[1] The government was formed after Matteo Renzi's resignation as Prime Minister, due to the result of the 2016 constitutional referendum.

[2] It was led by the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), and it originally included the New Centre-Right (NCD) and the Centrists for Europe (CpE) as junior partners.

On 7 December 2016, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi announced his resignation, following the rejection of his proposals to overhaul the Senate in the 2016 constitutional referendum.

A few days later, on 11 December 2016, President Sergio Mattarella asked Paolo Gentiloni, then Minister of Foreign Affairs, to form a new government.

[5] The centrist Liberal Popular Alliance, led by Denis Verdini, did not support the new government, because no party member was appointed minister.