Italy marked the 80th anniversary of the Republic on Tuesday with a series of ceremonies and celebrations in Rome. President Sergio Mattarella laid a wreath at the Unknown Soldier’s Memorial before attending the traditional military parade through the capital.
Video showed firefighters unfurling a giant Italian flag over the Colosseum, while military units, emergency services and civil protection personnel marched through the Roman Forum. The celebrations also featured a performance of the Italian national anthem by tenor Andrea Bocelli and a flypast by the Italian Air Force’s aerobatic team, which painted the sky in the colours of the national flag.
The anniversary commemorates the historic vote of 2 June 1946, when Italians chose to replace the monarchy with a republic and elected a Constituent Assembly tasked with drafting the country’s constitution. The vote was also the first national election in which Italian women were able to participate.