Lucci Hotel Rome Blog

Festa della Repubblica 2007

As France celebrates on the 14th July 14 the overtaking of the Bastille, the United States on the 4th July 4 its Independence Day,  Italy’s National Day comes on the 2nd June.
On this day the Italians remember the institutional referendum, hold on the 2nd and the 3rd June, 1946 according to which they were called to choose the future form of government in ballot- Republic or Monarchy.
The Monarchy preferences received 10,719,284 votes, against 12,717,923 votes in favour of the Italian Republic!  This way the Italian Republic was born 62 years ago.
Very much suffered this victory received a support from the Centre-North of a good 63%, while  in the South Monarchy supporters got 67% of the votes.
The vote of Ravenna, "the most Republican city"  was of 91.2%  was in contrast with the 85, 4%  support for monarchy in the city of Messina.  
There were, of course, the consequences on a national scale  of the defeat of monarchy, such as the exile of kings of the House of Savoy, who came back to Italy only in 2003, after 57 years of exile.
Important achievement on this occasion was the first electoral true universal suffrage: women finally went to the polls.
In June 1948 the Street of Fori Imperiali in Rome held a first military parade in honour of the Republic.
In 1961, on the occasion of the centenary anniversary of Italian Unification the celebrations also took place in Turin and Florence, the first capital of United Italy.
Even today, the  Day of the Republic  has important symbolic ceremonies, such as the deposition of a crown of laurel to the Unknown Soldier at the Altar of the Fatherland in Rome (the Victorian Complex) and a military parade on the Fori Imperiali in the presence of the highest officials of state. 
The gardens of the Quirinal Palace, where resides the President of the Republic, are open to the public in the afternoon.

The day of June 2 recently has also become the National Sports Day.
The Day of the Republic is also an opportunity to learn about  the national symbols of Italy.
The emblem of the Republic, for example, consists of three elements: the star, the gear wheel, and olive branch on the left and an oak on the right.
The star has always been one of the emblems of Italy, already nell’iconography of the Renaissance. The symbol of the star indicates, among other things, the belonging to the Armed Forces of country.
The wheel toothed steel is a symbol of labour and translates the first article in the Constitutional Charter: "Italy is a Democratic Republic founded on labour".
Let us discuss the branches of the emblem, rarely the centre of the attention.
We see two different types of trees that grow in Italy.
The olive branch symbolizes the desire for peace of the nation, both internal and international, while the oak embodies the strength and dignity of the Italian people.
Of the Tricolore, Italian flag, we can remind that, as the national flag, it was born in Reggio Emilia on the 7th January  1797, under the Cispadana Republic.
The shape of three vertical bands was inspired by the French republican model of 1790, precisely when the  regiments of the Lombard Legion  fought side by side with the Napoleon’s troops had the white, red and green, strong regional roots: white and red, are in the municipal emblem of Milan (red cross on a white field), while Green was the color of the uniforms of Milan’s Civic guards.
Under the Kingdom of Italy  the white emblem was added to the royal crown.
The emblem, but at this time that of the Republic, stands up as a banner, designed for the President of the Republic.