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ITALIAN TRADITIONS

Why does Italy celebrate Liberation Day on April 25th?

April 25th is a public holiday in Italy, but what exactly are we celebrating? Here's a quick look at the history.

Published: 25 April 2021 12:24 CEST
Updated: 25 April 2023 08:50 CEST
Why does Italy celebrate Liberation Day on April 25th?
The Italian Air Force aerobatic unit Frecce Tricolori (Tricolor Arrows) perform on April 25th over Rome. (Photo by Vincenzo PINTO / AFP)

Italy celebrates Liberation Day on April 25th, known in Italian as Il Giorno della Liberazione (Liberation Day), or La Festa della Resistenza (Celebration of the Resistance).

The date has been a public holiday in Italy since 1946 and it marks the end of the Italian Civil War and the end of the Nazi occupation. 2023 marks the 77th anniversary of Liberation Day.

Why today?

Not all of Italy was liberated on April 25th, 1945. So here’s the short version of what happened.

The first uprising took place in Bologna, which was liberated on April 21st, followed by Genoa on the 23rd.

The 25th came to be such a notable date because it was the day that the industrial northern cities of Milan and Turin were liberated. 

American forces arrived on May 1st, and the occupying German forces officially surrendered the next day.

What was the resistance movement?

Italy’s partisan resistance movement had been going since the start of the war.

It was made up of many different groups, including a wide range of political parties – the Italian Communist Party, the Italian Socialist Party, the Christian Democrats, the Labour Democratic Party and the Italian Liberal Party), which together made up the National Liberation Committee of Upper Italy (CLNAI).

READ ALSO:

The CLNAI first called for an uprising on April 19th.

On the morning of the 25th, a general strike was announced by partisan Sandro Pertini, who went on to become President of the Republic.

Factories were occupied, including the one where the Corriere della Sera newspaper, which had been connected to the fascist regime, was printed. The partisans used that factory to print news of the victory.

This history continues to heavily influence Italian politics and society today.

Foreigners learning about Italian politics are often surprised by the relatively large number of people, including young people, who strongly identify with either communist or fascist politics in Italy.

A demonstrator wears a t-shirt that says “partisans forever” on Liberation Day 2015. Photo: AFP

What happened after the Liberation?

After April 25th, all fascist leaders were sentenced to death.

Benito Mussolini was shot three days later, after he tried to flee north to Switzerland. The Americans arrived in the city on May 1st and German forces eventually officially surrendered on May 2nd.

The Liberation was a major turning point in Italy’s history, as it led to a referendum on June 2nd which resulted in the end of the monarchy and the creation of the Italian Republic.

READ ALSO: On the trail of the Italian Resistance in Milan

The Constitution of Italy was drawn up in 1947.

April 25th was designated a national holiday in 1949 by Alcide De Gasperi, the last Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Italy.

How does Italy mark the day?

Apart from having the day off, this is a day when Italians make their political views clear.

Politicians give speeches each year to emphasise the importance of remembering the resistance movement, and pay tribute at Rome’s Altare della Patria, the national monument to Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of a unified Italy.

There are usually numerous official ceremonies across the country, including visits to the tombs of partisan soldiers.

President Sergio Mattarella usually makes an annual visit to the Ardeatine Caves mausoleum, where 335 Romans were killed by Nazis in 1944.

Most years, Italian cities hold marches and parades, and political rallies often take place in Rome and Milan.

You’ll hear the song ‘Bella Ciao’ at most of these events. It became known as the anthem of the Italian resistance movement and today reminds listeners of the sacrifices made by those fighters.

Many shops and services including restaurants, post offices and public transport are usually closed on this date.

Most years, it’s a good day to visit a museum. That holds true for 2023, when Italy’s culture ministry has said all state museums will be open to the public for free throughout the day.

Member comments

  1. I’m from New York City but Rome is my favorite city. I’m sorry that you omitted the invasion in Anzio and the cemetery between Anzio and Nettuno dedicated to the soldiers who lost their lives from the African campaign and the Anzio campaign. Although the Anzio landing was almost a complete disaster, they still made it to Rome and the liberation there.

  2. Yes, the end of World War II but the celebration is about the end of 20 years of dictatorship under the Fascist regime, and the end of the suffering brought about by World War II . The end of 20 years of Italy suffering under a Fascist dictatorship that had prevented the Italians from having free elections.

  3. Unfortunately, there are a large number of pro-Fascist Italians still on the loose. And they vote. What is to be done?

  4. The partisans did not begin fighting until after September 8, 1943. Before that, there were groups of anti-Fascists such as Giustizia e Libertà based in Turin who opposed the Fascist regime, but only after the Nazis steamrolled into north Italy did they and other interests begin the fight.

  5. In Australia April 25th is Anzac Day – a public holiday to commemorate all those who who served and died in wars. Ironically, it has always been associated with the Gallipoli campaign in 1915 – a tragically doomed operation where thousands of young men lost their lives.

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ITALIAN TRADITIONS

Showy or sincere? What Italians really think of Valentine’s Day

Do Italians really see Valentine's Day as just another imported commercial event, or is there more to it in the country famed for its love of romance? Silvia Marchetti explains.

Published: 9 February 2024 11:35 CET
Updated: 13 February 2024 17:13 CET
Showy or sincere? What Italians really think of Valentine’s Day

As a teenager I used to think Valentine’s Day was one of the most stupid celebrations of all, particularly since it always happened when I was boyfriend-less. 

I still find it quite ridiculous that there’s a day for couples to self-celebrate their relationship. But seeing my Italian friends get all worked up and excited about it weeks before, going crazy planning romantic weekends and dinners in exclusive restaurants, has made me realize that Valentine’s Day is really heartfelt in Italy, even more so than Carnival, with which it overlaps in February.

It’s yet another date for partying, which Italians excel at. But it is not perceived as a consumerist event, as just an excuse to splash out money and exchange gifts.

READ ALSO: Did Valentine’s Day really originate in Italy?

Italian couples generally do see it as the key moment to show their (alleged) love for each other, and to celebrate, usually by spending a couple of nights at a cozy agriturismo with a romantic dinner on February 14th. 

This should come as no surprise given that Italians are famous for being very romantic and passionate in so many ways. However, I was surprised when I came across a survey demonstrating how it’s mostly men (65 percent) who really care about going out with their girlfriends to have a good time on Valentine’s Day.

A couple kisses in front of the Colosseum in Rome on Valentine's Day on February 14, 2017.

Photo by FILIPPO MONTEFORTE / AFP.

On the other hand, some people tend to care more about appearances. Young women, in particular teenagers, like to show off at school or at the office, after a special night or weekend away, about what their boyfriends gifted them with, where they were taken for dinner, how luxurious the restaurant was and how much he spent on flowers, chocolates and drinks.

I recently discovered there’s a tiny restaurant for only two people (called ‘Solo Per Due’) which every year has to turn down hundreds of reservation requests. 

Italians tend to be very showy, as if the amount of money spent on celebrating Valentine’s Day measured the amount of love felt for one another. Some women love to compete with their girlfriends over who had the best outfit and sexiest underwear, and whether the dinner was followed by extraordinary love-making. The climax of the soirée though is when the man proposes to his girlfriend. 

READ ALSO: Here’s how to talk about love, sex, and dating in Italian

But generally speaking, as the survey highlighted, the majority of Italians find it important to be able to show feelings throughout the entire year, not just on Valentine’s Day. In fact, only 16 percent of Italians think Valentine’s Day is ‘la festa dell’amore’ (the celebration of love), as if couples only remembered to prove and demonstrate their reciprocal feelings through presents and expensive dinners on that particular day. 

There is however a distinction between the old and new generations in the perception of the festivity. Older people don’t really ‘feel’ Valentine’s Day. It’s mostly for teenagers and young couples, though of course there are exceptions.

There’s a sarcastic, popular Italian saying which rhymes: ‘San Valentino è la festa di ogni cretino che pensa di essere amato e invece ci rimane fregato’, which translated into English means: ‘ Valentine’s Day is the party for all the idiots who believe they’re loved and then find out they’ve been fooled’. It hints at the risk that it’s all an illusion and was never real love in the first place. 

My grandma used to tell me how the consumerist side of Valentine’s Day was a foreign import, and that Italians had lost touch with its deep, spiritual side, particularly the all-Italian origin of it. 

It is after all a religious celebration. It marks the martyrdom of San Valentino, born in the Umbrian town of Terni, who used to marry Christian couples in secret and has come to be the patron saint of all lovers.

I must admit, until very recently I did not know myself that what is worshipped as the relic-skull of Saint Valentine is kept in the Roman church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin close to Circo Massimo, where tourists usually flock to admire the world-famous Bocca della Veritá (The Mouth of Truth) at the entrance. 

Valentine’s Day is one of those festivities which are often seen as being imported from abroad and have taken root in Italy, whereas they actually originated in Italy as a religious cult, just like the one of Father Christmas (Santa Claus is San Nicola, whose relics are kept in Bari). 

READ ALSO: Wine, masks and debauchery: How did Italy’s Carnival tradition begin?

In the old days fervent Catholic Romans used to pay homage to Saint Valentine by gathering around the relic to pray for love and happiness. My aunt would visit the church at dawn and light candles, asking Saint Valentine to help her 36-year-old daughter find a decent man who could ‘take care of her’ before her mother passed away. 

I think in the future Valentine’s Day will only become further ingrained into modern Italian culture. The heart-shaped chocolates and jewels are now a part of tradition, but the original mysticism of the celebration will soon be totally forgotten. 

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