Since President Giorgio Napolitano, who led Italy through one of its stormiest political periods, resigned last Wednesday, Italy is going through a phase of political uncertainty that will test the strength of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi ’s young government.

We read in all the Italian newspapers in the last few days:

“Toto-Quirinale 2015: chi sarà il prossimo Presidente della Repubblica?”

“Presidente della Repubblica, toto-nomi: 17 da Prodi a Veltroni nuovo che avanza.”

“Toto-Quirinale: 40 candidati ”papabili”

But what do these expressions mean?

“Toto-Quirinale” or “toto-nome” is a more or less ad hoc adaptation of the more common “toto-nomine”, which refers to speculation -with possible odds and betting- over the most widely-tipped people who are candidates for a particular appointment or nomina.

Just a small clarification …the Quirinal Palace – known in Italian as the Palazzo del Quirinale or simply Quirinale- is the historic roman building and the current official residence of the President of the Italian Republic. It is located on the Quirinal Hill, the highest of the seven hills of Rome.

…Vedremo chi sarà!