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Administrative subdivisions of the Papal States from 1816 to 1870
The delegations as they existed in 1859. Note: this map was drawn after Romagna had already been ceded to Piedmont-Sardinia, and is therefore not representative of the Legations' territory for most of their existence between 1816 and 1870.
Between the Congress of Vienna (1815) and the capture of Rome (1870), the Papal State was subdivided geographically into 17 apostolic delegations (delegazioni apostoliche) for administrative purposes. These were instituted by Pope Pius VII in a motu proprio of 6 July 1816: "Quando per ammirabile disposizione".
A delegation was known as a legation (legazione) when governed by a cardinal. The four northernmost delegations—Bologna, Ferrara, Forlì and Ravenna, which comprised the region known as the Romagne (plural of Romagna)—were regularly governed by cardinals. Thus, the term "Legations" or Papal Legations (Legazioni pontificie), when used on its own, often refers to the Romagne. In an administrative reform of 1850, Pius IX grouped the delegations into five larger legations. The four original legations were joined into the legation of the Romagne. In 1859, the Kingdom of Sardinia invaded the Papal State and set up a military government, the United Provinces of Central Italy, that included the Romagne. Following a plebiscite, the Romagne were formally annexed to Sardinia in 1860.
Between 1798 and 1800, and again between 1809 and 1814, the Papal State was occupied by French troops and the pope was in exile. After the restoration of the Papal State by the Congress of Vienna, Pius VII set about reforming its administration, assisted by Cardinal Secretary of State Ercole Consalvi. The result was the motu prioprio of 6 July 1816 "on the organization of public administration".
The existing 12 provinces were abandoned in favour of 17 delegations, although Rome and its hinterland formed a separate comarca. The new administration was modelled on that introduced by the French.
The new delegations were grouped into three classes. At the head of each delegation was a delegate (delegato) who was appointed by the pope through an act of the secretary of state and who was invariably a prelate. Only in case the prelate was a cardinal did he assume the title of legate (legato), and cardinals could only be appointed to the delegations of the first class. Each delegate or legate was assisted by two assessors appointed by the pope, one for civil law matters and one for penal law matters, and by a locally selected Governmental Congregation (Congregazione governativa ), the composition of which varied according to the class of the delegation:
In each delegation, the administration of justice was devolved on a court of first instance (tribunale di prima istanza) for civil matters and a criminal court (tribunale criminale) for crimes. Some of the delegations were subdivided into districts, each headed by a governor. The arrangement created by the motu proprio of 1816 looked like this:
In 1820, the delegations and the comarca of Rome were grouped into 11 provinces (province). The delegations of Camerino, Benevento, Bologna and Ferrara were their own provinces under those names. Rieti was its own province, called Sabina, and Urbino e Pesaro was synonymous with the province called Urbino. Rome was joined with Frosinone to form the province of Marittima e Campagna. Viterbo and Civitavecchia were joined to form the province of Patrimonio; Perugia and Spoleto the province of Umbria; Ancona, Ascoli, Fermo and Macerata the province of the Marche; and Forlì and Ravenna the province of Romagna.
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Administrative subdivisions of the Papal States from 1816 to 1870 AI simulator
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Administrative subdivisions of the Papal States from 1816 to 1870
The delegations as they existed in 1859. Note: this map was drawn after Romagna had already been ceded to Piedmont-Sardinia, and is therefore not representative of the Legations' territory for most of their existence between 1816 and 1870.
Between the Congress of Vienna (1815) and the capture of Rome (1870), the Papal State was subdivided geographically into 17 apostolic delegations (delegazioni apostoliche) for administrative purposes. These were instituted by Pope Pius VII in a motu proprio of 6 July 1816: "Quando per ammirabile disposizione".
A delegation was known as a legation (legazione) when governed by a cardinal. The four northernmost delegations—Bologna, Ferrara, Forlì and Ravenna, which comprised the region known as the Romagne (plural of Romagna)—were regularly governed by cardinals. Thus, the term "Legations" or Papal Legations (Legazioni pontificie), when used on its own, often refers to the Romagne. In an administrative reform of 1850, Pius IX grouped the delegations into five larger legations. The four original legations were joined into the legation of the Romagne. In 1859, the Kingdom of Sardinia invaded the Papal State and set up a military government, the United Provinces of Central Italy, that included the Romagne. Following a plebiscite, the Romagne were formally annexed to Sardinia in 1860.
Between 1798 and 1800, and again between 1809 and 1814, the Papal State was occupied by French troops and the pope was in exile. After the restoration of the Papal State by the Congress of Vienna, Pius VII set about reforming its administration, assisted by Cardinal Secretary of State Ercole Consalvi. The result was the motu prioprio of 6 July 1816 "on the organization of public administration".
The existing 12 provinces were abandoned in favour of 17 delegations, although Rome and its hinterland formed a separate comarca. The new administration was modelled on that introduced by the French.
The new delegations were grouped into three classes. At the head of each delegation was a delegate (delegato) who was appointed by the pope through an act of the secretary of state and who was invariably a prelate. Only in case the prelate was a cardinal did he assume the title of legate (legato), and cardinals could only be appointed to the delegations of the first class. Each delegate or legate was assisted by two assessors appointed by the pope, one for civil law matters and one for penal law matters, and by a locally selected Governmental Congregation (Congregazione governativa ), the composition of which varied according to the class of the delegation:
In each delegation, the administration of justice was devolved on a court of first instance (tribunale di prima istanza) for civil matters and a criminal court (tribunale criminale) for crimes. Some of the delegations were subdivided into districts, each headed by a governor. The arrangement created by the motu proprio of 1816 looked like this:
In 1820, the delegations and the comarca of Rome were grouped into 11 provinces (province). The delegations of Camerino, Benevento, Bologna and Ferrara were their own provinces under those names. Rieti was its own province, called Sabina, and Urbino e Pesaro was synonymous with the province called Urbino. Rome was joined with Frosinone to form the province of Marittima e Campagna. Viterbo and Civitavecchia were joined to form the province of Patrimonio; Perugia and Spoleto the province of Umbria; Ancona, Ascoli, Fermo and Macerata the province of the Marche; and Forlì and Ravenna the province of Romagna.