With the rise of Fascism in 1922, the Vittoriano became the setting for the military parades of the authoritarian regime guided by Benito Mussolini. After World War II, with the institution of the Italian Republic in 1946, the monument was stripped of all its Fascist symbolisms and reassumed its original function as a secular temple dedicated to the Italian nation and its people.[7] Throughout the second half of the 20th Century, however, its significance as a symbol of national identity started declining as the public opinion started perceiving it as a cumbersome relic representing a nation superseded by its own history.[1] At the turn of the 21st Century, Italy’s President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi pushed for a revaluation of Italian patriotic symbols, including the Vittoriano. To this day the monument hosts major national parades and celebrations such as Liberation Day (April 25th), Republic Day (Italian: "Festa della Repubblica Italiana") (June 2nd), and Armed Forces Day(Italian: "Giornata dell'Unità Nazionale e delle Forze Armate") (November 4th).[7]