On the day of the Republic Day our thoughts turn to Joseph Mazzini. One, free, independent, REPUBLICAN: this was the Genoese's political program for the future of Italy. A program for which the Brothers Flag, Charles Pisacane and the heroes of Roman Republic in 1849. The program that after the Risorgimento and two World Wars was completed on June 2, 1946 when the electoral body chose the Republic as a form of government after a 'to the death' referendum. Italy split in two: the North voted massively for the Republic, the South remained faithful to the Monarchy. The same 'allies' who still garrisoned the Peninsula were divided: the USA for the Republic, Great Britain for the Monarchy.
2 June: the Republic Day
Undoubtedly, the presence of a reigning house which had never taken the hearts of the citizens benefited the Republic. Suffice it to say that the first King of Italy continued to be called Vittorio Emanuele SECOND as if he considered the peninsula a slightly larger Piedmont. Umberto I, after the Milan massacres of 1898, he was killed by Gaetano Brescia. Vittorio Emanuele III, perhaps taken from his collections of postage stamps and ancient coins, did not understand when it was appropriate to abdicate. Umberto II , King of May, was perhaps the most innocent person in the history of the House of Savoy, but he paid the sins of his ancestors and, only after a month of reign, he had to abdicate following the institutional referendum. What he did, however, with a lot of style and dignity, dying in exile after 37 years without letting himself go to revenge plots or desires for revenge.
In the XNUMXst century
What remains today of the legacy of June 2, 1946?
The Republic Day is today the celebration of the people who gather under their own symbols. The Quirinale which opens up to civil society and reaffirms that it is the home of all Italians. But, above all, the meeting between the people and the Institutions takes shape in the military parade in Rome, in via dei Fori Imperiali. The invitation tickets to attend the parade of the armed forces of the state run out in a short time: entire families want to gather around the symbols of the Republic: the soldiers, the flags, the authorities. The defilation of the departments proceeds amid the applause of the crowd that become thunderous when the most glory-laden military units pass by. The slow pace of the Alpini, the cheerful charge of the Bersaglieri, the mighty scream of the paratroopers and the assault suits of the raiders of Marina: everything recalls the past glories and the endless heroisms of our military tradition. In those moments it is a people that recognizes itself in its past on which it bases its hopes for the future.
June 2 remains a day of celebration and unity that we must keep over the years.
