In the vicinity of the SS Maria del Tindari Sanctuary, in an area located within the “Laghetti di Marinello” Oriented Nature Reserve, already devastated in 2023 by a massive fire, 250 plants were grafted, donated to the Guardia di Finanza by the Forestry Corps of the Sicilian Region – Departmental Inspectorate of Messina, after a careful selection of flora belonging to the so-called Mediterranean scrub, respecting the territorial typicality.
The important “green” initiative, a tangible symbol of the closeness of the Corps to the citizens, in addition to confirming the attention towards environmental protection, is among the initiatives that the Provincial Command of Messina has launched, at a local level, on the occasion of the 250th Anniversary of the Foundation of the Financial Police.
The tree, therefore, not only as a tool that nature has made available to us to intervene in climate change, improving our health and the general quality of life, but also a symbol and expression of the memory of the past. The sober ceremony took place in the presence of HE the Prefect of Messina, Cosima Di Staniof the Regional Commander of Sicily, Division General Cosimo Di Gesù, of the Provincial Commander of Messina, Colonel Gerardo Mastrodomenico, of the Mayor of Patti, Dr. Gianluca Bonsignore, of the delegates of the Bishop of Patti and the other provincial authorities.
The event began with a greeting addressed to those present by the Provincial Commander of the Guardia di Finanza of Messina, Colonel Gerardo Mastrodomenico, during which he highlighted, among other things, the commitment made by the Corps to protecting the environment, witnessed by the various service operations conducted by the Departments throughout the Peloritana province, concerning the seizure of several illegal landfills and as many non-functioning purifiers.
In fact, the Guardia di Finanza is entrusted with a competitive function in the prevention and combating of environmental crimes, both on land and in the marine environment. As a corollary of the initiative, after the symbolic planting of the last two plants, by HE the Prefect of Messina and the Sicily Regional Commander of the Guardia di Finanza, there followed a moment of contemplation presided over by the Vicar General of the Bishop of Patti, Don Basilio Rinaudo who, together with the rector of the Tindari sanctuary, Father Giuseppe Gagliowith the help of the Military Chaplain of the Guardia di Finanza, Don Antonino Pozzothey imparted the solemn blessing of the land on which the 250 tree essences were planted, concluding the ceremony with the reading of the “Financier's Prayer”.
The initiative, a concrete testimony of the commitment and ecological sensitivity of the Corps in favor of the Peloritano territory, unfortunately too often the victim of devastating forest fires, represented an extraordinary opportunity to enhance the founding values of the Institution and underline the importance of its historical roots.