1946 Italian institutional referendum

An institutional referendum (referendum istituzionale, or referendum sulla forma istituzionale dello Stato) was held in Italy on 2 June 1946, a key event of contemporary Italian history. Until 1946, Italy was a kingdom ruled by the House of Savoy, reigning royal house of Italy since the national unification in 1861 and previously rulers of the Duchy of Savoy. However, in 1922 the rise of Benito Mussolini and the creation of the fascist regime, which eventually resulted in engaging Italy in World War II alongside Nazi Germany, considerably weakened the role of the monarchy. Following a civil war and the Liberation of Italy from Axis troops in 1945, a popular referendum on the institutional form of the state was called the next year and resulted in voters choosing the replacement of the monarchy with a republic. A Constituent Assembly was elected on the same day. As with the simultaneous Constituent Assembly elections, the referendum was not held in the Julian March or South Tyrol, which were still under occupation by Allied forces pending a final settlement of the status of the territories. Republican traditions in Italy traditionally hark back to the Roman Republic and the Medieval comunes. Examples of long-standing republics in Italy are the Republic of Venice and the Republic of Genoa, that maintained their republican traditions until the end of 19th century, when after the Napoleonic wars they were annexed by the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Sardinia. During the Risorgimento, the historical period that led to the Unification of Italy, republicanism was one of the ideas that led the struggle for unification. Many prominent politicians and militants of the period were republicans, most notably Giuseppe Garibaldi and Giuseppe Mazzini. However, historical events and the commitment of the House Of Savoy in the unification process lead to a unified Kingdom of Italy under Vittorio Emanuele II, previously King of Sardinia. Republican ideals were constantly present in later years, but republicans never had enough power or interest to effectively overthrow the monarchy.