The Democratic Party (Partito Democratico, PD) is a centre-left Italian political party.

Its leader is Walter Veltroni, Deputy-Prime Minister and Culture Minister in 1996–1998, leader of the Democrats of the Left in 1998–2001 and Mayor of Rome in 2001-2008.

It was founded on 14 October 2007 as merger of various left-wing and centrist parties which were part of the The Union in the 2006 general election. The parties which merged in the new party were:

• Democrats of the Left (social-democratic);
• Democracy is Freedom – Daisy (centrist);
• Southern Democratic Party (centrist);
• Sardinia Project (centrist);
• European Republicans Movement (social-liberal);
• Democratic Republicans (social-liberal);
• Middle-of-the-Road Italy (christian-democratic);
• Reformist Alliance (social-democratic).