the curiosity of the men of the Hill
The Italian Republic was established on 2 June 1946 following a referendum. Alcide De Gasperi became Provisional Head of State. Italy has seen 12 presidents of the Republic. One week after the election of the thirteenth. Of each of them there are curiosity or particular aspects:
Enrico De Nicola, coming from the Italian Liberal Party, was the first to become President of the Republic (from 1 July 1946 to 12 May 1948) and the only one to have taken office “by right”. He was in fact elected by the Constituent Assembly as provisional head of the State Assembly. With the entry into force of the Constitution in 1948, he assumed the title and functions of President. Come residence, to choose Giustiniani Palace.
Luigi Einaudi, of the Italian Liberal Party, was the second President (from 12 May 1948 to 11 May 1955) and the first to be elected by the Italian Parliament, as well as the first to reside at the Quirinale. Founder of the famous publishing house Giulio Einaudi Editore, it was also the first president to be governor of the Bank of Italy.
Then came Giovanni Gronchi (from 11 May 1955 to 11 May 1962). Christian Democrat, Undersecretary of Industry in the Mussolini Government. Emblematic the case of “Gronchi Rosa”, which today is considered the most famous postage stamp in Italy: iOn the occasion of his trip to Peru, a 205 lire pink lilac commemorative stamp was issued. The stamp reported the borders of Peru incorrectly because the person who made the sketch used an old DeAgostini atlas not updated. The event created a diplomatic case and the stamp was immediately withdrawn and replaced with a gray one. The Gronchi Rosa is a gem for philatelists and it can be worth up to 30 thousand euros.
Antonio Segni, fourth president (from 11 May 1962 to 6 December 1964), also of the DC. On 7 August 1964, during an impetuous conversation with the Social Democrat Giuseppe Saragat and the President of the Council of Ministers Aldo Moro, he was struck by a cerebral thrombosis. None of them ever explained the contents of the interview: here, from the diaries of Ettore Bernabei, a description was found. His mandate ends with Land sue resignation.
Giuseppe Saragat, of the Italian Socialist Democratic Party, was the fifth president (from 29 December 1964 to 29 December 1971). I know his love for the Barolo wine. In the Fascist era, era il 1926, he chose exile. When he returned to Italy in 1943 was arrested because he was among the subversives. He managed to escape in ’44 thanks to partisans who falsified a release order. He was President during the events of sixtyeight.
Another Christian Democrat climbs to Colle as the sixth tenant: Giovanni Leone, (from 29 December 1971 to 15 June 1978). He was the first to dissolve the chambers early, to open up to new elections. Six months before the end of his mandate, it halves later at the Lockheed scandal, In Italy it concerned the supply of the C-130 transport aircraft. In his mandate, the kidnapping and killing of Aldo Moro.
Sandro Pertini he is the first partisan President. It is the seventh in order of succession (from 9 July 1978 to 29 June 1985). Belonging to the Italian Socialist Party, he was the Head of State most loved by Italians. His election is also known because he was the one who received the most consents ever: of the 995 entitled to vote, in fact, voted it in 832.
The Christian Democrat Francesco Cossiga he is the eighth President of the Republic (from 3 July 1985 to 28 April 1992). In the last two years of his mandate, he passed through his own provocative and excessive interventions which brought him a great deal of media attention together with the nickname “the pickaxe“. Some inquiries have linked Cossiga to the tension strategy and there were rumors about his affiliation to the Masonry.
The following seven-year stay in the DC house with Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, (May 28, 1992 to May 15, 1999). These are the Tangentopoli years of the Capaci and via d’Amelio massacres. Scalfaro was involved in the “Sisde” scandal as Minister of the Interior, after complaints from service men, as a “natural recipient of sums for institutional use”. He defended himself in a speech with unified networks, famous for his “I’m not there”.
Carlo Azeglio Ciampi was the tenth president (from 18 May 1999 to 15 May 2006) e the second governor of the Bank of Italy, after Luigi Einaudi. It was also the first President not to have been affiliated with any political party during his tenure. He was the protagonist, together with the then Prime Minister Romano Prodi, ofentry into the euro, the single currency.
Giorgio Napolitano was the eleventh president and the first to have had two terms (from 15 May 2006 to 22 April 2013 and from 22 April 2013 to 14 January 2015). In his first term he was affiliated with the Left Democrats party. In the second term, to no party. He had a conflict with the Palermo prosecutor’s office.
Sergio Mattarella, president in office since February 3, 2015 is the twelfth. It does not have a political party of affiliation during his tenure. He had a brother victim of the mafia, Piersanti Mattarella. Has been the first to have lived in the time of a pandemic during his tenure. Of him stand out the always polite and elegant ways, never broken down.