This year more than ever, 2 June offers the opportunity to reflect on the significance of this date, designated as Italian Republic Day. A commemorative day that changed the face of Italy with the 1946 referendum.
We, at the Leo-Lev Exhibition Centre, also embrace the spirit of the national holiday, celebrating in particular the strength of Italy as it begins to look to the future, after a period of much bitterness. We remember a speech by the then President of the Republic, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, on 2 June 2001, announcing the reinstatement of this holiday: ‘We must have faith in our future’.
At this time, these words and all the celebrations along the Peninsula take on even greater significance. From the tricolour arrows that flew over – last week – the main cities of the Bel Paese to the sober celebrations in Rome, without a parade along the Fori Imperiali of the armed forces, but with the laying of a laurel wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
The Leo-Lev Centre embraced the country in green, white and red, in a “Viva l’Italia” (Long live Italy), desired throughout the world for its art, beauty and creativity, for its products and its lifestyle.