How Italy celebrates Republic Day on 2 June

Italy marks Festa della Repubblica with a military parade in Rome. Italy will mark Festa della Repubblica, a national public holiday in celebration of the Italian republic, with a series of major events in Rome on Tuesday 2 June. Italy's president Sergio Mattarella will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Altare della Patria monument in Piazza Venezia at 09.15. In a spectacular tradition to mark Italy’s Festa della Repubblica, the Frecce Tricolori fly in formation over the Altare della Patria in Rome, emitting plumes with the colours of the Italian flag. #2giugnopic.twitter.com/aFXXTSdjL1 — Wanted in Rome (@wantedinrome) June 2, 2024 The solemn ceremony, which will be attended by Italy's premier Giorgia Meloni, is followed with a spectacular flypast over Rome by the Frecce Tricolori jets, emitting plumes with the red, white and green colours of the Italian flag. A large-scale military parade will take place along Via dei Fori Imperiali, and firefighters will unfurl a giant Italian tricolour at the Colosseum. Italy’s firefighters mark Festa della Repubblica by unfurling a giant Italian tricolour at the Colosseum in Rome. #2giugno pic.twitter.com/PK29Lm5JBP — Wanted in Rome (@wantedinrome) June 2, 2024 Italy also marks Festa della Repubblica by opening state museums and archaeological sites for free on 2 June.  Why does Italy celebrate Festa della Repubblica? The annual holiday commemorates the day in 1946 when Italians voted in favour of a republic and against the monarchy which had been discredited during world war two. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the landmark referendum that led to the birth of the Italian Republic. Photo credit: Daniele de Gregorio / Shutterstock.com