The military parade for Republic Day began at 11. Applause for the President of the Republic Giorgio Napolitano, while Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was greeted by a chorus of boos.
42 heads of state and about eighty foreign delegations are present in Rome today to attend the demonstration which will take place along via dei fori imperiali and which will last around 80 minutes. 161 flags and medals, 5.239 soldiers, 460 civilians, 216 quadrupeds, and 196 vehicles of various types will parade. As per tradition, the parade will be opened by 5 tricolors representing the evolution of the banner through a journey of 214 years and by the tricolor of Oliosi, symbol par excellence of the unification of Italy. At the end of the parade, a concert by the Fanfare of the Bersaglieri and the joint military band is scheduled at the Altare della Patria.
The major Italian political personalities, from Frattini to Bersani, the Defense Minister Ignazio La Russa and the presidents of the Chamber and Senate will attend the event (which assumes particular importance in the year of the celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the Unification of Italy . The only Northern League member present was Interior Minister Roberto Maroni.
The host of foreign politicians is also vast: US Vice President Joe Biden, Russian President Medvedev, Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, President of the Federal Republic of Germany Wulff, Spanish King Juan Carlos, Argentine President Cristina Kirchner, Israeli President Peres and Palestinian Authority President Abu Mazen. Afghanistan and Kosovo, among the main theaters of Italian and international engagement, will also be represented at the highest level, respectively by President Karzai and the new President Jahjaga. The picture is completed by the top officials of some of the major international organizations, including the UN, the EU, the FAO, the African Union Commission and the Arab League.
Precisely for this reason strong security measures are envisaged, with a huge deployment of military and law enforcement agencies.
