The Senate of the Republic (often simply the Senate) is, together with the Chamber of Deputies, one of the two assemblies that make up the Italian Parliament. The Italian Constitution provides that the Senate is composed of 309 senators elected in Italy plus 6 in the Foreign District so that their total number is 315 members elected from among Italian citizens who have reached 40 years of age. The Senate member of parliament is called a senator (abbreviated: sen.)
The office of senator is elective and ends with the end of the legislature, however some senators for life and senators by law and for life in varying numbers also belong to the Senate.
The seat of the Senate of the Republic is Palazzo Madama, in Rome.
