Return of Frecce Tricolori aeronautical display

The 68th Festa della Repubblica celebrations marking Italy’s national day take place in Rome on Monday 2 June.

The annual public holiday is held in commemoration of the day in 1946 when Italians voted in favour of a republic and against the monarchy which had been discredited by its behaviour during world war two.

The event begins at 09.15 when President Napolitano lays a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Piazza Venezia, followed by a military parade of 3,500 members of the state’s army, navy, police forces and the foresty corp along Via dei Fori Imperiali from 10.00-11.00. This number represents an increase of some 200 soldiers from last year, although the cost of staging the event will remain the same as last year, at €1.9 million.

The big news this year is the return of the Frecce Tricolori, a popular aeronautical display featuring a series of fighter jets flying in formation over the Colosseum, emitting plumes of the three colours from the Italian flag. The spectacle had been dropped from the programme during the last two editions, on cost grounds.

Rehearsals and preparations for the parade begin on 30 May with traffic disruption and bus diversions in the general area from 23.00 until 05.00 the next morning. On the day of the parade itself Via dei Fori Imperiali will be closed from 05.00 until around 20.00 with numerous traffic diversions in place, as well as the likely closure of the Metro Colosseo station.

The parade on 2 June generally results in the closure of archaeological sites such as the Colosseum, Roman Forum, Trajan's Markets, and the Altare della Patria, however the Quirinale gardens are open to the public free of charge from 15.00-19.00.

For full details on event see the special Festa della Repubblica website while for more on the transport situation see Muoversi a Roma. http://www.festadellarepubblica.it/notizie/72-festa-nazionale-della-repubblica-2-giugno-2014.