The Carabinieri celebrates 210 years of history by celebrating those who gave their lives wearing the uniform and remembering the commitment of all the carabinieri employed daily to guarantee the safety of citizens. The bond that unites the force with citizens is strong, thanks also to its widespread presence in the area.
The celebrations began already in the morning with the laying of a laurel wreath at the War Memorial, present inside the “Triggiani” Barracks in the historic center of Catanzaro. In the evening, however, at the San Giovanni Monumental Complex in Catanzaro, Captain Marco Colì, Commander of the armed deployment composed of the War Flag escorted by a group of Carabinieri of the 14th “Calabria” Battalion, by a platoon of Carabinieri in Grande Historical Uniform, another of Station Commanders, a third platoon made up of Carabinieri from the “Calabria” Helicopter Hunters Squadron and, finally, a mixed platoon made up of Forestry Carabinieri, soldiers from the 8th Helicopter Unit, from the 14th “Calabria” Battalion ” and of the canine units of Vibo Valentia, paid military honors to the Commander of the “Calabria” Legion, Division General Pietro Salsano, who reviewed the deployed units. Following this, the message from the President of the Republic and the agenda of the Commander General of the Army were read.
General Salsano then addressed all his Carabinieri and the guests present, greeting them warmly with a premise: “for 210 years the Carabinieri has still been here, stronger and more organized than ever, capable thanks to its flexibility gained in over two centuries of adapting to the increasingly sudden changes in the regulatory framework without however giving up its identity, based on the pillars of militarity and capillarity across the territory”.
General Salsano, in his speech, then underlined that “the Carabinieri are asked for a commitment that goes far beyond mere professional competence as they have to operate in an environmental context which, for socio-political-economic and obviously also criminal reasons, requires non common ability to listen and a lot of common sense to avoid the risk that the healthy part of the population, which represents the majority of people, may distance themselves from the institutions, also trying to educate and not just repress”.
General SALSANO highlighted the commitment of the Calabrian Army in the last three years which has not only had a repressive objective but – says the General – “also pedagogical, even if the latter is not the main function, but in a land , often forgotten in the past, deprived of the infrastructure necessary for its growth, rendered due to an image of negativity almost impervious to attracting investments, creating job opportunities and the conditions necessary for social and economic development, perhaps it is the case not think only of repressing but also try to increase the population's trust in the institutions through a holistic approach, to better understand in their complexity and entirety the mental mechanisms and causes that lead a person to take the path of crime”.
At the end of his speech, General SALSANO announced that this is his third Army Festival in Calabria and, unfortunately also the last one having been assigned to another valuable assignment in Rome, he greeted by addressing all the guests, with these words: “I am happy to have reached this level of interaction with all the institutions represented here today and I must say that, having learned to feel a little Calabrian too, I am proud to have found in the people of Calabria a very strong desire to redemption growth to remove once and for all that annoying narrative by which in Italy and outside our borders this beautiful land is referred to with a negative meaning, the generosity of the population and the fervent intellectual capacity of its inhabitants express exactly the opposite. Long live the Carabinieri, long live Calabria, long live Italy”.
During the ceremony, the highest authorities present, accompanied by General SALSANO, awarded some Carabinieri who distinguished themselves in service and, among these, a Bronze Medal of Civil Merit was granted to Lgt. Salvatore SPINELLI, because he was free from duty, on the occasion of a violent storm that had caused the landslide of a mountain ridge, rescued five people who were trapped inside a vehicle which, submerged in the mud and pushed against the barrier protection of the roadway, risked sliding into the embankment below. Clear example of chosen civic virtues and very high sense of duty.
A Solemn Commendation from the General Commander granted to Brig. Gianrocco TIEVOLI and Car. Gioacchino FAZIO, who on the occasion of the tragic shipwreck which occurred at dawn on 26 February 2023 on the Cutro beach, rescued 15 migrants.
A Solemn Commendation from the General Commander granted to Mar. Ca. Salvatore Benedetto CARRABOTTA and to App. Sc. QS Gianluigi MONTANARI for having saved an elderly woman in precarious health conditions from a house affected by fire. Event occurred in Molochio (RC) on 22 July 2023.
A Simple Commendation from the Commander of the “Calabria” Legion was delivered to Lt. Col. Dario PINI, Maj. Giovanni PISCOPO and Lgt. Raffaele LETIZIA, for the capture of a dangerous fugitive on 2 February 2023 on international territory.
A Simple Commendation from the Commander of the “Calabria” Legion was granted to the soldiers listed below for having developed a series of investigative activities which all ended with the execution of numerous precautionary measures against members of structured 'Ndrangheta cliques, as well as criminal associations dedicated to drug and weapons trafficking, extortion, as well as individuals responsible for family abuse and other serious crimes: Mar. Ca. Bruno RAIMONDI, Mar. Ca. Francesco MAIDA, Mar. Ca. Sergio Giuseppe VECCHIO, V. Brig. Riccardo PUGLIESE, V. Brig. Giuseppe BARONE, Mar. Maj. Alessandro LA PIRA, V. Brig. Giuseppe SARAÒ, Lgt. CS Marcello Leone, Lgt. Angelo RAFFAELE, Mar. Ord. Salvatore ALESSIO, Brig. Girolamo RAGONA, 5th Brig. Luca MARIANO, 5th Brig. Raffaele BATTAGLIA, App. Sc. QS Marco MOLINARO, Mar. Ord. Elio NICOSCIA, Brig. Francesco MINNITI and V. Brig. Pasquale FALCO.
A written eulogy from the Commander of the “Calabria” Legion was delivered to the “Hunters” of the “Calabria” Helicopter Squadron – Mar. Ca. Paolo PROTOPAPA, to Brig. Vitaliano TRAPASSO, to Brig. Rocco GERMANÒ and to the App. Sc. QS Michele BUCCI – for having developed numerous and effective research, observation and infiltration activities of various targets throughout the Calabrian territory, which concluded with the execution of 23 arrests, the discovery and seizure of large quantities of narcotic substances, weapons, as well as with the tracking down of a wanted man caught in a bunker.
The ceremony ended, therefore, with the rendering of military honors to the war flag of the 14th “Calabria” Carabinieri Battalion which was followed by the honors paid to the Commander of the Legion who, after greeting the deployed departments and the Authorities, left the location of the ceremony.
Afterwards, the guests were able to visit the exhibition set up by the ABAP Superintendency of Catanzaro and Crotone in the rooms of the adjacent Historical Archive, where they were able to observe a temporary exhibition of important recently restored testimonies of the Brettii, found in nearby Tiriolo (CZ) , which offer an essential cross-section of this Hellenized Italic people, expert in the art of war. Among the chosen finds there are four capitals, a helmet and some coins which aim to highlight the importance of the military virtues of the Brettii, which made them famous in the ancient world also for the strategies used in war operations, so much so that they resorted to them as mercenaries important Hellenistic rulers.
The bronze helmet from locality. Donnu Petru, although lacking the “button” apex due to an ancient restoration, belongs to a typology generally adopted by light infantry and finds iconographic confirmation precisely in the Brettian coin representation, which shows the warrior's complete armament with oval shield and spear . This type of helmet was then used from the mid-3rd century. BC, by the Roman legionaries. One of the bronze coins, whose dies were produced by a Greek artist or a Hellenized master engraver, shows the head of Zeus and the helmeted infantryman in attack.