Birth of the RepublicPolitical
Italy Becomes a Republic
In a referendum held with the first vote ever cast by Italian women, the people abolish the monarchy and proclaim a republic, sending the House of Savoy into exile.
On 2 June 1946 Italians voted in an institutional referendum and elected a Constituent Assembly; for the first time women went to the polls. By 54 to 46 per cent the country chose a republic over the monarchy, whose prestige had never recovered from Victor Emmanuel III's long collusion with Fascism and his flight in 1943. The last king, Umberto II — the 'May King' who had reigned barely a month — left for Portugal, and the male heirs of the House of Savoy were barred from Italian soil for decades. Enrico De Nicola became provisional head of state, and the Christian Democrats under Alcide De Gasperi emerged as the largest party, alongside strong Socialist and Communist movements. A divided, war-ravaged nation now set about writing itself a democratic constitution.