By Nicholas Gemini (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Festa della Repubblica is an Italian holiday celebrated each year on June 2 in commemoration of the natioanl referendum held on June 2, 1946, in which the Italian populace chose (by a somewhat narrow margin) to become a national republic instead of a monarchy.

If you are in New York today, you can join in some of the festivities! The Italian Heritage and Cultural Committee of New York in conjunction with the patronage of the Consulate General of Italy in New York is holding an opening ceremony for the exhibit, “Masterpieces of Italian Renaissance and Baroque Sculpture: Highlights from the Exhibition – Power and Passion 1400-1700” at Trinity House on the Upper East Side from 2-4PM today. The reception is free and open to the public. Click here for more details.

Also, from 11AM to 5PM, The Italian Trade Commission celebrates “Festa della Repubblica” with a “Tasting of Italian Food Excellence” featuring typical Italian foods such as baccalà, cold cuts, cheeses, imported extra virgin olive oils and of course Italian wines. An Italian food movie will be screened. The event will be held at 33 East 67th Street, New York, NY 10065. You can RSVP here.