Voting Out a Monarchy

In 1946, a year after the fall of fascism there, the Kingdom of Italy held a nationwide referendum on whether to continue as a constitutional monarchy—under the reign of King Victor Emmanuel III, who had appointed Benito Mussolini as prime minister in 1922 — or become a democratic republic.  On June 2, 1946, the people voted overwhelmingly to abolish the monarchy and establish a republic, which is celebrated every June 2 as Italy’s Republic Day.