The Italian Republic () was a short-lived (1802–1805) republic located in Northern Italy. Napoleon Bonaparte served as president and its capital was Milan. The republic The Italian Republic was the successor of the Cisalpine Republic, which changed its constitution to allow the French First Consul Napoleon to become its president. The new constitution changed the name of the state to the "Italian Republic"; it consisted of the same areas that had comprised the Cisalpine Republic, primarily Lombardy and Romagna. The republic had a territory of more than , and a population of 3,840,000 in 12 départements. Milan was the capital city, the main center having 124,000 inhabitants in 1764. The country was prosperous despite the plundering experienced in preceding centuries. Its economy was based on cereal agriculture and cattle raising, plus flourishing small industries, notably the production of silk. The flag of the Italian Republic maintained the three Italian-Milanese national colours, but with a new, less revolutionary, pattern. The coat of arms was specified in a decree on 13 May 1802. A treaty of friendship and commerce with the Republic of San Marino was signed on 10 June 1802, the Concordat with the Holy See on 16 September 1803. The government created the National Guard of Italy, a National Gendarmerie, and a finance police; the metric system was introduced and a national currency was planned, although never minted during the Republican era. In 1805, following Bonaparte's assumption of the title of Emperor of the French, the Italian Republic was transformed into the Kingdom of Italy (Regno d'Italia), with Napoleon as king and his stepson Eugène de Beauharnais as viceroy. Institutional form According to the Italian constitution of 1802, sovereignty resided in three electoral colleges of three to two hundred members: the College of Owners (il Collegio dei possidenti), the College of Scholars (il Collegio dei dotti), and the College of Traders (il Collegio dei mercanti), the first having its seat in Milan, the second in Bologna, and the third in Brescia. All the colleges elected a commission of control and supreme rule, called the Censorship (la Censura), composed of twenty-one members and based in Cremona. The head of state was the president of the republic (il Presidente della repubblica), Napoleon Bonaparte, elected for 10 years. The president had full executive powers, appointed the vice-president (il Vicepresidente) and the secretary of state, took legislative and diplomatic initiative, chose the ministers, public