Roman Republic (1849–1850)

Roman Republic
Repubblica Romana (Italian)
1849–1850
Coat of arms
Motto: Dio e Popolo
God and People
Anthem: Il Canto degli Italiani (Italian)
"The Song of the Italians"
StatusUnrecognized state
CapitalRome
Official languagesItalian
French
Recognised regional languagesGerman
Common languagesItalian
Religion
Roman Catholicism
GovernmentDirectorial parliamentary republic
Triumvirate 
 1849
History 
 Election
21 January 1849
 Established
9 February 1849
 Invasion
25 April 1849
 Disestablished
2 July 1850
CurrencyRoman scudo
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Papal States
Papal States
Kingdom of Italy
Today part of

The Roman Republic (Italian: Repubblica Romana) was a short-lived state declared on 9 February 1849, when the government of the Papal States was temporarily replaced by a republican government due to Pope Pius IX's departure to Gaeta. The republic was led by Carlo Armellini, Giuseppe Mazzini, and Aurelio Saffi. Together they formed a triumvirate, a reflection of a form of government during the first century BC crisis of the Roman Republic.

One of the major innovations the Republic hoped to achieve was enshrined in its constitution: freedom of religion, with Pope Pius IX and his successors guaranteed the right to govern the Catholic Church. These religious freedoms were quite different from the situation under the preceding government, which allowed only Catholicism and Judaism to be practised by its citizens. The Constitution of the Roman Republic was the first in the world to abolish capital punishment in its constitutional law.