“Festa Della Repubblica is a community event and everyone’s invited to experience and enjoy all aspects of Italian culture,” says Franco Barilaro.

Italian Cultural Centre, Forrest.

Jumping castle for the kids.

Italian cars on show.

Market stalls at the Italian Cultural Centre’s Festa Della Repubblica.

Celebrating the 79th Italian National Day, the Festa Della Repubblica will return to the Italian Cultural Centre, Forrest, on June 1.

Festa Della Repubblica (Festival of the Republic) celebrates the day when, on June 2, 1946, 12 million voters replaced Italy’s king with a democratically elected president and parliament.

It also marks the day that women were given the right to vote in Italy.

Hosted by Com.It.Es, Canberra president Franco Barilaro says Festa Della Repubblica is a chance for the Italian community to invite all Canberrans to share the celebrations of the Italian National Day.

“Festa Della Repubblica is a community event and everyone’s invited to experience and enjoy all aspects of Italian culture,” he says.

Into their 14th year of celebrations in Canberra, Franco says they look forward to welcoming everyone to have a taste of Italy for a day.

“The Festa Della Repubblica is an opportunity for families to enjoy good food, great coffee, fun activities and immerse themselves in a very Italian atmosphere.

“This is an event where all the Italian regional associations get together to celebrate.”

Com.It.Es is an organisation formed by leading members of the Italian community, with the Canberra branch working with the Italian government and the Italian embassy to meet the needs, hopes and desires of the Italian community in Canberra.

“Activities will include a jumping castle, face painting, Italian cars and motorbikes on display as well as a performance from the Viva Italia Band and the Dante Alighieri Choir,” he says.

“There will also be Italian street food, gelato, sweets, chestnuts and coffee stalls open from 11am to 4pm.

“The event wouldn’t be possible without all our volunteers, they put a lot of work and preparation into making the day a success, and I wish to thank each and every one of them.”

Festa Della Repubblica, Italian Cultural Centre, 80 Franklin Street, Forrest, 11am-4pm, June 1.

When Italy voted for a republic

Festa Della Repubblica (Festival of the Republic) marks the day in 1946 when the Kingdom of Italy voted to swap its king for a president and become a democratic republic with a new parliament.

After a mainly military education, Victor Emmanuel III came suddenly to the throne in 1900 on the assassination of his father, King Umberto I.

In 1946, public opinion forced a plebiscite to decide between the monarchy and a republican form of government.

In an effort to influence the vote in favour of the dynasty, Victor Emmanuel III abdicated in favour of Umberto, but the plebiscite resulted in a victory for the republic, and both Victor Emmanuel and Umberto went into exile.

The result of the referendum was far from a landslide, with only about 54 per cent of the voters choosing to remove their monarch as head of state through this peaceful revolution at the ballot box.

On one hand, it was a big step to end the line of kings that had ruled Italy since its unification about a century earlier, and it was not strictly necessary to get rid of the king in order to have a new constitutional democracy. But on the other hand, many Italians were disappointed in the royal family for supporting the ill-fated Fascist dictatorship that led the country to military defeat in World War II.

Democracy was not new to Italy in 1946, either, the Italian Parliament having played a strong role as a check on the power of the king and his ministers since the mid-1800s. But with the king’s support, the Fascist Party, led by Benito Mussolini, was able to seize power in the early ‘20s, and later passed a law in 1926 that completely freed Mussolini from accountability to parliament.

The first period of Italian democracy was based on a constitution agreed to by the King of Piedmont-Sardinia, Charles Albert, in 1848, when Italy was still in the process of uniting as a single nation. The Statuto Albertino, as it is known, was so important to Italy’s formation that the day it was signed became the first Italian National Day.

This was always celebrated on the first Sunday in June, which hovers from year to year around its modern replacement, Festa Della Repubblica.

Fast facts on Italy

• Italy is home to the oldest operational university in the world called the University of Bologna – founded in 1088.
• Vatican City, an independent city-state within Rome, is the smallest country in the world with its own government, currency and Swiss Guard protection.
• Italy is the largest producer of olive oil in the world with more than 2.5 million hectares of olive groves.
• Florence, Italy is the birthplace of the Renaissance period that spanned the 14th to 17th centuries.
• Italy is home to three of Europe’s most active volcanoes: Mount Etna, Stromboli and Mount Versuvius.
• More than 75 per cent of Italy is mountainous or hilly.
• The average Italian consumes 25 kilograms of pasta each year.
• Italy is the world’s fifth largest industrial economy.
• Italy’s main economic sector is service which comprises 70 per cent of the economy.
• The average Italian consumes 98 litres of wine each year.