An electoral ballot, two symbols: a crown for the Monarchy and a woman's head with oak fronds for the Republic. Era on June 2, 1946 and in Italy a referendum began which would be concluded the following day, by decreeing the beginning of a new era for a country came out with broken bones from the Second World War and the Fascist period. 89% of the eligible population took part in the consultation: 54,3% asked an X on a woman's head and chose the Republic, electing in parallel the Constituent Assembly which would have had the task of writing the new Constitution.
An essential passage for our nation that we have all studied in history books and that we celebrate every year to remind us of what was and is no longer. We now take it for granted, but on the eve of 2 June that vote and that result were anything but obvious.
The referendum of 2-3 June fu the first vote after 22 years of fascist regime. Not only that, for the first time in our history women were also admitted to the polls. "It is better to go to the polling station without lipstick on your lips - wrote the Corriere della Sera - Since the ballot paper must be glued and must not have any sign of recognition, women, in moistening the flap to be glued with their lips, could, unintentionally, leave a little of lipstick and in this case invalidate their vote. So, bring lipstick with you, to revive your lips outside the seat. Because, as Dorothy Thomson wrote 'it is not rash to say that women will tip the scales in favor of the Monarchy or the Republic'”.
The only condition for voting was being 21 years old, which at the time corresponded to the age of majority. Two ballot papers were available, the first to choose which form of state Italy should have, the second to elect the deputies of the Constituent Assembly.
The climate was incandescent and the parties did not spare themselves low blows. The most famous occurred a few hours before the start of the referendum. On the night between 1 and 2 June, at 2.20 in the morning, a dispatch was sent from the ANSA editorial office which violated electoral silence. The sender was the king himself, thatUmberto II who had ascended the throne three weeks earlier after the abdication of his father Vittorio Emanuele III. "Italians, I solemnly tell you that in the event of a reaffirmation of the monarchical institution, I will accept the responsibilities I have assumed according to the law of succession, but as far as I am concerned and within my competence, I undertake to admit that, as soon as the Constituent Assembly has fulfilled its , can still be submitted to the Italians, in the form that the popular representation wanted to propose, the question you are called to answer on June 2 ", read the text.
It was a last, desperate attempt to overturn the predictions, which in the days preceding the referendum gave the Republic an advantage by a few points.
He could not make it. The Italians to whom Umberto II appealed had seen too many: from the march on Rome to the racial laws, from the "brotherhood" with Hitler to the arrest of Benito Mussolini in July 1943.
The Republic won with 12,7 million votes, over 2 million more than those in favor of the Monarchy. Despite the clear success, the royalists did not give up and asked for a recount. But the games were done and on 13 June, even before the arrival of the official results, Umberto II left Italy to take refuge in Calais, Portugal, but not before having made the last slight: refusing to recognize the legitimacy of the Republic.
The outcome of the recount came 5 days later, on 18 June 1946, when the Court of Cassation end of the Kingdom of Italy, officially declaring the birth of the Republic.
