Sunday, June 2nd will be Italy’s Republic Day – a national public holiday commemorating the birth of the Italian Republic as we have it today.
Italy’s Festa della Repubblica marks the exact date in 1946 when Italians voted in a referendum to abolish the then 85-year-old monarchy, which had fallen out of favour due to its close alignment with Mussolini's Fascist regime, and establish a democratic republic.
Unfortunately, this year's Republic Day falls on a Sunday, meaning it won’t give people in the country an extra day off (national holidays in Italy are taken on the day they fall on that year rather than being moved to the nearest available weekday).
READ ALSO: How to make the most of Italy's public holidays in 2024
That said, there’s still plenty of things you can look forward to if you’re in Italy on Sunday.
A military parade and trails of ‘tricolour’ smoke in Rome
As is traditional, the bulk of official Republic Day celebrations will take place in the capital.
At around 9am on Sunday, President Sergio Mattarella will pay homage to fallen Italian soldiers by laying a laurel wreath before the war memorial at the Altare della Patria monument, in the central Piazza Venezia square.
This will be followed by the traditional Republic Day military parade, with hundreds of members of Italy’s armed forces marching down the iconic Via dei Fori Imperiali.
Unfortunately, this year’s parade is already sold out after all available tickets were snapped up in the space of a few hours last Wednesday.
If you didn’t manage to get your ticket or live elsewhere in the country, you can still watch the event for free on Rai1 (channel one on Italian TV sets) or on state broadcaster Rai’s online streaming platform RaiPlay.
Celebrations in the capital will end with a spectacular display from Italy’s Frecce Tricolori, with ten Air Force jets set to fly over the city, leaving trails of green, white and red smoke (the colours of Italy’s tricolore flag) in the sky.
Celebrations in other cities
Besides Rome, other major cities around the country will hold Republic Day celebrations.
Just to name a few, Milan will hold a flag-hoisting ceremony in the central Piazza del Duomo square on Sunday morning. This will be followed by a number of cultural events in the afternoon, including free concerts in the courtyard of Palazzo Marino.
A military parade and a flag-hoisting ceremony will take place in Venice’s Piazza San Marco starting from 8.45am on Sunday.
In Florence, a flag-raising event will be followed by an award ceremony for members of Italy’s armed forces in Piazza della Signoria.
Free museum openings
For the second year in a row, people around the country will be able to visit state-run museums and archaeological sites for free on Republic Day (which incidentally overlaps with Italy’s ‘free museum Sundays’ scheme this year).
This will apply to hundreds of sites, including world-famous attractions like the Colosseum, Pompeii, Florence's Galleria dell'Accademia, and the Reggia di Caserta.
A full list of the museums, palaces and parks you can visit free of charge on Sunday is available on the Italian culture ministry’s website.
Please note that, though admission will be free, some venues may still require advance booking, so it’s always wise to find the attraction’s website beforehand and check the rules before you go.
As part of this year’s Republic Day celebrations, people in Rome will also be able to visit Palazzo Madama – the seat of the Italian senate – from 10am to 6pm on Sunday.
Further info can be found here.
Public transport and changes to local traffic
Most public transport operators around the country will operate on a normal weekend timetable (or orario festivo) on Sunday, with the quality and frequency of services during the day likely to vary significantly between rural and urban areas, as well as between cities.
Areas that are usually served by just the occasional bus may see very limited services, whereas parts of the country that already have robust public transport networks will keep them fairly active.
There are no transport strikes planned for Sunday.
It’s worth noting that traffic in major cities around the country may undergo changes on Sunday to allow for the safe unfolding of Republic Day celebrations.
These changes can usually be found on the relevant town hall’s website or social channels.
For instance, this is Rome's local authorities' plan for Sunday.
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