01 Giu
2 June: Republic Day in Italy
On June 2 in Italy, the celebration of the Italian Republic is celebrated in memory of the referendum with which in 1946 the Italians chose the form of government of the country after the end of the Second World War. The Republic won by ending the Monarchy.
The referendum put an end to the Savoy dynasty which ended legally after 85 years of reign, including 20 of fascist dictatorship (ended during the Second World War).
The vote marked an Italy divided in half: 12,718,641 Italians had voted for the republic, 10,718,502 in favour of the monarchy. The preference for the Republic was greater in northern Italy and in all the main urban centres, except in Rome, Naples and Palermo where monarchist preferences prevailed.
The republic achieved the largest result in Trento, where it won 85 per cent of the votes.
2 June in Italy, a date to remember
June 2 was established as the official celebratory date in 1948. Since 1977, due to the economic crisis, so as not to miss a working day, it was made a “moveable feast, which occurred on the first Sunday of June. The date of June 2 was re-established in 2000 on the initiative of the President of the Republic Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, together with the official celebrations.
According to the official ceremonial of the Republic Day, the President of the Republic every year lays a laurel wreath in homage to the Unknown Soldier, at the Altare della Patria in Piazza Venezia, Rome.
The parade of the armed forces takes place along the Imperial Forums in Rome. in the presence of the highest offices in the state.
One of the most evocative moments of the parade is that of the performance of the Frecce Tricolori: the National Acrobatic Patrol (PAN).
On the occasion of the celebrations for the 74th anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic, the Frecce tricolori this year dedicated a series of flyovers, which involved all the Italian regions, symbolically embracing the whole nation with tricolour fumes, as a sign of unity, solidarity and recovery.
This year, the sanitary emergency caused by the COVID-19 epidemic has forcibly changed the official ceremony, so the ensuing afternoon parade will not take place. The President of the Republic will instead go to Lombardy to visit the community of Codogno, the town of Lodigiano that was first affected by the infection.
Do you know the Italian national anthem? Listen to it with the lyrics.
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