Today is a national holiday in Italy – The Festa della Repubblica. A celebration of Italy becoming a republic on the 2nd June 1946.
Festa della Repubblica is the Italian National Day and Republic Day, which is celebrated on 2 June each year.
The day commemorates the institutional referendum held by universal suffrage in 1946, in which the Italian people were called to the polls to decide on the form of government, following the Second World War and the fall of Fascism.
The Italian constitutional referendum which officially took place on June 2, 1946, is a key event of Italian contemporary history. Until 1946, Italy was a kingdom ruled by the House of Savoy, kings of Italy since the Risorgimento and previously rulers of Savoy. However, Benito Mussolini, enjoying the support of the reigning monarch, imposed fascism after the October 28, 1922 March on Rome, eventually engaging Italy in World War II alongside Nazi Germany.
In 1946, Italy became a republic after the results of a popular referendum.
Monarchists advanced suspicions of fraud that were never proved. A Constituent Assembly was elected at the same time.
With 12,717,923 votes for a republic and 10,719,284 for the monarchy, the male descendants of the House of Savoy were sent into exile. To commemorate it, a grand military parade is held in central Rome, presided over by the President of the Italian Republic in his role as Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.
The Prime Minister, formally known as the President of the Council of Ministers and other high officers of state also attend. There are important celebrations in all the Italian embassies and foreign heads of state are invited. Even though the main parade is in Rome, many Italian cities celebrate the day as well.