Hello! We plan to be in Rome on June 2 which I just discovered is a national holiday in Italy called Republic Day. Has anyone been in Rome on this holiday? What can we expect? I think there’s a parade in the morning near the Colosseum? Will that mean certain venues and sites will be closed on June 2? Thanks again!
Posted by
Vignola, MO, IT
781 posts
I've experienced that buses can be re-routed and some sidewalks/streets were blocked for different parades near that area. If the sites are closed you will see it on the websites.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
17340 posts
It’s the anniversary of the birth of the Italian Republic on 2 June 1946 (Italy was a kingdom before) and this year is the 80th anniversary so likely to be bigger than usual. There will be the traditional military parade of the Italian armed forces in the morning.
The parade goes from the Colosseum, along the Via dei Fori Imperiali, all the way to Piazza Venezia, where the monument (the huge white monument looking like an old typewriter) to Victor Emmanuel II (and the Homeland Altar with the grave of the unknown soldier) is located. There will be hundreds of soldiers, military vehicles etc. and on the stand there will be the highest ranking Italian dignitaries, including the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, Defense Minister, and other government officials as well as Military officials and many others.
For security reasons, while the parade goes on, the Colosseum, the Forum, and all other adjacent sights will be off limits. They might reopen in the early afternoon but I don’t know for sure. But if you have never seen a military parade, it’s an opportunity for you to take a look at one. I don’t know if they still parade tanks and the heavy trucks with missiles on top as they used to do when I was a kid, I think the vibrations from those heavy vehicles were causing damage to the ancient Roman monuments at the forum. There will be also the Acrobatic Frecce Tricolori (tricolor arrows), the Italian version of the Blue Angels. I saw it once as a child and I enjoyed it then.
Below is a very short video of last year’s parade (the whole thing lasts about 3 hours).