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.

The Statute was proclaimed only because of concern at the revolutionary insurrection agitating Italy in 1848. Its origins, however, went back further. In the mid-1830s, in the Kingdom of Sardinia ruled by the House of Savoy, mass demonstrations by the burgher class demanding the expansion of civil rights began. At the same time, dissatisfaction was growing among the peasantry, who were exploited due to the existence of an inefficient feudal system. By the mid-19th century, more than a dozen legal acts of a constitutional nature were already in force in the Italian states, some of which had been granted by Napoleon Bonaparte.

Already in 1831, the Sardinian king Charles Albert announced a program of administrative reforms, while simultaneously establishing a legislative commission composed of judges and lawyers who deliberated under the chairmanship of the Minister of Justice, Giuseppe Barbaroux. The body was divided into sections: civil law, civil procedure, criminal law, and commercial law. At the same time, in response to increasingly violent riots, the absolutist policy previously pursued by the king was softened. In 1831, a draft civil code was developed, clearly inspired by the Napoleonic Code. After lengthy consultations with the Supreme Court and the Council of State (an administrative court), its final version was approved in 1837, with an entry into force date of 1 January 1838. The new code was to apply to the continental part of the Kingdom of Sardinia (Piedmont, Savoy, and Liguria), excluding the island of Sardinia. Two years later, the criminal code (with an entry into force date of 15 January 1840), the military criminal code, and in 1847, a code of criminal procedure based on the principle of public trials were issued. In 1847, censorship was also limited, and, among other things, the publication of political periodicals was permitted. At the same time, administrative and systemic reforms continued.

Despite the progressing changes, King Charles Albert remained reluctant to introduce any act of a constitutional nature, and due to social pressures on this issue, he also considered announcing his abdication. The turning point was the granting of a constitution to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies by Ferdinand II at the beginning of 1848. Thanks to this, as well as due to pressures from the National Guard, Charles Albert also decided to adopt and announce on 8 February 1848 the fundamental law of the state he ruled – the Fundamental Statute of the Kingdom of Sardinia (Italian: Statuto Fondamentale del Regno di Sardegna), which was officially promulgated on 4 March 1848 in Turin, which was de facto the capital of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

The society of the Kingdom of Sardinia received the statute with great enthusiasm, which was confirmed by the ceremonies that took place as early as 27 February 1848, even before the promulgation of the act. It was established that the first Sunday in June would be a day commemorating the Statute – this date became a point of reference and a holiday for Italian monarchists up to the present day. At the time, Charles Albert was only following the example of other Italian rulers, but his Statute was the only constitution to survive the repression that followed the First War of Independence (1848–49).

The special features of the Albertine Statute (its concise form and the lack of a special procedure required for making changes to it, which gave it flexibility) and the favorable political situation meant that its provisions were extended to the territories of successive Italian states joining the new state entity, formed as part of the process of unifying Italian lands initiated at the beginning of the 19th century (Italian: Risorgimento), until it was finally recognized as the constitution of the Kingdom of Italy by virtue of the law proclaiming the kingdom, Law No. 4671 (Law No. 1) of 17 March 1861, signed by the first King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel II.

The Statute remained the basis of the legal system after Italian unification was achieved in 1860 and the Kingdom of Sardinia became the Kingdom of Italy. It also remained in force between 1922 and 1943, when the fascist government led by Benito Mussolini held power, although significant changes were introduced that distorted Italy's constitutional system. These changes allowed the Kingdom of Italy, previously a model parliamentary monarchy, to be transformed into a one-party authoritarian state, with the monarchical system reduced to a mere facade for fascist policy.