It all begins at 9:45 am in Piazza della Libertà, with the deployment of the Military Corps and the raising of the flag. From there, the morning of October 1st follows a script set out in the Statutes of the 1600s and concludes shortly after noon, when Gerardo Giovagnoli and William Casali become the Republic’s new Captains Regent for the six-month term running until April 1, 2027.
This is the official programme for the day, released by the Tourism Office.
9:45 am – Piazza della Libertà: deployment of the Military Corps and flag-raising.
10:40 am – Procession of the elected Captains Regent from Palazzo Pubblico to the Basilica del Santo, where the religious rite is celebrated.
11:30 am – Return of the procession to Palazzo Pubblico, where the Official Oration is delivered and the elected Captains Regent take their oath and receive investiture.
12:30 pm – Procession of the Captains Regent and their entourage from Palazzo Pubblico to Palazzo Valloni.
12:45 pm – Piazza della Libertà: deployment of the Military Corps and flag-lowering.
The event is free and no booking is required: it can be watched from the contrade and small squares of the historic centre. The procession, escorted by the Council Guard and preceded by the Military Band and the Militia, includes the Captains Regent, government authorities, the Diplomatic and Consular Corps, military, civil and religious authorities, and guests of the Republic. The Tourism Office warns that the programme may be subject to changes.
The Official Oration will be delivered by Imma Tor Faus, Andorra’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. This is not merely a ceremonial choice: Andorra and San Marino have for years shared the negotiating table for the Association Agreement with the European Union, whose signing is expected on October 19th in Brussels. The six-month term beginning today will therefore mark the most significant turning point in decades for relations with Europe.
For both new Captains Regent, this is their first time holding the Supreme Magistracy. Gerardo Giovagnoli, born in San Marino on May 31, 1976, is an electronic engineer and a member of the Party of Socialists and Democrats (Partito dei Socialisti e dei Democratici), of which he served as political secretary. A member of the Grand and General Council (Consiglio Grande e Generale), he has built much of his career in the field of international relations, going on to serve as vice-president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and head of the San Marino delegation to that Assembly.
William Casali, born in San Marino on November 15, 1976, is an entrepreneur with a diploma in accounting. He has been a member of the San Marino Christian Democratic Party (Partito Democratico Cristiano Sammarinese) since 2007 and has served on its Directorate since 2017. He has sat in the Council since 2019 and on the Finance and Budget Committee, is part of the Council delegation to the OSCE, and has focused mainly on technological innovation and digital transformation. The two take over from Alice Mina and Vladimiro Selva.
Two details explain why this day matters. The Captains Regent, elected every six months by the Grand and General Council from among its members, always act jointly and hold a mutual right of veto over one another: this ensures that power never rests in the hands of a single person. At the end of their term, they are subject to the Sindacato della Reggenza, a form of judicial review that evaluates them “both for what was done and for what was left undone,” based on complaints that any citizen may file. Once their mandate ends, they return to being ordinary citizens, with no lingering privileges.
To be appointed, one must be a natural-born San Marino citizen and at least 25 years old — a requirement already set out in the Statutes of the 1600s — and cannot be re-elected until three years after the end of a previous term. The earliest document in which two Captains Regent appear, then called Consules, dates back to December 12th, 1243 or 1244: the condition of the parchment does not allow the exact year to be determined. They were the Consuls Filippo da Sterpeto and Oddone di Scarito. The uniqueness of this institution was one of the key factors behind San Marino’s inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2008.
October 1st is a national holiday. Today also marks the start of two other initiatives: the trial of the ICEE, the Economic Condition Indicator for Equity (Indicatore della Condizione Economica per l’Equità) introduced by Law no. 16/2026, which will run for one year. During this period, applicants for certain benefits will also need to submit an Income and Asset Declaration, although the indicator’s value will not affect eligibility or amounts granted. The day also coincides with the International Day of Older Persons, supported by the pensioners’ federations FUPS-CSdL and FNPS-CDLS.
