Rome hosts Villaggio Difesa from 1-4 November.

Italy will mark National Unity and Armed Forces Day with a four-day 'Defence Village' in celebration of the military at the Circus Maximus in Rome from 1-4 November.

The Villaggio Difesa will offer visitors a series of events and activities that promote the Italian armed forces, including flight simulation sessions and military training tests as well as concerts, conferences and performances, including by dog units.

The initiative will be inaugurated by defence minister Guido Crosetto whose ministry this week launched a promotional video hailing Italy as "a united, strong country that looks to the future without fear".

pic.twitter.com/s9lLoZQ58Y— Guido Crosetto (@GuidoCrosetto) October 29, 2024

On the morning of 4 November, President Mattarella will lay a wreath at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Piazza Venezia in honour of Italy’s war dead and casualties of international peacekeeping missions.

The solemn ceremony, scheduled at 09.00, will include a flypast by the Frecce Tricolori jets which emit plumes of the colours from the Italian tricolour.

Italy’s Frecce Tricolori jets flying over the Circus Maximus in Rome today pic.twitter.com/ZAWSt0XQuE

— Wanted in Rome (@wantedinrome) November 1, 2024

The date of the Giorno dell'Unità nazionale e Giornata delle Forze Armate, which is not a public holiday in Italy, marks the anniversary of the armistice of Villa Giusti in 1918, which ended world war one on the Italian front.

This year Italy's state museums and archaeological sites will be open for free on Monday 4 November, in addition to Sunday 3 November, to mark the annual event.

Photo Ministero Difesa