Today’s photo essay from ANSA (the Italian online news service which has an English edition) showed a spectacular fly-over of the tri-colore above the Roman crowds celebrating the Festa della Repubblica. To see the other 13 photos, click here.
What a sight!
An Ex-Expatriate 
Well that’s where all the good weather is, was, or still is. The only “fireworks” that went off on that day was a loud gunshot…at night. Most likely the hunter that lives up the mountain but I hope it was in observance of the date and not killing off another faina in the chicken coop.
Ugh – I hate gunshots, really hate them. They hunt cingiale in the hills here (no doubt in your chestnut forest, too) and I hate to hear them banging away and the dogs baying. Also hate to see the hunting dogs kept in cages outside, which seems to be the country way. We saw on the radar that you guys were getting hammered with rain. Much of it skipped us, but we were happy to get a little something on Weds. and again today. Gardens need it.
There was a holiday for this when I was in Italy earlier this year. We had a little parade and festival in the village. It was a lot of fun. It seems the celebrations continue.
There were extra feste this year because of the 150th anniversary of the unification – that might have been what you saw earlier in the year. Festa della Repubblica is, I think, always June 2. Any excuse for a parade and some fireworks!