nistration and to serve
as a tribunal for the trial of cases arising under the administrative
law. The prefect and the _giunta_ possess large, and to a considerable
degree, discretionary powers of control over the proceedings of the
council; and the prefect, representing as he does the central government
exclusively, can be called to account only by his superiors at (p. 385)
Rome.

*425. The Commune: Syndic and Council.*--As in France, the commune is
the least artificial and the most vigorous of the local governmental
units. In June, 1911, there were in Italy a total of 8,323 communes,
besides four boroughs in Sardinia not included in the communal
organization. Each commune has a council of from 15 to 80 members,
according to its population, elected for a period of six years,
one-half retiring every three years. The communal franchise is
appreciably broader than the parliamentary. It extends to all Italian
citizens twenty-one years of age who can read and write, provided they
are on the parliamentary list, or pay any direct annual contribution
to the commune, or comply with various other very easy conditions. The
council holds two regular sessions a year, though in the large towns
it, in point of fact, meets much more frequently. Between sittings its
work is carried on by a _giunta_, which serves as a committee to
execute the resolutions of the council and to draft its budget and
by-laws. The powers of the council are comprehensive. It is obligated
to maintain streets, roads, and markets; to provide for elementary
education; to make suitable arrangements for the relief of the poor,
the registration of births and deaths, and of electors; to establish
police regulations and prisons; and, under varying conditions, to
attend to a wide variety of other matters. The range of its optional
activities is almost boundless. The council may establish theatres,
found museums, subsidize public amusements, and, indeed, go to almost
any length in the regulation of local affairs and the expenditure of
local funds.[562]

[Footnote 562: For an arraignment of the
extravagance of the local governing authorities see
King and Okey, Italy To-day, 267.]

As its chief official, every commune has a _sindaco_, i.e., a syndic,
or mayor. Prior to 1896 the syndic was chosen by the communal council
from its own members, if the commune had more than 10,000 inhabitants,
or was the capital