Today, it’s a national holiday in Italy.
National celebrations should refresh the sense of belonging to the same national community, but, honestly, I’m never sure about what unites italian citizens, rather than dividing them.
A little update: last weekend, for the first time in history, our 87-year-old President Napolitano has been re-elected for a second term as head of state, as our parliament has proved unable to agree on a successor. After two months of political void, Enrico Letta, the former deputy leader of the centre-left Democratic party, was asked to become Prime Minister. He accepted and he is currently trying to form our new government in order to proceed with a series of key reforms, and namely the voting system. Not much to celebrate, as you can see.
Going back to national celebrations, the 25th April is the day in which, in 1945, the resistance defeated Nazi-fascism and set the basis for Italy as we know it today. Weaken and exhaust institutions mentioned above included.
The relevance of the 25th of April has always been quite contested, as some sustain it is a factious and fractious celebration, the message of which is twisted by political parties and ideals that are no longer the same or no longer exist. This keeps disturbing me. Aren’t the Italian Constitution and its values valid for everyone without distinction? The Constitution of the Italian Republic is the first result of the principles leading the resistance movement: democracy and freedom. I know that freedom is a different concept than liberation, however, if some can’t recognize themselves in the partisans’ actions, freedom is nevertheless a condition resulting from that same resistance. I feel that we are losing touch with the most important celebration of our Republic, and this can only remind us how much our national identity is still in crisis.
To those out there that today said the 25th of April is dead, I would like to remember that some of those partisan are still alive and, today, they are celebrating and remembering those values they fought (and we should all stand) for: democracy, freedom, political engagement and participation.
So, happy 25th of April and happy Liberation Day, Italy, in its most honorable and pure meaning.