A born democrat

80th anniversary of the birth of the Republic

The War of Liberation was both a civil war against fascism and a guerrilla struggle against the Nazi occupation. It was not a conventional war, but a widespread and sustained insurrection—both civil and military in nature—and a sense of responsibility that developed over time. Thus was laid the foundation of Italian democracy: Italians conceived and breathed life into a new democratic way of life and the constitutional project that followed.

Eighty years on from the referendum on monarchy or republic, a reflection that begins with the partisan struggle and leads to the Constitution.

With Nadia Urbinati, Professor of Political Theory at Columbia University in New York and contributor to the daily newspaper ‘Domani’, and Luca Baldissara, Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Bologna.

In collaboration with Il Mulino.