Statuto Albertino

The Statuto Albertino (English: Albertine Statute) was the constitution granted by King Charles Albert of Sardinia to the Kingdom of Sardinia on 4 March 1848 and written in Italian and French. Promulgated at the height of the Risorgimento, the process of Italian unification, the Statute was gradually extended to the other territories incorporated into the new state and was officially recognized as the fundamental law of the Kingdom of Italy upon its proclamation on 17 March 1861. Because of this, Statuto Albertino became the first Italian constitution and had a role in shaping Italy's constitutional system, exerting an influence on the 1947 Constitution of Italy, which directly succeeded it. The Statute remained in force, with changes, until 1948. Charles Albert did not want to grant a Constitutional Charter so he attempted to maintain as much power as he could even though the Statute marked the end of his absolute monarchy. The Constitution established a uninominal-majoritarian electoral system and initially gave suffrage to wealthy males over the age of 25. In 1919, the uninominal-majoritarian system was altered into a proportional representation system. Today the Statuto Albertino is regarded as one of the most important historical legal acts issued on the territory of Italy.