Italian constitutional referendum, 1946 — referendum on abolishing the Italian monarchy
The 1946 referendum abolished the Italian monarchy and established a republic, ending over 85 years of Savoy rule and shaping modern Italian governance.
Key Facts
- Date of vote
- 2 June 1946
- Votes for republic
- 12,717,923 votes
- Votes for monarchy
- 10,719,284 votes
- Results proclaimed
- 10 June 1946 by Supreme Court of Cassation
- New constitution in force
- 1 January 1948
- First president of Italy
- Enrico De Nicola
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The House of Savoy had ruled Italy since unification in 1861, but its standing was severely damaged by its acquiescence to Benito Mussolini's Fascist regime from 1922 and Italy's disastrous involvement in World War II alongside Nazi Germany, followed by the Italian Civil War and Allied liberation in 1945.
On 2 June 1946, Italian citizens voted by universal suffrage in an institutional referendum on whether to retain the monarchy or establish a republic. Held simultaneously with Constituent Assembly elections, the referendum returned a majority for the republic: 12,717,923 votes to 10,719,284. The Supreme Court of Cassation formally proclaimed the results on 10 June 1946.
King Umberto II departed Italy voluntarily on 13 June 1946 without awaiting the final court ruling, which rejected monarchist appeals on 18 June. The new Constitution of the Italian Republic entered into force on 1 January 1948, with Enrico De Nicola as the first president, marking the first republican government over most of the Italian Peninsula since the fall of the Roman Republic.