I have just returned from a few days in Rome. June 2 was the Italian national Day and a public holiday. The Festa della Repubblica was celebrated in Rome with a huge procession of military and state might, ending with a fly past of military jets, swooping above the Colisseum and towards the Victor Emmanuel Monument. I watched the procession live on TV as the crowds along the way are always too dense to see anything much - especially for a short person!
I also visited theBasilica Santa Maria sopra Minerva, with important Dominican links and site of the body of St Catherine of Siena. (the head being in Siena.) I was pleased to pray in the quiet of the Basilica and remember St Catherine's words "All the way to heaven, is heaven."