Celebrating Republic Day
Festa della Repubblica, which translates to Republic Day, remembers that day in 1946 when Italians cast their vote, favoring the republic over monarchy. This happens a year after the end of World War II, when Fascism goes down. Some may overlook this occasion, especially during this time when economy is a pressing issue. But anyone familiar with Italian history can see the significance, even look at it with amazement.
In Italo Calvino's "The Baron in the Trees", an eccentric nobleman perceived a change that would turn his land upside down. It was the Kingdom of Genoa, facing the Mediterranean Sea, which the Cuban-born author would identify as a catalyst. There were mentions of flora and fauna from the New World, Napoleon's visit, and the air balloon, prompting the narrator to wonder what the nineteenth century would bring. (The story was set during the eighteenth century.) Calvino didn't allude to Giuseppe Garibaldi, who would unite Genoa and the other kingdoms in the Apennine Peninsula. The Kingdom of Italy came to known, and it would face a stern test.
Bernardo Bertolucci's "1900" (1977) traced the fortune of two (Italian) families, one landowner and the other famer, between the turn of the 20th century and the end of World War II. Many events took place, which changed the lives of many members of both families for better - and worse. There's a Dickensian feature behind the story, with some scenes too gruesome to watch. But Bertolucci, who won an Academy Award for "The Last Emperor", was trying to be accurate. Italy may be relatively young, if compared to France, but it went through a lot. When the Second World War ended in Europe, Italy was no different from the other nations (in the continent), where several kingdoms were overthrown, ushering new governments. In the case of the Italians, it meant sending the Savoy Family to exile.
It's been almost seven decades since that momentous day, recession prompting Italians to think of urgent matters. It's a new reality gripping the continent, with no light at the end of the tunnel. This may destablize the region, which is trying to create a single entity. Republic Day may provide a lesson or two, which Italian President Giorgio Napolitano believed.
"European states, which a century ago were fighting each other with savage fury, are now united under the same flag," Napolitano said in his address to the Italian Republic Day.
"But even in Europe, peace is not a good which has been definitively acquired as shown by the intensification of serious outbreaks of tension close to the borders of the European Union (EU) and the necessary commitment in combating terrorism and organized crime," he stressed.
This year's ceremony was highlighted with the laying of a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, after which 3,500 troops took part in the parade held in the heart of Rome.
"In the world of economic competition and globalization, military instruments of democratic countries are called upon to perform vital tasks of deterrence, prevention and safeguard for the security of citizens and protection of the law," Napolitano underlined.
