Twenty years ago, a government decree published in Italy’s Gazzetta Ufficiale officially brought an end to compulsory military service. The measure allowed active-duty personnel to apply for early discharge, marking the final step in a gradual process that had started several years earlier. From that moment on, Italy joined many other countries around the world in transitioning to a fully professional military made up of voluntary recruits.

Mandatory military service—formally known as “conscription”—required most adult male citizens to spend a designated period (which varied over time) undergoing basic military training. It had already been in place in several pre-unification states, such as the Kingdom of Sardinia since 1854, but following the unification of Italy in 1861, it was slowly extended throughout the new nation.