Italians in Cape Town celebrated Italy’s Republic Day on Friday June 2 with the magic of opera at the Baxter Theatre. Held on the following evening, the Embassy of Italy in South Africa, the Consulate Generals of Italy in Johannesburg and Cape Town and the Italian Cultural Institute in Pretoria presented an operatic performance by the Academy of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. It was a bitter-sweet occasion for outgoing consul Emanuele Pollio from Oranjezicht as it was his final official event before his return to Italy the next day. He is pictured with his wife, left, Lucia de Maio, Renata Puccini from Rondebosch and Suzanne Himely from Camps Bay.