ABSTRACT
Italy is divided into 20 regions, 103 provinces and 8103 communes. So, including the country as a whole, there are four administrative levels. However, the administrative role of the province is unclear and has been fluctuating considerably in recent years. Now, in the mid-1990s, it seems likely that this role will be strengthened and that each province will have to draw up autonomously two important kinds of plans: the Piani Paesistice (landscape and countryside plan) and/or the Piani Territoriali di Coordinamento Intercomunale (PTC, Spatial Plan for Intercommunal Coordination). 3 In the mid-1980s, however, the province seemed destined to lose its administrative power, and several efforts were made to create a direct link between the regional level and the communal level, by-passing the province.
