During the last few days Italy celebrated the 65th anniversary of the Italian Republic, which was born on 2nd June 1946. Until that day, Italy was officially a monarchy ruled by the House of Savoy, Kings of Italy since the modern nation was unified in 1861 following the struggles of the Risorgimento period.
In 1946, Italy became a Republic as the result of a popular referendum. A Constituent Assembly was elected, and this laid the basis for what has been the political system of Italy ever since.
The anniversary of the Italian Republic was celebrated this year with the traditional military parade along the Via dei Fori Imperiali in Rome, culminating in a spectacular aerial display by the Italian Air Force’s “Frecce Tricolori” formation. Before the parade, in the morning, Italian President Giorgio Napolitano laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on the Vittoriano monument in Piazza Venezia.
This was a very special historic occasion not only for Italy but also for the NATO Defense College, which in May celebrated the 60th anniversary of its foundation. To mark this important moment in our history, we are particularly proud that the NDC was given the honour of carrying its banner at the parade of the Armed Forces in Rome.
The NDC was represented at the parade by WO S. Serafini, ITA Army, as Flag Bearer, CPO M. Dale, US Navy, and Sgt B. Gaudet, CAN Army, as Escort NCOs, and LtCol W. Neissendorfer, DEU Air Force, as Escort Officer. The total number of participating military and civilians was about 5600, including national delegations and representatives from the headquarters of international organisations.
The NDC’s participation in the national celebrations for the Festa della Repubblica was ideally complemented on Friday evening by a visit to the new Italian aircraft carrier “Cavour”, at Civitavecchia. Commissioned in June 2009, the “Cavour” has a crew of almost 600 and can embark 22 aircraft. The NDC delegation, led by the Dean, Dr Richard Hooker, was welcomed on board by Captain Aurelio De Carolis.
The combination of the 60th anniversary of the NDC with the 150th anniversary of Italian national unity means that this week’s celebrations and the visit to the Cavour provided a wonderfully appropriate opportunity to reaffirm the long-standing friendship between our Institution and our Host Nation.
More about the 2nd June – Italian Festa della Repubblica
NATO Defense College 