Eighty years after the momentous inaugural session of the Constituent Assembly, the Chamber of Deputies held a solemn commemorative event attended by the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella. The Head of State was greeted by the Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, Lorenzo Fontana and Ignazio La Russa, and began the day by visiting the exhibition dedicated to the creation of the Republic in the Sala della Lupa, where the results of the 1946 institutional referendum were declared. In his speech, Mattarella paid a touching tribute to the Constitution's mothers and fathers, recalling the high cost paid by partisans, deportees, and soldiers to gain democracy during the dark years of fascist oppression and war. The President recounted the key stages of that "peaceful revolution", beginning with universal suffrage, which allowed women to participate fully in politics for the first time, and ending with the Assembly's delicate labor of synthesis. The Head of State subsequently refuted the notion that the Constitution was the result of a compromise between the major mass parties of the era (Christian Democracy, the Socialist Party, and the Communist Party). Rather, it was a high-level exercise in convergence that was based on the principle that "the Republic belongs to everyone." Recalling the difficult process of ratifying the Paris Peace Treaty, Mattarella concluded by stressing that the Constitution gave Italy “a human face” and stable institutions, urging citizens to remain its vigilant and responsible guardians.