The Italian Republic is guilty: it has not kept the promises of its founding fathers.

San Mauro Pascoli – "The Italian Republic is guilty of failing to keep the promises of its founding fathers." This was the unexpected verdict that emerged last night at the Torre-Villa Torlonia during the traditional "August 10 Trial," a symbolic summer event on the Riviera organized by Sammauroindustria.

Before an audience of over 700 people, the contest between four historians ended with 323 votes for conviction, 282 for acquittal, and 79 abstentions, cast by show of hands. The outcome was announced by Court President Gianfranco Miro Gori, the instigator of the initiative.

For the prosecution, historian Davide Conti (La Sapienza University) reconstructed the origins: "The Republic was born from the collapse of the monarchy and the transition from a hot to a cold war in the international context." Conti listed the delays in implementing the Constitution, from the creation of the Constitutional Court in 1956 to the introduction of the crime of torture in 2014, emphasizing that "Italy does not have a Nuremberg Trial, and thus our democracy was born without a trial of fascism."

Political scientist Marco Valbruzzi (Federico II University of Naples) echoed this sentiment, filing two charges: "high treason and attack on the Constitution. The gulf between the promises of 80 years ago and the daily accomplishments is plain for all to see. I ask for a conviction aimed at re-educating the Republic and putting it back on the right track." In his defense, Roberto Balzani (University of Bologna) asserted the strength of the republican project: "The Republic becomes plausible when it becomes a tool for overthrowing a tyranny.

Its strength lies in its vision of the country's future, especially in the period 1948-1978, when Italy experienced an epochal change like it had never experienced before." Maurizio Ridolfi (University of Tuscia) concluded by reversing the perspective: "We are the Republic. It is stronger than the very parties that shaped it. The parties went into crisis after 1989, but they did not undermine it, finding a new balance thanks to the role of the President of the Republic.

Today, many people don't trust political parties, but there is a vibrant social fabric, with as many as 8 million Italians active in cooperatives, social work, and volunteering: they are the heart of the Republic." A popular verdict that, beyond the theatrical game, has laid bare the still-open contradictions between constitutional promises and contemporary reality.