Italian Republic Day

Italian sandwiches. Extremis / Pixabay.com / 2015 / CC0 1.0

The 2nd of June is Italian Republic Day, known in Italian as “Festa della Repubblica”.

It celebrates the referendum held on 2 June 1946 to decide if Italy would stay a monarchy or become a republic. (Spoiler alert: as you may have guessed from the name of this day, they choose “republic”.)

The day is marked with parades, ceremonies, concerts, soccer games, and feasting. In Rome, ceremonies including laying a wreath at the Tomb of Unknown Soldier, and a fly-by of military planes.

Flyby of planes in Rome. Sergio Gridelli / Pixabay.com / 2015 / CC0 1.0

Offices, banks and schools are closed on this day.

Today is also the anniversary of Giuseppe Garibaldi’s death in 1882. He was an important figure in the unification of Italy in 1870.

#FestaDellaRepubblica

See also: Italian Food

Activities for today

• play some Italian music;
• on social media, wish Italian friends “Buona Festa della Repubblica”;
• have an Italian cocktail or an Italian bevvy;
• make some Italian food;
• make some Italian-style coffees;
• bake some Italian bread;
• put up some Italian flags;
• have a Caprese salad, whose colours are those of the Italian flag, red, white and green, called the Tricolore.

Food colours of Italy. Ulrike Leone / Pixabay.com / 2018 / CC0 1.0

Recipes

• Chicken Saltimbocca 
• Fettucine Alfredo
• Negroni Cocktail
• Spaghetti Ravello
• Zucchini and Goat’s Cheese Frittata Recipe

History

The monarchy vs republic referendum polling in 1946 actually started on the 2nd of June, and went into the 3rd of June as well. For the first time ever in Italy, women were allowed to vote on something.

The results were: ^[1] Referendum sulla forma instituzionale dello stato. Accessed May 2021 at https://elezionistorico.interno.gov.it/index.php?tpel=F&dtel=02/06/1946&tpa=I&tpe=A&lev0=0&levsut0=0&es0=S&ms=S)

12,718,641 votes for republic (54.27 %)
10,718,502 votes for monarchy (45.73)

(Note: An official gazette of the time gives slightly different numbers. We’re unsure of the reason for the difference: Gazetta Ufficiale 20-06-1946)

Rome and southwards, the vote was for the monarchy, but in the more populous industrial regions north of Rome, the vote was for a republic, ^[2]”Nel nord Italia la repubblica vinse in quasi tutti i centri urbani principali, mentre al sud il voto fu quasi ovunque prevalente per la monarchia (a Napoli 900 mila voti per la monarchia contro neppure 250 mila per la repubblica; a Palermo quasi 600 mila contro 380 mila); a Roma i voti per la monarchia furono più di quelli per la repubblica, di poco (circa 30 mila schede).” — Perché la Festa della Repubblica è proprio il 2 giugno. Milano, Italy: Il Post. 2 June 2015. Accessed May 2021 at https://www.ilpost.it/2015/06/02/festa-della-repubblica/ and that decided the matter.

The result was announced on 10 June 1946, and the 11th was declared a public holiday.

In 1947, the day was celebrated on the 2nd of June, that being the date of the poll. ^[3]”Dichiarazione di festa nationale e di giorno festivo a tutti gli effetti civili del giorno 2 giugno 1947, primo anniversario del plebiscito popolare che ha instaurato le Repubblica italiana.” — Gazetta Ufficiale. 31 maggio 1947. Number 123. Page 1644. Accessed May 2021 at https://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/eli/gu/1947/05/31/123/sg/pdf

A new constitution incorporating the result of the poll was adopted on January 1, 1948. The royal coat of arms was removed from the Italian flag.

In 1948, a big parade in Rome along the Via dei Fori Imperiali was added.

In 1949, the day was officially declared a national holiday.

In 1977, observance of the day was moved to the first Sunday of June.

In 2001, it was moved back to the fixed date of the 2nd of June.

Sources

Gloria, Maria. The story of the “Festa della Repubblica” and the Italian tricolore. Italo Americano. 9 June 2014. Accessed August 2014 at https://www.italoamericano.org/story/2014-6-9/Festa-Repubblica