Newspaper on the wallsQuirinale Palace
The institutional referendum
On 2 June 1946 the referendum on the institutional form of the State took place.
The Italians, and for the first time Italian women, called to the polls chose the Republic and elected the deputies of the Constituent Assembly who were tasked to draft the Constitution.
The voter turnout was very high: out of approximately 28 million citizens with the right to vote, there were almost 25 million voters.
54% expressed themselves in favor of the Republic.
Women played a decisive role: in fact, 12,998,131 women voted, compared to 11,949,056 men.
The elections were held at the end of a complex transition period marked by the actions of anti-fascist movements and parties and by the advance of the allies in a country divided and devastated by war.
Referendum resultsQuirinale Palace
The electoral result saw the affirmation of the three large mass parties: the Christian Democrats, the Socialist Party and the Communist Party.
556 were elected at the Constituent Assembly; among these there were 21 women.
First session of the Constituent AssemblyQuirinale Palace
Constituent Assembly
Made up of exponents of political forces that are very distant from each other, but with the common objective of writing a Constitution of a democratic and anti-fascist nature, the Assembly took office for the first time on 25 June 1946 and appointed Giuseppe Saragat as its president.
Made up of exponents of political forces that are very distant from each other, but with the common objective of writing a Constitution of a democratic and anti-fascist nature, the Assembly took office for the first time on 25 June 1946 and appointed Giuseppe Saragat as its president.
Approval of the ConstitutionQuirinale Palace
On 22 December 1947 the Assembly, with 453 votes in favor and 62 against, resolved to approve the text of the Constitution of the Italian Republic. It was then promulgated by the provisional Head of State Enrico De Nicola, and then came into force on 1 January 1948.
This is how De Nicola commented on the text:
"I read it carefully! We can sign with a clear conscience."
Structure of the Constitution
The Italian Constitution is made up of 139 articles and 18 transitional and final provisions. The first 12 articles contain the fundamental principles, i.e. the unavoidable and indispensable values on which the Italian State is based.
The first part of the Constitution, which goes from art. 13 to art. 54, is dedicated to the rights and duties of citizens and deals with regulating civil, ethical-social, economic and political relationships between individuals and between them and the State.
The second part of the text, from the art. 55 to art. 139 defines the system of the Republic, dealing with regulating the bodies of the State, the territorial bodies, and the constitutional guarantees, including the functioning of the Constitutional Court.
The transitional and final provisions are instead specific provisions aimed at facilitating the transition from the old to the new system following the entry into force of the new Constitution.
The President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella in his studyQuirinale Palace
The Constitution in Shorts
On the occasion of the 76th anniversary of the entry into force of the constitutional charter, the Presidency of the Republic launched the Constitution in Shorts project on YouTube, involving twelve young creators, each of whom commented on a significant article.
Photos courtesy of the Historical Archive of the Presidency of the Republic
