Italy (Brussels Morning) Friday, February 9, was commemorated with two ceremonies organized by the Prefecture of Messina in agreement with the Municipal Administration, the first in Piazza Martiri delle Foibe followed by a second ceremony at the Palazzo del Governo della Città.
At the Crocifera Votive Column in Piazza Martiri delle Foibe, the traditional laying of a laurel wreath donated by the Administration took place in memory of the victims of the foibe and the Julian-Dalmatian exodus. At the commemorative event, organized by the Municipality of Messina in collaboration with the National Association of Relatives and Deported in Yugoslavia, attended by the City Gonfalon, were present the prefect of Messina Cosima Di Stani; Councilor for Cultural Policies Enzo Caruso on behalf of Mayor Federico Basile; S.E.R. Monsignor Cesare Di Pietro; the president of the V district Raffaele Verso; civil and military authorities; and the president Maria Cacciola Briguglio of the National Association of Relatives of Italian Deportees in Yugoslavia (A.N.C.D.J) – Provincial Committee Messina.
The ceremony, which began with the notes of the prescribed silence played by the trumpeter of the Musical Band of the Aosta Mechanized Brigade, continued with the reading of the greeting from the Association and the recitation of a prayer in memory of the victims by president Cacciola and the blessing imparted by auxiliary bishop mons. Di Pietro.
The event takes place annually in the square of the Martiri delle Foibe, so named since 2008 on the proposal of the Committee 10 February and the V Municipality, where a plaque restored for the occasion by the students of the multimedia artistic course of the Seguenza high school is placed, and represents a moment to remember the Martiri delle Foibe and the Istrian, Fiuman, and Dalmatian exiles, to promote the enhancement of the cultural, historical, literary, and artistic heritage of the Italians of Istria, Fiume, and the Dalmatian coasts and preserve the traditions of the Istrian-Dalmatian communities, residing in the national territory and abroad.
Following this, the Day of Remembrance was commemorated with the initiative held at the Prefecture, attended by Mayor Basile, civil, military, and religious authorities, and delegations of students from local schools, where the ceremony of awarding a Medal of Honor to a relative of a foible victim residing in the municipality of Messina took place, with speeches by the Prefect and the Mayor and testimony by president Cacciola. The ceremony concluded with the notes of “Va, pensiero” by Giuseppe Verdi, performed by the choir directed by Maestro Nazareno De Benedetto. The event was also an opportunity to inaugurate an exhibition dedicated to the Day of Remembrance curated by President A.N.C.D.J. Cacciola.
The exhibition at the Prefecture will then be transferred to the atrium of Palazzo Zanca, starting on Monday, February 12, and will be available until Saturday, February 14, to preserve and renew the memory of the tragedy of the Italians and all the victims of the foible, the exodus of the Istrian, Fiuman, and Dalmatian people from their lands in the post-war period, and the more complex issue of the eastern border.
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