La Festa della Liberazione

La Feste della Liberazione, celebrated on April 25th, is a national holiday in Italy. Unlike local feast days and idiosyncratic days off, it is a true national holiday. We don't have an equivalent holiday in the US because we have never been occupied and needed liberation. The closest day would probably be the 4th of July, our Independence Day. Italy has been occupied many times over the course of its 1000's of years of existence, but the unified country of Italy only came into being in the 1860's and didn't take its current borders until following WWI. However, the holiday effectively celebrates the end of WWII, so perhaps it is more closely related to our VE or VJ Days which are now celebrated in combination as Veteran's Day in the US. Finally, it is also a day to remember not only veterans of WWII, but also of all wars, sort of like our Memorial Day. A pretty all encompassing celebration.

So, what exactly were they celebrating liberation from? That is where the question becomes interesting and not just a little controversial.  Italy, under the leadership of Mussolini and the Fascists, opportunistically joined WWII on the side of Germany at about the time France was falling and the UK was on the brink of going under, in other words, when they thought it was likely the Germans would prevail. Smart? No, not so smart. So, in mid-1943 with the start of the Allied invasion of Italy, the government wised up and switched sides. The King had Mussolini arrested, but he was sprung by the Germans and continued to lead the parts of Italy not under Allied control for almost two more years until late April of 1945. At that point he was caught, summarily executed and placed on display for all to verify his death. So, Liberation Day coincides with the final demise of Mussolini. Therein lies the controversy. Not all Italians thought that Mussolini was bad. In fact, his brand of Italian nationalism is still alive today. Hence, in some places the day is celebrated with great fanfare. But, in other places such as very conservative Viterbo, it is a low key event which doesn't engender a great deal of public support.

How did WE celebrate? Just before 9 AM the main streets of Via Garibaldi and Via Cavour were once again cleared of parked cars in preparation for a parade. Amy and I headed out to watch. Since it seemed like we would have to wait awhile for an actual parade, we took a walk over to the public gardens by Porta Fiorentina and then came back. I was all set to go get my camera to take pictures for this post when we realized that the parade and even the subsequent gathering was all over. The entire observation couldn't have taken more than 20 minutes. There appeared to be no public speaches and we can't even verify that there was any kind of marching band. So much for liberation. Unfortunately, most shops were closed for the holiday, but at least we got the day off from school and the Spring weather made it quite pleasant just to be out and about.