On June 2, 1946, millions of Italians rose, knowing that the day ahead was unlike any other. They still bore the weight of twenty years of dictatorship, the scars of a devastating war, the dust of the rubble. They went. They voted. And they chose the Republic.
The institutional referendum of June 2, 1946, was more than just an electoral event. It was the act through which modern Italy took shape. For the first time in the country's history, women also exercised their right to vote. Twelve million citizens who until then had been excluded from public life finally entered history, not as spectators but as protagonists. The result—12,7 million votes in favor of the Republic versus 10,7 million for the Monarchy—was not a crushing victory. It was a painful, contested choice, formulated in a country divided but eager to start over. That choice brought with it an enormous responsibility: to build, on the ruins of fascism and war, a state founded on human dignity, solidarity, and work.
The Constitution: the pact that holds us together
A few months later, the Constituent Assembly, elected on the same day as the referendum, set to work. The result was the Constitution of the Italian Republic, which came into force on January 1, 1948. This was not an abstract document. Those principles are the framework within which the country's democratic life continues to this day: the right to health, education, and work; the protection of minorities; the separation of powers; and the rejection of war.
The celebration today in Rome
Today at 9:15 a.m., a laurel wreath will be laid at the Altar of the Fatherland, before the Unknown Soldier. A sober, almost silent gesture, which alone is worth a thousand speeches. At 10:00 a.m., Via dei Fori Imperiali will transform into the stage for the traditional military parade, attended by the highest officials of the Italian Republic: units of the Armed Forces, flags, and brass bands. And then, closing the parade, the Frecce Tricolori (Tricolor Arrows) will streak across the Roman sky with their green, white, and red streaks. A breathtaking spectacle every year, always the same yet always different. In the evening, Piazza del Quirinale will be illuminated with the colors of the Italian flag for a major public event broadcast live on Rai Uno. Music, dance, sports, and theater will tell the story of eighty years of Italian republican history. State museums will also be open free of charge.
The celebration of June 2nd reminds us that democracy is a victory renewed every day, in institutions, in public squares, in schools, in the gestures of those who participate, those who stay informed, those who refuse to resign themselves to indifference. Parades, concerts, and institutional ceremonies only make sense if they are backed by awareness. If we know what we are celebrating. If we remember the courage of those who, eighty years ago, rose from their enforced silence and said, with a pencil on a sheet of paper, that they wanted to live in a free country.
Happy Republic Day
