It is host to the Standing Committee of Interior Ministers and also drafts all passport, identity card, firearms, and explosives legislation.

It controls the State Police (Polizia di Stato), the Fire Fighters Department (Vigili del Fuoco) and the Prefect The minister therefore sits on the High Council of Defence.

As a result of the absence of any kind of Head of Government from the Albertine Statute, the Ministry of the Interior had priority over the Presidency of the Council from the beginning.

The functions of the Ministry were executed by a system of prefectures, based on the French model, with provincial seats whose authority derived from the central government.

Subsequently, Minister Antonio di Rudinì decentralised some functions, entrusting various roles to the prefectures which had previously been the responsibility of the Ministry itself.

Although the Ministry continued its ordinary role in maintaining security, order and health during the First World War, its overall structure was not significantly modified.

An exception is Law no.1601 of 3 December 1922, which transferred the General Directorate of Prisons and Rehabilitation to the Ministry of Mercy, Justice, and Worship.

In general, Benito Mussolini controlled the ministry personally, but it progressively lost its guiding role in the administration of the state.

The main theme of these changes was the increased decentralisation of power to the Regions and the progressive transfer of competencies from the Ministry of the Interior to them over the course of the 1960s.

Since the completion of these reforms, the Ministry has had authority over "general" administration, including relationships between centre and periphery, and particularly for the protection of fundamental functions and the security of citizens.

In 1961, the headquarters of the Office of Prime Minister was separated from the Ministry of the Interior and transferred to Palazzo Chigi, where it remains today.