What ends is “a demanding decade”, marked by a long economic crisis and by changes “as fast as they are impetuous”. With these words the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, turned to the Italians for the traditional end of year speech, speaking from the Sala dei Tofanelli, without desks between him and the camera (here the full speech).

The Head of State recalled the progress made in 2019, calling for national cohesion and inviting to stop – in the name of the national interest – the clash between the political parties, at all levels. Mattarella invited, therefore, to observe the country from outside, “as they see us from abroad”, recalling the image of Italy seen from space given by Julie Payette, an astronaut today at the top of a friendly country like Canada.