Festa della Repubblica
June 2nd is a national holiday in Italy. The schools (those that are still in session), banks, shops, etc. are all closed to celebrate the day in 1946 that the Italian people voted to have a republican form of government. It was a relatively tight vote: 54% favoring the republic and 46% favoring a continuation of the monarchy. A map of the voting results shows Italy being split in half with voters in the north favoring the republic and those in the south favoring the monarchy*. However divided the voters were in 1946 it is evident today that Italians take pride in celebrating the constitutional referendum and having some fun along with the celebrations.
June 2nd is a national holiday in Italy. The schools (those that are still in session), banks, shops, etc. are all closed to celebrate the day in 1946 that the Italian people voted to have a republican form of government. It was a relatively tight vote: 54% favoring the republic and 46% favoring a continuation of the monarchy. A map of the voting results shows Italy being split in half with voters in the north favoring the republic and those in the south favoring the monarchy*. However divided the voters were in 1946 it is evident today that Italians take pride in celebrating the constitutional referendum and having some fun along with the celebrations.
We were woken up this morning by fireworks to celebrate and then around 8:45 there was the Trani band cruising through town.
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birth_of_the_Italian_Republic
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