On the 78th anniversary of Italy's Republic Day, President Sergio Mattarella laid the traditional laurel wreath at the Milite Ignoto at the Altare della Patria, in Piazza Venezia in Rome on Sunday.
Presidents of the Chamber and Senate, Ignazio La Russa and Lorenzo Fontana, and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni were also in attendance.
To mark the occasion, President Mattarella released a statement:
"Our contribution - and in it the Armed Forces - to the cause of international peace and stability is more valuable than ever in today's situation characterised by devastation and aggression against civilian populations in Europe and the Middle East.
The Republic is grateful to the women and men of the Armed Forces for the tasks they have performed in the demanding operational theatres where they are called to operate, in the United Nations missions, in those resulting from the solidarity between the countries of the Atlantic Alliance, and in the decisions to which we have contributed in the European Union."
Mattarella: "Voting on 2 June was the start of democratic life".
Speaking on on Saturday at the Concert at the Quirinale, in honour of the diplomatic corps, President Mattarella said: "On 2 June 1946, Italy chose the Republic. That vote, at the start of democratic life, represented a call to responsibility for Italians," he said. "In those years of widespread hope, aspirations for well-being and improvement of personal conditions, proceeded together with democratic and social conquests."
"There is a cry of suffering, a cry for serenity of life".
In reference to today's world conflicts, Mattarella said: "We look with bitterness and concern at the multiplication of situations of conflict and violence in our neighbourhood, from Ukraine, to the Middle East, to the Sahel. said the head of state."
"In the immediate term, we reiterate the imperative to fully implement the Security Council's call for a ceasefire, unconditional humanitarian access to the people of Gaza and the immediate release of the hostages kidnapped in the inhumane 7 October attack," Mattarella said, and then added: "We all sense that from so many parts of the world comes a cry of suffering, a call for serenity of life, progress, justice and peace."
