Italy marks 78th liberation anniversary with calls for unity

Rome, April 26

As Italy celebrated the 78th anniversary of the country's liberation from fascism, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called for more unity among Italians.

Liberation Day, or Festa della Liberazione, marks the day the German forces and the Italian fascist party led by Benito Mussolini were ousted from power, just days before the end of World War II, reports Xinhua news agency.

Along with Italian President Sergio Mattarella, Meloni participated in a traditional ceremony at the Altar of the Fatherland at Piazza Venezia in Rome on Tuesday.

Mattarella said that the country's liberation from fascism in 1945 was a "crisis in the country that required a decisive moment, a new idea of community following the failure of a previous one".

He added the moment gave birth to "a new Italy" that continues to this day.

In an open letter published on Tuesday in Corriere della Sera, Italy's most widely circulated newspaper, Meloni called for a "renewed national accord" that would reinforce Italy's role as an "essential stronghold of democracy" on the global stage.

Tuesday also saw a march of more than 100,000 people in Milan, mostly labour groups and independent and opposition political figures.

Liberation Day is however distinct from Republic Day (Festa della Repubblica), which takes place on June 2.