The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the role played by life senators who are appointed by the President of the Republic. This topic, rarely analyzed in the doctrine, is examined following numerous efforts of reforms and considering the importance assumed by life senators in recent parliamentary events. The study analyzes the historical origins of life senators (from the Albertine Statute to the Constituent Assembly, which met from 1946 to 1948 and wrote the constitution for the Italian Republic), their intended institutional role and the political debates surrounding their legitimacy and democratic accountability, having been raised doubts about the usefulness of themselves in the Upper House. Subsequently, great attention will be paid to the participation of these senators, through the right to vote, in the exercise of the legislative function and control of the government, also reflecting on the need for a reform that affects not so much the position of the national Parliament representatives, rather than the current electoral law of the Senate. Finally, will be highlighted the symbolic and stabilizing value of life senators, their contribution to long term policy perspectives and their capacity to act independently of partisan pressures, that enrich the parliamentary debate and the Senate of the Republic thanks to a valid professional and scientific contribution.