The President of the Italian Republic returns to Palazzo del Quirinale in the Lancia Flaminia

Since 1961, the Presidential Lancia Flaminia has been the official car of the Italian Republic. In addition to having been used for the inauguration of the last ten presidents (two of whom served two terms), it has also hosted leading personalities including Queen Elizabeth II and John F. Kennedy.

On Thursday 3 February 2022, the Presidential Lancia Flaminia accompanied the President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella - elected for a second term - from Montecitorio where he was sworn in at the Presidential Residence of Palazzo del Quirinale.

The Lancia Flaminia was introduced at the 1957 Geneva Motor Show as the replacement for the highly successful Aurelia and was powered by a 2.5 litre V6 engine. The success of the Flaminia led to the creation of several special versions, one of which was built by Pinin Farina in 1961 and went down in history with the code name "335", a number indicating the length of the car's wheelbase in centimetres. The open version of the model was used for the first time by President Gronchi for his arrival at the Palazzo del Quirinale. A total of four Presidential Flaminia were built and named after the legendary horses of the Scuderie del Quirinale: Belfiore, Belmonte, Belvedere and Belsito.

All four cars were painted in deep "midnight blue" and featured a black leather Connolly saloon and intercom between the driver and the total of five passengers the Presidential Flaminia could accommodate. In 2001 the Belfiore and Belvedere were rebuilt and since then they have been back in the service of the Presidency, while the Belsito is housed in the Historical Museum of Military Vehicles in Rome and the Belmonte in the National Motor Museum in Turin.