 2]	PCI
26		Ugo Vetere (1924–2013)	15 October 1981	30 July 1985	PCI		1981
27		Nicola Signorello (1926–2022)	30 July 1985	6 August 1988	DC	Pentapartito (DC  • PSI  • PSDI  • PRI  • PLI)	1985
28		Pietro Giubilo (b. 1942)	6 August 1988	19 July 1989	DC
-	Special Prefectural Commissioner tenure (19 July 1989 – 19 December 1989)[lower-alpha 3]
29		Franco Carraro (b. 1939)	19 December 1989	19 April 1993	PSI	Pentapartito (DC  • PSI  • PSDI  • PRI  • PLI)	1989
-	Special Prefectural Commissioner tenure (19 April 1993 – 6 December 1993)[lower-alpha 4]

Notes

1. ↑ Nominated by the Prefect after the City Council failed to elect a Mayor.
2. ↑ Died in office.
3. ↑ Nominated by the Prefect after the Mayor lost the support of the majority of the City Council.
4. ↑ Nominated by the Prefect after the Mayor and the members of the City Council resigned in order to hold a new election under the provision of the new local electoral law.

Direct election (since 1993)

Since 1993, under provisions of new local administration law, the Mayor of Rome is chosen by direct election, originally every four, and since 2001 every five years.

	Mayor of Rome		Took office	Left office	Party	Coalition		Election
30		Francesco Rutelli (b. 1954)	6 December 1993	17 November 1997	FdV		Alliance of Progressives	1993
			17 November 1997	8 January 2001[lower-alpha 1]			The Olive Tree	1997
Enzo Mosino, Special Prefectural Commissioner (8 January 2001 – 1 June 2001)
31		Walter Veltroni (b. 1955)	1 June 2001	1 June 2006	DS PD		The Olive Tree	2001
			1 June 2006	13 February 2008[lower-alpha 2]			The Olive Tree	2006
Mario Morcone, Special Prefectural Commissioner (13 February 2008 – 28 April 2008)
32		Gianni Alemanno (b. 1958)	28 April 2008	12 June 2013	PdL		PdL	2008
33		Ignazio Marino (b. 1955)	12 June 2013	31 October 2015[lower-alpha 3]	PD		PD  • SEL	2013
Francesco Paolo Tronca, Special Prefectural Commissioner (31 October 2015 – 22 June 2016)
34		Virginia Raggi (b. 1978)	22 June 2016	21 October 2021	M5S		M5S	2016
35		Roberto Gualtieri (b. 1966)	21 October 2021	Incumbent	PD		PD  • LeU  • EV	2021

Notes

1. ↑ He left the office because he was candidate at the 2001 general election as Prime Minister.
2. ↑ He left the office because he was candidate at the 2008 general election as Prime Minister.
3. ↑ Ousted from office after more than half the city's councillors stepped down.

Timeline

Mayors

Political coalition

Election

Deputy Mayor

The office of the Deputy Mayor of Rome was officially created in 1993 with the adoption of the new local administration law. The Deputy Mayor is nominated and eventually dismissed by the Mayor.

Notes

References