The Provisional Head of the State
By virtue of the decision of the Constituent Assembly which, on December 22, 1947, approved the Constitution of the Italian Republic and;
In consideration of the XVIII Final Provisions;
Proclaims the Constitution of the Republic of Italy as follows:

Basic Principles
Article 1
(1) Italy is a democratic Republic founded on labor.
(2) Sovereignty belongs to the people who exercise it in the manner and within the limits laid down by this Constitution.

Article 2
The Republic recognizes and guarantees the inviolable rights of man, both as an individual and as a member of the social groups in which his personality finds expression, and it imposes the performance of unalterable political, economic, and social duties.

Article 3
(1) All citizens are invested with equal social status and are equal before the law, without distinction as to sex, race, language, religion, political opinions, and personal or social conditions.
(2) It is the responsibility of the Republic to remove all economic and social obstacles which, by limiting the freedom and equality of citizens, prevent the full development of the individual and the participation of all workers in the political, economic, and social organization of the country

Article 4
(1) The Republic recognizes the right of all citizens to work and promotes such conditions as will make this right effective.
(2) Every citizen shall undertake, according to his possibilities and his own choice, an activity or a function contributing to the material and moral progress of society.

Article 5
The Republic, which is one and indivisible, recognizes and promotes local autonomy; it applies the fullest measure of administrative decentralization in services dependent on the State and adjusts the principles and methods of its legislation to the requirements of autonomy and decentralization.

Article 6
The Republic safeguards linguistic minorities by means of special provisions.

Article 7
(1) The State and the Catholic Church are, each within its own ambit, independent and sovereign.
(2) Their relations are regulated by the Lateran Pacts. Such amendments to these Pacts as are accepted by both parties do not require any procedure of Constitutional revision.

Article 8
(1) All religious denominations are equally free before the law.
(2) Religious denominations other than Catholic are entitled to organize themselves according to their own creed provided that they are not in conflict with Italian juridical organization.
(3) Their relations with the State are regulated by law on the basis of agreements with their respective representatives.

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