Palazzo del Quirinale, 01/06/2021
I would like to thank Maestro Jakub Hrůša and the Orchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia who will soon be offering us a splendid moment.
I would like to thank Roberto Bolle who – together with the talented Virna Toppi – is gifting the Quirinale with an exceptional “premiere” of the artistic expression of ballet.
On this occasion, I would like to remember a great figure of the Italian culture, Carla Fracci, who, with her extraordinary talents, brought lustre to the world of dance at an international level.
I would like to greet those present and those who will follow this event through radio, TV and the web.
We are celebrating a particularly important anniversary: seventy-five years ago, the Italian people left behind the tragedies of dictatorship and war and chose the Republic.
I am particularly pleased to share this Day of the Italians together with the accredited Ambassadors who represent the friendship that connects their countries to Italy.
The progress achieved by the Italian Republic in these seventy-five years has been extraordinary. We have been accompanied by a sharing of values and perspectives with the many nations with which we have cooperated.
It is this dimension of multilateralism – rooted in our Constitution – that expresses our country’s true vocation: to contribute to the creation of a world at peace, in which the rights of individuals and peoples are fully implemented, in accordance with rules established by the international community.
These rights are inalienable and indivisible. Any act of force against them damages the cause of peaceful coexistence and the serene development of relations based on international law.
The conception of a common good that is more important than any particularism has led us to be firmly part of the European Union, an indispensable component of our own national identity.
The terrible experience of the pandemic and its effects have highlighted on the profound interdependence of the destinies of our peoples: only effective forms of coordination have proven useful in combating and defeating it.
This cooperation is called upon to support the opportunities offered by a new season of civil and economic recovery and rebirth – a new beginning for an international community that wants to successfully meet the challenges of sustainable patterns of life and of the fight against inequality.
To this end, I would like to invite you to rediscover our many reasons for a shared commitment, which does not diminish differences, but unites the efforts of all against the enemies of humanity.
The birth of the Italian Republic in 1946 also marked a new beginning: the building of a common home, based upon the free signing of a citizenship pact by citizens and, for the first time, by women.
As they looked at the rubble that surrounded them, the Italian people, the peoples of Europe, the peoples of the world, set out not to repeat the mistakes of the past. We have not always succeeded.
But the drive to renounce war as an instrument for resolving international disputes was then, and remains, robust and strong.
It is an unfinished project, for which common commitments must be multiplied.
With this conviction and in this perspective, I wish everyone a Happy Italian Republic Day.
