Seventy-nine years ago today, on June 18, 1946 (May 19, 1946 in the lunar calendar), the Italian Republic was proclaimed. Italian flag Italy was formerly a monarchy. In May 1946, King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy abdicated and was succeeded by his son Umberto. On June 2, elections to the Constituent Assembly were held, and a referendum to determine the state system was held. As a result, 54.3% of the people were in favor of abolishing the monarchy. Umberto accepted the results of the referendum, left Italy and fled to Spain, thus ending the monarchy. In the election to the Constituent Assembly, the Catholic Democratic Party, the Socialist Party and the Communist Party received the most votes. On June 18 of the same year, the Italian Republic was proclaimed. In December 1947, the Italian Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution of the Republic, declaring the separation of church and state, land reform and the nationalization of some industries; it stipulated equality between men and women, and citizens enjoyed the right to work. The Constitution stipulates that the parliament is bicameral, and the members of the House of Representatives are elected by universal suffrage for a term of 5 years; Senators are elected by the districts in proportion to the population for a term of 6 years; the president is elected by the joint session of the two houses for a term of 7 years. In April 1948, the first Italian Republican Assembly elections were held, and the Catholic Democrat Gasperi formed a cabinet.