Romans crowded the narrow streets near Monte Citorio palace, waiting for the republic to be proclaimed. In the Hall of the She-Wolf sat the highest court's 13 justices, Premier de Gasperi and his cabinet, the chiefs of the armed forces and other notables, including a wisp-bearded Garibaldi Army veteran with medals of 1870 gleaming on his shirt of fireman's red. (The Sartorio mural, Italy Unified, had been shrouded: it showed republican Garibaldi shaking hands with Umberto's great-grandfather.) Because some 200,000 votes—which could not possibly alter the people's verdict—were still uncounted, the court adjourned without deciding who was legally...
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