A speech that was never formal, with a progressive tone that one would not have expected from a monarch, albeit a constitutional one . A solemn speech to the Italian Parliament , decidedly political, with which King Felipe VI addressed all the hottest issues of European politics starting from a public recognition of the authority of the President of the Republic: I want to thank him, he immediately began, speaking in Italian, "for his sensitivity towards Spain, for always finding advice in the President of the Republic. You know it better than me, he is a point of reference for Italy and Italians, as well as for many heads of state, including me."
The ceremony at Montecitorio was the central moment of the state visit of the sovereign who was accompanied in all his appointments by his wife Letizia . And if the king impressed with the clarity of his positions, from Europe to NATO, his wife stole the attention of citizens and the media : her elegance - amplified by several changes of clothes in a few hours - was immortalized by photographers with hundreds of shots seen and reviewed on social media. Moreover, the historic Italian-Spanish sympathy had been well interpreted since the morning by Mattarella himself who had spoken of "extraordinary" bilateral relations. A concept immediately reciprocated by the king who, even more so like his father Juan Carlos, has a weakness for Italy: " Coming on a state visit to Italy is something very special, it is not just any visit, our countries - he underlined - have intense relations and are very good friends".
The great political harmony between Mattarella and the king was immediately evident. If the head of state defined the need for profound reforms for European institutions as "inevitable", the sovereign mirrored him in the Chamber by confirming the iron Euro-Atlantic vision of Rome and Madrid, explaining to parliamentarians that "the new Commission must orient the Union towards the future, guarantee global competitiveness and bet on a new internal market". But not only that. After quoting De Gasperi ("the future can only be built with the methodical application of the democratic method"), King Felipe praised the work of two Italians who are very present in European dynamics: Mario Draghi and Enrico Letta . He then closed with a reference to the anti-fascist roots that bind us : "We are two countries that have a clear awareness of the past, in particular of the fact that there is a past that must not and cannot be repeated, not even as a joke".
So far the Quirinale, which Felipe and Letizia meet again in the evening for a state dinner offered by the president. At lunch the prime minister enters the scene and receives the two guests in the government residence of Villa Doria Pamphili for a work meeting. Giorgia Meloni accompanied them to visit the gardens of the residence, with the famous hedge maze. Then the ritual photos and some embarrassing ceremonial on the place to be taken in front of the photographers : the sovereign takes care of resolving things by standing to the left of the prime minister and placing his wife on the right. Finally, a tribute to the city could not be missed, to that Rome that King Felipe defines as "one of the main cradles of our civilization" that "belongs and has always belonged to our collective European imagination".
Then the entrance into the Campidoglio with the trumpet blasts of the Fedeli di Vitorchiano in historical costumes, the inevitable lookout on the balcony overlooking the Forums and the gift of the She-Wolf from the host, Mayor Roberto Gualtieri. Today the scenery changes but it will be no less spectacular: the sovereigns of Spain move to Naples. First a farewell breakfast with the president at Villa Rosebery in Posillipo. Then a Lectio magistralis by King Felipe IV at the San Carlo, where, on the occasion of the 800th anniversary of the Federico II University, he will be awarded an honorary degree in Social Sciences and Statistics.
(Online Union)
