Birth of the Italian Republic
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Repubblica o Monarchia? Republic or Monarchy? |
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| Republic | Monarchy | ||
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| Response | Republic | Monarchy | |
| Votes | 12,717,923 | 10,719,284 | |
| Percentage | 54.3% | 45.7% | |
| Result |
 Selected Republic established |
 Not selected Monarchy abolished |
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An institutional referendum (referendum istituzionale, or referendum sulla forma istituzionale dello Stato, in Italian) was held in Italy on 2 June 1946, a key event of Italian contemporary history. Until 1946, Italy was a kingdom ruled by the House of Savoy, kings of Italy since the Risorgimento and previously rulers of Savoy. However, Benito Mussolini, enjoying the support of the reigning monarch, imposed fascism after the 28 October 1922 March on Rome, eventually engaging Italy in World War II alongside Nazi Germany. In 1946, Italy became a republic after the results of a popular referendum. Monarchists had suspicions of fraud, but were never able to prove these. A Constituent Assembly was elected at the same time.
The Italian referendum was intended only to determine whether the head of state should come from a family dynasty or be elected by popular vote. Democracy was not a new concept in Italian politics. The Kingdom of Piedmont had become a constitutional monarchy with the liberalizing reforms of King Charles Albert's famous Albertine Statute in 1848. Suffrage, initially limited to select citizens, was gradually expanded; in 1911, the government of Giovanni Giolitti introduced universal suffrage for male citizens. In this period, the provisions of the Statute were often not observed, however. Instead, the elected Chamber and the Head of Government took major roles. At the beginning of the 20th century, many observers thought that, by comparison to other countries, Italy was developing in the direction of a modern democracy. Essential issues that needed to be resolved included the relationship of the Kingdom with the Roman Catholic Church.
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