1946 - The birth of the Republic
5 November 2026
Contents updated on 5 Nov 2026
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Camera dei deputati
00:20 - 03:10
Speaker 1
Welcome to Rome, to Palazzo Montecitorio, the seat of the Italian Chamber of Deputies. I'm Paolo Massa, Chief Librarian of the House, and today, I will guide you through the exhibition celebrating the eightieth anniversary of the institutional referendum and the election of the Italian Constituent Assembly. This assembly marked the birth of our democracy, after dictatorship and war. For the first time, every citizen could stand up and be counted, and women gained the right to vote and to be elected. As usual in our country, also this story begins with art and beauty.
Emilio Isgrò work, "Viva la Repubblica", "Up with the Republic", uses the caviardage technique, highlighting keywords while covering the rest in black. The background text shows the official referendum results between monarchy and Republic. After World War II, Italy lacked the resources for immediate free elections. However, it was necessary to restore a democratic relationship between government decisions and a representative assembly. The National Consultative Assembly, with 430 appointed members from various sectors of the society, met here at Montecitorio.
It advised on key government measures, including local and Constituent Assembly elections. Serving until June 1946, it included 14 women. Among them, Mrs. Cingolani Guidi was the first woman holding a speech here in Montecitorio on the 1st October, 1945. Initially, it was unclear if the decree allowing women to vote provided also the right to be elected. The situation mirrored the great uncertainty about women's vote.
Would their vote be truly free, or perhaps influenced by their families? Or would they really participate in the electoral procedure? The political parties then agreed to conduct an experiment with the first vote in the local elections. The experiment was a huge success. Most women voted, and 13 were elected to head local governments.
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