She led the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale of state broadcaster Rai in the traditional concert in honour of the Italian state on the occasion of Friday’s Republic Day.

The concert took place shortly before President Sergio Mattarella received officials in the palace gardens.

Mattarella spoke briefly before the concert.

“I thank the orchestra’s director, Speranza Scappucci, and the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della Rai for the concert they’re about to give us,” he said.

“June 2 is Festa degli Italiani, the celebratory moment of the birth of the Republic, the principles of which are enshrined in the Constitutional Charter whose 75th anniversary we are celebrating.

“In recent days, I have received multiple expressions of sympathy for the tragic floods that hit Emilia Romagna and neighboring areas,” he continued.

“Numerous countries have shown concrete solidarity, and I wish to thank them on behalf of our national community.

“I have used, not by chance, the word solidarity: a value also inscribed among the first articles of our Constitution, which, in recognising and guaranteeing the inviolable rights of the person, recalls the duty of political, economic, and social solidarity.”

Mattarella then took the opportunity to connect this theme with the war in Ukraine.

“The Republican Constitution, a child of redemption from the tragic experiences of dictatorship and World War II, indicates the repudiation of war as a means of dispute settlement,” he said.

“This is a most topical and deeply felt principle, of which the Russian Federation’s unacceptable aggression against Ukraine represents the most brutal and obvious negation.

“This conflict, for more than fifteen months, has been producing death and devastation in the heart of Europe and is also causing very serious consequences at the global level.

“[It is] accentuating food insecurity and poverty in many countries, which are also victims of the consequences of this senseless war, the effects of which are affecting the international order patiently built after 1945.

“We witness today with attention and interest attempts to identify paths of dialogue to achieve peace.”

“Italy will continue to work so that the European Union can increasingly be an actor capable of projecting peace, stability and development at the global level.

“With these intentions, I wish everyone a Happy Italian Republic Day.”