Day of the proclamation of the Republic of Italy (Republic Day in Italy) is celebrated annually on June 2. This important date marks the birth of a new system of government in the Italian state.
On June 2, 1946, a referendum was held in which the entire population of the country, including women, took part. As a result, the monarchy, which had stained itself with close cooperation with the fascist regime in wartime, was abolished in Italy, and the Republic was proclaimed. King Umberto II was deposed, and members of the ruling House of Savoy were sent into exile. The country adopted a new form of government and elected members of the Assembly, who subsequently drafted a new Italian Constitution. At the same time, another important event is being celebrated - the unification of independent city-states that have been located on the territory of Italy since the Middle Ages.
The Day of the Proclamation of the Republic is a public holiday in accordance with a law signed on November 20, 2000 by the President of Italy. Military parades in honor of the republic are held in large cities of the country. The first republican parade in Rome was held back in 1948. The procession took place along the Avenue of the Imperial Forums from the Colosseum to the very foot of the Capitol. This site was built in the 30s by order of Benito Mussolini specifically to demonstrate the military power of the Italian state.
With the entry of Italy into NATO, military parades were held in other large cities of the country, and since 1950 the military parade has been included in the list of official events of the holiday. Military personnel from all divisions of the armed forces take part in modern parades: the Air Force, Navy, ground forces, including an elite group of barseliers, carabinieri (special police unit), employees of the Financial Guard, forest police, rescuers and even Red Cross nurses. The procession is completed by the combined cavalry of the presidential regiment, which is annually accompanied by a kind of mascot - a small dog. In the skies over the center of Rome, the legendary Eurofighter fighters are circling, spraying the colors of the national flag of Italy in the air.
