During yesterday afternoon, in the presence of the Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of the Interior, Wanda Ferro, and the commander of the “Calabria” Carabinieri Legion, General of Division Riccardo Sciuto, the inauguration ceremony of the new headquarters of the Lazzaro Carabinieri Station was held.
The event marked the completion of an important institutional process which made it possible to transform a property confiscated from organized crime into a modern garrison of the State, intended to strengthen the security of the territory and the closeness of the Carabinieri to the citizens.
The ceremony was attended by civil, military and religious authorities, representatives of the fighting and military associations and numerous citizens. The armed deployment was made up of the Fanfare of the 10th Carabinieri Regiment “Campania”, the guard of honour, representatives of the Carabinieri Stations of the Provincial Command of Reggio Calabria and the soldiers of the Carabinieri Helicopter Squadron “Cacciatori Calabria”.
The Lazzaro Carabinieri Station has been a point of reference for the local community for over a century. The building that now houses the garrison, definitively confiscated from organized crime in 2016 and subsequently destined for the Carabinieri by the National Agency for Seized and Confiscated Assets, was recovered thanks to a project shared between the Municipality of Motta San Giovanni, the Calabria Region, the Prefecture of Reggio Calabria, the State Property Agency and the Provincial Command of the Carabinieri. The new location, located in a strategic and easily accessible area, will allow us to guarantee an even more effective presence in the area, especially during the summer period characterized by a significant increase in tourist presences.
The culminating moment of the ceremony was the speeches of the authorities
The mayor of Motta San Giovanni, Giovanni Verduci, highlighted the profound symbolic value of the work: «Today we deliver to the community a work that contains an extraordinary message: what crime had stolen is returned to citizens in the form of legality, safety and service. This structure is the result of exemplary institutional collaboration and represents a concrete signal of trust towards our territory. The presence of the Carabinieri constitutes an indispensable safeguard for the civil and social growth of our community.”
The Commander of the Carabinieri Legion “Calabria”, Division General Riccardo Sciuto, underlined how the new headquarters represents an important investment in favor of the territory and the local community, highlighting the profound significance that the Carabinieri Stations have in the history and identity of the Institution. He recalled how the Army, founded in 1814 with just over a hundred stations, has built over time a unique and inseparable bond with the national territory, based on proximity to citizens and widespread presence in communities. The General remarked that Carabinieri Stations have always been one of the most concrete expressions of the State’s presence, places where operational efficiency is combined with human sensitivity and the ability to listen and understand people’s needs. In this context, the new Lazzaro barracks takes on a value that goes beyond the infrastructural aspect, representing the symbol of a State that invests in security and legality and that returns to the community an asset stolen from organized crime.
In his speech, the president of the Regional Council of Calabria, Salvatore Cirillo, expressed heartfelt thanks to the women and men of the Army for the precious service carried out daily to protect the communities. «The inauguration of the new Carabinieri station in Lazzaro – he added – represents a celebration for the whole of Calabria. The fact that this garrison is located within an asset confiscated from organized crime makes the message even stronger: a place once a symbol of the power of the ‘Ndrangheta today becomes the home of the State, of security and trust. It is concrete demonstration that legality can win when the judiciary, law enforcement and institutions work together. A special thought goes to young people: every barracks that opens is also a place that teaches respect for the rules, a sense of duty and service to the community.”
The ceremony was concluded by the Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of the Interior, the Honorable Wanda Ferro: «Each new barracks represents an investment in security, but also in trust between citizens and institutions. In this case its meaning is even deeper, because it arises from the reconversion of a property confiscated from organized crime. It is the concrete sign of a State that does not limit itself to taking assets away from the mafias, but returns them to communities in the form of services, safeguards of legality and places at the service of citizens. From today, Lazzaro has a modern and functional structure that strengthens the presence of the force in the area and offers citizens an even closer point of reference, capable of combining safety, listening and service.»
The ceremony concluded with a concert by the Fanfare of the 10th Carabinieri Regiment “Campania”, which gave those present a moment of great participation and involvement. The notes of the historic musical formation of the force sealed a day with a strong symbolic value, celebrating the return to the community of an asset stolen from organized crime and the birth of a new legality system destined to serve the territory and its citizens for future generations.