In the Italian referendums of 1993, voters approved substantial changes, including moving from a proportional to an Additional Member System ( with the requirement to obtain a minimum of 4 % of the national vote to obtain representation ) which is largely dominated by a majoritarian electoral system and the abolishment of some ministries ( some of which have however been reintroduced with only partly modified names, as the Ministry of Agriculture being renamed Ministry of Agricultural Resources ).

Despite only receiving around 2. 5 % of the popular vote in most national elections, the numerous referendums they have proposed over the years have often mobilised the entire Italian political spectrum in support or opposition.

The Italian radical party and the right wing National Alliance were also collecting signatures for the same exact petition on electoral reform at the same time as Di Pietro's party, showing that often parties from vastly different political beliefs will agree on the same themes that they feel should be subject to referendums.

A notorious example of this came in 1999 when the right-wing National Alliance, led by Gianfranco Fini, was collecting signatures for two referendums to abolish political party state financing and a change in electoral law to a full first past the post system, while the Italian Radicals and Di Pietro's Italy of Values were also collecting signatures at the same time.

While voters are obviously free to do as they choose on the day of the referendum, critics say that political parties are applying double standards, firstly asking voters to abstain from going to the polls during referendums and then petitioning for high turnouts during elections for both Italian houses of parliament.

This happened in the year 2000 when merging the date of the Italian regional elections and the seven referendums was possible.

Despite the fact that the results of referendums that meet the quorum are legally binding, successive Italian governments have repeatedly re-introduced laws that are very similar to those that have been abolished by the public.

The Italian public has voted to abolish this law in legislative referendums in 1978 and again in 1993.

In an effort to move Italy to a more stable form of government with an alternating two-party system, referendums were held in 1991 and 1993 to abolish laws allowing full proportional representation in elections to the Italian Parliament.

Despite both referendums meeting the quorum, and a new first-past-the-post electoral system being used in Italian national elections from 1994 to 2001, the Berlusconi government in 2005 partially reinstated proportional representation under a new law.

Italian citizens living outside of Italy have always had the right to vote in all referendums and elections being held in Italy ( provided they had registered their residence abroad with their relevant consulate ).

* Italian referendums, 1978-2 questions-all rejected

* Italian referendums, 1981-2 questions on abortion ( one for increasing and the other for reducing possibilities ) and 3 question about other rules-all rejected

* Italian referendums, 1987-3 questions on abrogation of laws about nuclear power in Italy and 2 about other rules-all approved

* Italian referendums, 1993-8 questions on modifying the Senate electoral law ; abolishing public financing of political parties, the abolition of certain ministries and other rules-all approved

* Italian referendums, 1995-12 questions on various topics-5 questions approved, 7 rejected

* Italian referendums, 1997-7 questions on various topics-quorum not met

* Italian referendums, 2000-7 questions on various topics-quorum not met

* Italian referendums, 2003-2 questions-quorum not met

* Italian referendums, 2005-4 questions on abrogation of the rules that prevent some conduct in research on stem cells, artificial insemination and IVF-quorum not met

* Italian referendums, 2009-3 questions on changes to the electoral law-quorum not met

* Italian referendums, 2011-4 questions on abrogation of rules governing the following: reliance on private management of water services, return on capital invested in water services, building nuclear power plants in Italy, legitimate impediment of the President of the Council of Ministers and the Ministers to appear in penal hearings-all approved

Between 1991 and 1993, resulting from two referendums and legislation, Italian electoral law was altered substantially.

The Italian constitution allows, with substantial hurdles, abrogative referendums, enabling citizens to delete laws or parts of laws passed by Parliament ( with exceptions ).

Articolo 31 was one of the first hip hop groups in Italy, releasing one of the first Italian hip hop records, Strade di città, in 1993.

In 1993 Bacardi merged with Martini & Rossi S. p. A., the Italian producer of Martini vermouth and sparkling wines, creating the Bacardi-Martini group.

* Detailed biography, prepared for the 200th anniversary of his death ( 1993, in Italian )

* 1907 – Giuseppe Occhialini, Italian physicist ( d. 1993 )

* 1993 – Giuseppe Occhialini, Italian physicist ( b. 1907 )

** Italian Championship: 6-1979, 1988, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996.

** Italian Super Cup: 4-1988, 1992, 1993, 1994.

Federico Fellini (; January 20, 1920 – October 31, 1993 ) was an Italian film director and scriptwriter.

Hagi started the season 1992 – 1993 with Brescia Calcio but in the first season the club was relegated to Serie B ; in the next season Hagi helped Brescia Calcio win the Italian Serie B and get promoted to Serie A.

His A Rabbi Talks with Jesus ( Philadelphia, 1993 ; translated into German, Italian, and Swedish ), attempts to establish a religiously sound framework for Judaic-Christian interchange.

* 1993 – Italian former minister and Christian Democracy leader Giulio Andreotti is accused of mafia allegiance by the tribunal of Palermo.

* 1956 – Carlo Urbani, Italian physician ( d. 1993 )

From 1993 to 1996, Cruz appeared in ten Spanish and Italian films.

* Ruby Rubacuori ( born 1993 ), Karima el Mahroug, allegedly had sex with the Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi when underage

* 1937 – Pino Puglisi, Italian priest ( d. 1993 )

** Federico Fellini, Italian film director ( d. 1993 )

* April 28 – Ferruccio Lamborghini, Italian automobile manufacturer ( d. 1993 )

After falling out with the Italian team at the end of 1991, Prost found himself without a drive for 1992 ; after the failure of extensive negotiations with Guy Ligier about buying his Ligier team, Prost decided to join Williams for 1993.

In January 1994 the last DC secretary Mino Martinazzoli decided to change the name of the party, which had suffered many defeats in 1993 provincial and municipal elections, to the Italian People's Party.

After the crash, Hunt ( along with other drivers ) blamed Patrese for starting the accident, and viewers of Hunt's commentaries of Formula One races from 1980 – 1993 on BBC Television were regularly treated to bitter diatribes against Patrese when the Italian appeared on screen.

Bergkamp signed for Italian club Internazionale in 1993, where he had two disappointing seasons.

He scored his first goal for the club against Cremonese in September 1993 but had a difficult time against the highly organised and resolute Italian defences, scoring a further seven goals in the league.

The effects of pollution and general deterioration over time prompted a major restoration programme carried out between 1993 and 2000, at a cost of 40 billion Italian lire ($ 19. 3m / € 20. 6m at 2000 prices ).

Today Sardinia is a phasing-in EU region, featured by a diversified economy, mainly focused on tourism and the tertiary, the economic efforts of last twenty years have reduced the handicap of insularity, for example with low cost air companies and information and informatic technologies, thanks to the CRS4 ( Center for Advanced Studies, Research and Development in Sardinia ), which developed the first Italian website, and invented the webmail, in 1995, that brought to the birth of several telecommunication companies and internet service providers based on the island, as Video On Line, in 1993, Tiscali, in 1998 and Andala UMTS, in 1999.