Mattarella: Republican Italy success story in the world thanks to social cohesion. To young people: courage

 President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella's speech to the Italians is his eleventh end-of-year address to the country on the unified networks. Here are all the passages:

"We are closing a year that was not easy. We are all aware of the reasons for this and, as always, we hope to encounter better weather. Our expectation is first and foremost for peace".

"Faced with houses, homes devastated by bombing in Ukrainian cities, faced with the destruction of power stations to leave children, the elderly, women, men in the cold of the icy winter in those territories, faced with the devastation in Gaza, where babies in the cold freeze to death, the desire for peace is ever higher and it is increasingly incomprehensible and repugnant the denial of those who deny it because they feel stronger"

"Peace is a way of thinking: that of living together with others, respecting them, without pretending to impose one's will, one's interests, one's dominion on them. The way of thinking, the mentality, begin in daily life. They concern any sphere: the international one, the one within individual states, any community, small or large. For each people it starts from its national dimension"-

"Leo XIV - to whom I extend the most affectionate wishes of the Italian people - in the days leading up to Christmas, as the Jubilee of Hope drew to a close, urged us to "reject hatred, violence, opposition and practise dialogue, peace, reconciliation". He called for the need to disarm words. Let us take up this invitation. If every circumstance becomes a pretext for violent verbal clashes, for mutual accusations, of which the foundation but only the polemical force counts, a mentality of peace is not expressed, its foundations are not built'

"Faced with the question: "what can I do?" we must remove the fatalistic sense of powerlessness that threatens to oppress everyone. The affirmation of freedom, the building of peace are in the founding act of our Republic, which expresses the will to realise the future together, through dialogue. It epitomises the responsibility of being citizens'.

In the year ahead we will remember eighty years of the Republic. Eighty years are few when looked at through the eyes of great history, but they have been decades of high significance. Let us quickly leaf through an imaginary album of the history of the Republic, as one sometimes does when getting together as a family.The first frame of our journey is represented by women. The sign of the unity of the people was symbolically imprinted by the vote of women, for the first time finally called to the polls. That sign gave the Republic an indelible democratic character, initiating a path, still in progress, towards full equality'.

"The Constituent Assembly, elected at the same time as the referendum that sanctioned the republican choice, was capable of finding a synthesis of high value while the political dialectic developed between convergences and contrasts, some very strong. In the morning, the constituents discussed - and opposed - concrete government measures, in the afternoon, together they put together the pieces of our Constitutional Charter. The Italian Constitution, which has inspired and guided the country for all these decades'.

"The Republic is a watershed in our history. Not a State that overpowers citizens but a State that recognises inviolable rights, the freedom of individuals, the autonomies of the community. The Italian democracy that took its first steps in the post-war period is young, dynamic, takes root, dialogues in the world'.

"The images of the signing of the Treaties of Rome, in 1957, deliver a success and another decisive moment, with Italy at the forefront of the construction of the new Europe. It is precisely Europe and transatlantic relations, with the Marshall Plan, that are the two pillars of reconstruction. The European Union and the Atlantic Alliance have consistently represented - and constitute - the coordinates of our international action'.

The President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, in his end-of-year message to Italians then recalled the "great season of reforms" that changed "the profile of Italy. The agrarian reform, the House Plan, the memory of which recalls the difficulties of young couples in finding a home in our cities today. The years of the economic miracle present us with the faces of factory workers and those engaged in building the great infrastructures that modernised the country,' he added.

"Work" is the "fundamental lever of development. The workers' statute was the instrument that recognises and sanctions rights, dignity and trade union freedom. Values that call for full respect for the inalienable safety at work and fair pay'.

"The establishment of the National Health Service guarantees universality and free care, representing another decisive achievement of the welfare state, which places the dignity of the person and the idea of full equality at the centre. Alongside this is the welfare system extended to all. Conditions to be preserved in the face of the changes of all times'.

"Fundamental to the growth of national identity has been - and remains - the contribution of cculture, art, cinema, literature, music. The role of the public service entrusted to the RAI, guaranteeing pluralism, an essential prerequisite for broad popular involvement around the institutions of the Republic'.

Falcone and Borsellino still inspire "all those who do not resign themselves to the arrogance of crime". This was said by President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella in his end-of-year speech in the central passage in which he retraced the 80 years of the Republic's life... "The film of memory is running," Mattarella said, "Two faces we cannot forget: those of Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, symbols of legality and of the long fight against the Mafia. Protagonists even after their assassination: their example continues to inspire - not only in Italy - the new generations and all those who do not resign themselves to the arrogance of crime'.

The feelings of 'joy, pride and belonging' thatsport can give, will be revived with the Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Milan-Cortina. This was said by the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella in his end-of-year speech. 'Sport,' Mattarella said, 'also has a prominent place in our album. Unforgettable stories and athletes. The protagonists of the 1960 Rome Olympics, in which Italy was the first to introduce Paralympic participation. Sport, therefore, has contributed to the growth of the country, to giving us moments of joy, pride, belonging. Just as it always happens when listening to the Italian anthem at an award ceremony. All this will be renewed once again with the Milan - Cortina Games. The spread of sport, in addition to the message of peace, friendship, inclusion that it expresses, is a powerful antidote to youth violence and drugs'.

"These eighty years are like a large mosaic, the full meaning of which we can only grasp by moving away from the individual pieces that make it up. Of course, gaps and contradictions should not be ignored, but we were a society with a low level of education, with high emigration rates'.

"The 'unity of political and social forces' made it possible to overcome the 'night of the Republic', the season of massacres and terrorism. This was said by the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella in his end-of-year speech in the passage dedicated to reviewing the 80 years of the Republic. "More images, this time dramatic ones," Mattarella said. The massacres. The terrorism. We remember the faces and names of the victims. Magistrates, journalists, men of the institutions, members of the police force. And then many, too many young people who fall at the hands of ideologies that make violence their only tool. It will be called the night of the Republic. But Italy prevails. The institutions prove stronger than terror. And they are so thanks to the unity of political and social forces, capable of defending the founding principles of the Republic'.

"We have become one of the strongest countries in manufacturing and exports, capable of exalting the genius of creativity in so many sectors. We are appreciated all over the world for our lifestyles, for the beauty of our territories, for the artistic treasures we preserve. For the culture of food and wine, which becomes an international heritage'.

"Italy is a major player on the international scene, also thanks to the contribution that our military have made and continue to make to building security and peace. Here too, a path with high prices, starting with the sacrifice of our airmen on a humanitarian mission in Kindu, Congo, in 1961'.

"The Italy of the Republic is a success story in the world. We can and must be proud of it. We can because this history is the result of the sacrifice, the commitment, the participation of so many generations of Italians. Everyone has put their tile into that mosaic. In every home, in every family there is a story to tell'.

"We often say that the principles and values that the constituent mothers and fathers engraved in the Constitution eighty years ago must be lived, witnessed every day: this is what made them become reality in the daily choices of each one of us".

Our true strength, social cohesion in freedom and democracy, has allowed us to make Italy the great country it is today. The legitimate dialectics between the various positions have contributed to concrete achievements that have changed people's lives for the better. Rights and duties have progressively become facts and have not remained abstract statements. Reflecting on what we have achieved together is a prerequisite for looking to the future with confidence and renewed common commitment. Awareness of this history can give us strength to face the challenges and pitfalls of our time with serenity'.

"Old and new poverties - which are there and must be urgently combated - inequalities, injustices, behaviour that hurts the collective good such as corruption, fiscal infidelity, environmental crimes" are "cracks that risk compromising the very social cohesion that we consider to be a precious asset".

"We are facing old and new problems, increased by the uncertainty of the international context we are going through. Moreover, we are now entering a time when everything is becoming global and interdependent, from the economy, to the environment, to the climate, to the technological revolutions affecting our lives, to the risks of pandemics, to the networks of fundamentalist terrorism. But no obstacle is stronger than our democracy'

I would like to address, in particular, the youngest. Some - who judge you without really knowing you - describe you as distrustful, aloof, angry: do not resign yourselves. Be demanding, be courageous. Choose your future. Feel responsible like the generation that built modern Italy eighty years ago. Best wishes! Happy 2026!".

Mattarella has the historical photo of 2 June 1946 in the background

The photo of Federico Patellani that became the symbol of the victory of the referendum for the Republic, on 2 June 1946, is one of the elements chosen for the setting of the end-of-year speech of the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, who will commemorate the anniversary: 80 years in 2026.

The detail emerges from the backstage video, in the Glass Hall at the Quirinale.

Lo sfondo del discorso del presidente

La foto di Federico Patellani divenuta il simbolo della vittoria del referendum per la Repubblica, il 2 giugno 1946, è uno degli elementi scelti per la scenografia del discorso di fine anno del Presidente della Repubblica, Sergio Mattarella, che ricorderà la ricorrenza: 80 anni nel 2026. Il dettaglio emerge dal video sul backstage, nella sala alla Vetrata al Quirinale. La storica foto ritrae una ragazza sorridente che sventola il Corriere della Sera, col titolo: "E' nata la Repubblica italiana". Negli anni, quello scatto è stato riprodotto centinaia di volte su libri e locandine. E anche opere d'arte. Come quella che compare nelle immagini del backstage: la foto è sovrastata dal tricolore e sotto compare la scritta "2 giugno 1946". +++ X/QUIRINALE

The historic photo shows a smiling girl waving the Corriere della Sera, with the headline: 'The Italian Republic is born'. Over the years, that shot has been reproduced hundreds of times on books and posters. And even works of art. Like the one that appears in the backstage pictures: the photo is surmounted by the tricolour and the words '2 June 1946' appear underneath.