The naming ceremony of the street dedicated to Ettore Arena, a Catanzaro partisan and gold medal for military valor in memory, was held yesterday in Giovino. The deputy mayor Giusy Iemma took part in the unveiling of the plaque together with the Heads of Cabinet of the Mayor, Salvatore Bullotta, and the Prefect, Luigi Guerrieri, and the military authorities. Precious testimonies also came from the Catanzaro Federation of the Blue Ribbon Institute among fighters decorated for military valour, with the president Vincenzo Santoro, and from the territorial representatives of the ANMI (National Association of Sailors of Italy), the IPA (International Police Association) and the ANCRI (National Association of Honorees of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic) who shared the process which culminated with the dedication.
An opportunity to remember the figure of Ettore Arena, born in Catanzaro in 1923 and shot in Forte Bravetta in February 1944 after joining the clandestine resistance against Nazi-fascism. A young officer of the Royal Navy, after 8 September he took part in the partisan activities in Rome, distinguishing himself for his courage and commitment to the liberation struggle. “The dedication – commented deputy mayor Iemma – represents a symbolic act and a concrete sign of the attention that the municipal administration reserves for the historical memory of the city. In synergy with the toponymy commission, there are many initiatives aimed at valorising personalities who, with their commitment and sacrifice, have left a profound mark in the civil, cultural and democratic history of Catanzaro, so that their example can be passed on above all to the new generations”.