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75th Anniversary of establishment of Republic of Italy

Posted by (northern CA) on

It was on 02 June 1946 that the House of Savoy's monarchical rule over Italy ended when a referendum was passed with 54% of voters choosing to establish a republic.

King Umberto II didn't accept the results of the election and briefly considered establishing a new headquarters in Naples and claiming to still be the legitimate ruler -- Naples and nearby cities had voted to stay under a monarch -- but calmer (less orange) heads prevailed and he left the Quirinal Palace in Rome for the last time on June 13th and flew to Lisbon.

It's interesting to look at the charts showing the results of the voting in different provinces and then consider how those areas have fared in the succeeding years, economically and culturally:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1946_Italian_institutional_referendum

Umberto II lived the rest of his life in Cascais on the Portuguese Riviera, although he traveled a lot, especially to visit his daughter in Mexico. He died in 1983 in Geneva and is buried in a Savoy family abbey in France.

Posted by
2859 posts

The Quirinale has limited public access but if the timing works during your visit to Rome it is well worth a look --
it has served as the residence for thirty Popes, four Kings of Italy and twelve Presidents of the Italian Republic.
Napoleon had intended to use it as a primary residence (but things didn't go as one might have hoped)
and he had it fixed up to the height of fashion circa 1812.

It makes the White House in Washington, DC look like a naval base with some decorative flourishes on top like icing on a sheetcake.

Virtual walk-through available here:
https://exibit.quirinale.it/qvv/visitavirtuale/palazzo.html

Posted by
3812 posts

Every 2nd of June people can visit the Quirinale Gardens, that are are usually closed to the public. And say "hello!" to the President.
Famous photo: http://www.lombardiabeniculturali.it/new_img_db/bcf/3g040/1/l/F-SUP-3g040-0000148-IMG-0000933279.jpg
The Monarchists knew they had lost the moment they learnt that Sicily wasn't completely red: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nascita_della_Repubblica_Italiana#/media/File:Referendum_Istituzionale_1946_Vittorie.svg

Posted by
2859 posts

Great images, Dario.
Amazing to think that in 1946 the horrors of authoritarianism were so recent yet a large minority of the people still were ready to give their sovereignty away. Can you imagine a minority political party managing to stay in power closer to today?

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