Patriottismo repubblicano, Costituzione, Europa

Cavour, Mazzini and Garibaldi embody the Italian romantic ideal based on the concept of Fatherland, Nation and Freedom. This has nourished the need for Italian populations, who no longer wanted to live separated, to reach a single identity. Italian people realised they shared a common history and culture thanks to gaining unity after centuries of divisions and foreign domination. This self-awareness was the spur which allowed Italy to face and overcome the most difficult tests: wars, dictatorship, destructions and mass migration. Italy, over a period of only ten years, was able to become one of the most industrialized countries thanks to the commitment of its population and the farsighted policy of its ruling politicians. The Constituent Assembly's farsightedness fulfilled the Italians' strong desire for peace, democracy, stability and faith in their future, while the war wounds were still bleeding. Peace and rejection of war, the founding principles of Europe, are now taken for granted. To-day, other reasons motivate the urge for European unity and this objective can no longer be postponed. Europe should speak to the world to spread its sense of balance, its capacity for dialogue, and its models of behaviour that put people first, all of which guarantee stability, security and prosperity for European citizens.