Società per azioni
Società per azioni (S.p.A. or spa) is a form of corporation in Italy, meaning "company with shares" (although often translated as "joint-stock company", which may or may not be a limited liability entity). It is more or less equivalent to S.A. or public limited company (PLC) in other countries. The other common form of corporation in Italy was società a responsabilità limitata (S.r.l.) (literally: limited liability company). S.p.A. issued shares (Italian: azioni), while in S.r.l.