the senate of the republic () or senate () is a house of the bicameral italian parliament (the other being the chamber of deputies). the two houses together form a perfect bicameral system, meaning they perform identical functions, but do so separately. it was created in its current form on 8 may 1948, but existed during the kingdom of italy as "senato del regno" (senate of the kingdom), itself a continuation of the "senato subalpino" (subalpine senate) of sardinia created on 8 may 1848.