History of Italy May") and the Constitutional Referendum that abolished the monarchy; De Gasperi briefly became acting Head of State as well as Prime Minister on 18 June 1946, but ceded the former role to Provisional President Enrico de Nicola ten days later. The aftermath of World War II left Italy with a destroyed economy and a divided society. Following Victor Emmanuel III's abdication, his son, the new king Umberto II, was pressured by the threat of another civil war to call a Constitutional Referendum to decide whether Italy should remain a monarchy or become a republic. On 2 June 1946, the republican
King of the Carnival "Zombies of the Stratosphere", filming period of all Republic serials. The serial's production number was 1800. Republic liked calling their heroes "King" in order to use the title "King of..." The studio had found success with this naming scheme following the adaptation of Zane Grey's "King of the Royal Mounted". Special effects created by the Howard and Theodore Lydecker. "King of the Carnival"'s official release date is 27 June 1955, although this is actually the date the sixth chapter was made available to film exchanges. This was the last new serial released by Republic. However the studio continued with a