There are places in Italy whose existence serves to emphasize our identity, our history and, if anything, to awaken in each of us the national pride now plundered by the historical disownment operated by a political class enemy of books. Mountains, paths, rocks and rivers sacred to the Homeland are there to freshen up the memory of a past time that, although it has left only the shadow of a memory, relives in all those people who prefer not to forget and who have made of their passion one lifestyle. So, traveling through small villages and mountain villages of Triveneto we can understand how Italy has its roots on the sacrifice of a few visionaries who consecrated life for an idea, not too precise, of the nation.
The North-East is the corner of land where Italy really became, a region where the word boundary takes on a different meaning than other parts of the Peninsula. In fact, Veneto, Trentino and Friuli Venezia Giulia safeguard the most dramatic stories of a conflict that has given us, at high price, an important victory, all Italian.
Exit from Caporetto
The 24 October 1917 the Hapsburg Eagle of the Hapsburgs seemed to have stuck its claws on Eastern Italy, beating the infantry regia dazed by the lightning advance of the Central Empires. The retreat of Caporetto marked - in an unfair way - the Italian military history, provoking a sort of "negative memory" on the real capabilities of our army. Not surprisingly, the word "Caporetto" has now entered the common language to indicate a scorching and infamous defeat, albeit valuable historians (Paolo Gaspari (in primis)) have shown that the Italian withdrawal was anything but shameful.
It was the Italian infantrymen who distanced themselves from this undeserved fame, who suffered Austrian firmness, but above all the incompetence of the High Command: in spite of the cowardice they were accused of, the infantry, moved by despair alone, he countered the enemy offensive by blocking it on the Piave line. After the heel of Caporetto, the Royal Army was capable of an extraordinary rebirth: without stopping, the same military directive - commanded by General Armando Diaz - prepared a brilliant counter-offensive that drove the Austrians back to their starting lines. And the victory was.
Among the lines of this wonderful story, made of courage and determination, stood out the deeds of the most prestigious departments of our army: born at the end of the 1917 in Sdricca di Manzano, their fate was to gather around if handfuls of volunteers (not all of them) ready to collect and bathe the tricolor banner with their own blood. This, in a nutshell, is the essence of the departments of Arditi, whose memory was the center of the celebrations of the Centenary of the Battle of the Solstice fought on Col Moschin, Col Fenilon, Asolone and Col Fagheron.
Today the darers crave justice, deserving a correct and definitive temporal position that differentiates them, once and for all, from fascist political militias. The Black Flames they are daughters of the First World War, progeny of a noble soul that refused the de facto state, fleeing from the passive death between mud and rats of the trench. The Black Flames of Messe, together with all the other assault departments, were the explosive charge that spurred the infantry to react following them with their heads down. Sweater with turtleneck, jacket on which stood two black badges, pants alpina and a dagger in the belt: enough to jump out of the trenches, without delay, together with the brothers meet the enemy to flush him out of his shelters, attacking him without mercy.
What do these fearless ones have to do with the fascist party? Nothing, if not for the sinister opportunism of Mussolini who borrowed the symbolism and channeled his anger for a disappointed victory mounted and following the best practices from its propaganda. What happened to the value and their tactical skill when the Second World War broke out? Little or nothing, since the same Duce who had exploited the image handed over their noble traditions in the hands of inept political militiamen.
Celebrations like the one of the Centenary of the Battle of the Solstice help to clarify: well understood only for those who want to listen to the truth, the rest is just a nonsense parrot.
Every year at the end of June, the heirs of Scianna, Zancanaro and Picaglia, the raiders of the 9 ° Assault regiment, have a fixed appointment with the past, to celebrate their ancestors. Finding yourself on the Sacro Colle is a custom that lasts from the 1998, exactly 10 years ago, to celebrate the 1918 war events: the former of the ANIE, together with the regiment, surround the granite column on which - in the 1992 - a tombstone with the frieze of the Ninth.
An Italian party
Moments like those of the "Col Moschin" do not symbolize a mere historical re-enactment, but remind us of a victory for Italians in defense of the homeland soil. These are words that today sound empty and in fact a distant and vulgar politics has deprived of value, even canceled, commemorations like this. Yet, year after year, a handful similar to that of Messe meets before the granitic column of the Sacred Hill, clutching shoulder to shoulder as a bulwark against the ignorance that criticizes and mocks those who still believe in it. A group of "scavezzacollo" who gave the best years of their lives in the service of the nation: is this pure rhetoric? Probably it is, also because many who served in the Ninth regiment did it because they wanted it, because they liked it and above all because it represented a challenge with themselves. The raider loves what he does, putting himself at stake for a common purpose and for values that he shares with his brothers in arms: this, we know, is not for everyone.
The Hill is a temple of memory, also proven by the proximity and the sympathy that the local population (Pove of Grappa, Solagna, Bassano del Grappa and many others) shows every year at the arrival of the boys of the regiment. Besides the Ninth, the ANIE and the institutions, there are also certain "non-institutional" certainties that preserve the memory through time, just like Luciano Favero and his precious "Roberto Favero Museum 1915-18"(Dedicated to his brother, also a hunter of finds). It is a corner full of memorabilia located inside the Albergo San Giovanni: in the rich showcases are jealously kept the objects of the bold, medals of value, Enrico Picaglia and Angelo Zancanaro. Despite this year the occasion of the Centenary has scattered the demonstrations in other municipalities, the official meeting of the Arditi is always in the inn of Luciano, a few steps from the hill. Massimiliano Ursini is also among the most important presences of the "daring" ceremony. deus ex machina of the FNAI (National Arditi Federation) which, although not recognized by the Army (and frankly we do not understand why), has merits to be sold in the historical / military field.
The Centenary has attracted people from all over the peninsula, different labs of the Weapons Associations, but also many fans who received a pleasant surprise. This year, in fact, something extraordinary happened: in the middle of the sea of uniforms and soft gray-green colors, a blue overalls worn by Paolo Nespoli emerged, who, as a good raider, did not miss the opportunity to visit the Sacro Colle and meet many of his former colleagues. Landlords were the commander of the Ninth, Colonel Giuliano Angelucci and the president ANIE colonel Angelo Passafiume accompanied by the commander of COMFOSE, General Ivan Caruso and veterans commander Franco Angioni, Franco Monticone and Marco Bertolini (president ANPd'I). Another new feature this year was the double "launch" of paratroopers: the first composed of ANIE personnel, masterfully managed by the parachute champion lieutenant colonel Piero Tanda, while the second boarding by Nono instructors complete with operational equipment .
The initial flag-raising ceremony was an important moment because the Austrian, Italian and Hungarian flags were waving in the blue sky of the Colli Alti: a sign of unique respect, customary only on the battlefields, when there were two battles to contend with. fighters of equal courage. Is it perhaps around events like this that we can build the true "Europeanist" meaning?
In a particularly dark moment in our history, where impromptu politicians rush into meaningless sentences, enacting measures lacking a minimum of documented culture or reasoning, days like Col Moschin make us realize that the time has come to get back to the history books , the only way left to understand and live, or rather survive, in this country now devoid of memory.
(author / web photo)
