Name: 2 June 1946: Choosing the Future. A Journey through Italy's Referendum & the Birth of the Republic.
Start: 2026-06-02T08:00:00+10:00
End: 2026-06-02T10:00:00+10:00
Location: 189-199 Faraday Street, Carlton, VIC, Australia, Victoria 3053

2 June 1946: Choosing the Future. A Journey through Italy's Referendum, the Birth of the Republic and the Voices of a Country Reborn.
A talk by Elisabetta Ferrari (The University of Melbourne) and Andrea Righi (Monash University) with the participation of Stefano Ioele (musician, composer, and guitarist) and Carlotta Migliolo (actress, singer, and voice artist).
Tuesday 2 June 2026, 6.00-8.00pm
CO.AS.IT., 199 Faraday Street Carlton
Free event. Registration essential here: https://www.coasit.com.au/2-giugno-2026
Join CO.AS.IT. for this special event celebrating the 80th anniversary of Italy’s Festa della Repubblica.

Eighty years ago, Italy stood at a crossroads. On 2 June 1946, after the devastation of war and the fall of fascism, millions of Italians, women voting for the very first time, were called to decide the future of the country: monarchy or republic. It was not just a political choice, but a moment of profound transformation that would shape the identity of modern Italy. To mark the eightieth anniversary of the Festa della Repubblica, CO.AS.IT. Melbourne is proud to present a unique and immersive event that brings this historic moment to life. Through a live conversation between speakers, the audience will be guided across the political, social, and cultural landscape of post-war Italy, discovering not only what happened, but what it felt like to live through those extraordinary days. Film excerpts from iconic works of Italian cinema will open windows into the emotions, struggles, and hopes of the time, while live musical performances will evoke the sound and spirit of a country rebuilding itself. Together, history, cinema, and music will create a rich and engaging narrative experience. From the legacy of the Resistance to the birth of universal suffrage, from the tensions of the referendum to the election of the Constituent Assembly and the writing of the Constitution, this event offers a powerful reflection on democracy, participation, and the meaning of collective choice. A story of the past, one that continues to speak to our present.

Elisabetta Ferrari is a Senior Lecturer in Italian Studies in the School of Languages and Linguistics at the University of Melbourne. She has worked in tertiary education in Australia for the past two decades in various capacities. Following university studies in languages and literature at the Università degli Studi di Parma, she completed a BA with Honours at Monash University and a Master of Arts in Cinema Management at the University of Melbourne. Her research focuses primarily on teaching innovation, experiential learning pedagogy, and virtual reality to enhance the teaching of Italian and its cultures. She has additional expertise in Italian cinema and is currently leading a research project on the Italian cinemas of Melbourne from the 1950s to the late 1970s.

Andrea Righi is a professor of European languages and Italian at Monash University, Australia. A cultural theorist who works at the intersection of continental theory, modern and contemporary Italian literature, gender studies, digitality and political thought, he is the author of Three Economies of Transcendence (Minnesota, 2025) The Other Side of the Digital: The Sacrificial Economy of New Media (Minnesota, 2021) Italian Reactionary Thought and Critical Theory: An Inquiry into Savage Modernities (Palgrave, 2015), Biopolitics and Social Change in Italy. From Gramsci to Pasolini to Negri (Palgrave, 2011).

Stefano Ioele is an Italian musician, composer, and guitarist based in Melbourne for the past decade. Originally from Cava de’ Tirreni, he has performed across a wide range of musical projects and is the founder of G_Tano, a multicultural collective blending funk, acid jazz, and Mediterranean rhythms, established in 2022. With G_Tano, he released the album Read The Room and has performed at major venues and festivals across the Australian music scene.

Carlotta Migliolo is an Italian bilingual actress, singer, and voice artist based in Melbourne, Australia, working across film, theatre, and digital media. She is known for leading roles in web series such as Hive and The Abandoned, as well as in the film Spy. Carlotta is also a writer, director, and theatre producer, recognised for her works Pane di Casa (2023) and Loose News (2024).
Image: Demonstration for the victory of the Republic (Torino, 6 June 1946). Public domain.