Montecitorio Palace

In the Sala della Lupa in Palazzo Montecitorio, the current seat of the Chamber of Deputies, the result of the institutional referendum of 2^nd June 1946 was announced.

After the twenty years of Fascist dictatorship, Italy could have free elections with universal suffrage for men and women. During the local elections of 1946, women were able to vote and be elected for the first time. On 2^nd June, turnout was very high for both the institutional referendum and the Constituent Assembly election. Almost 25 million people voted in the referendum, equal to 89.08% of the population eligible to vote, with the Republic winning 54.27% of the vote. Women had a decisive role and impact: 12,998,131 women voted, compared to 11,949,056 men.

On the same day, the ‘Commission of 75’ of the Constituent Assembly was appointed at Palazzo Montecitorio. Their task was to draft the new Constitutional Charter. It was passed on 27^th December 1947 and came into force on 1^st January 1948. Twenty-one women also sat in the Constituent Assembly.