74 years have passed since the battle of Filottrano, but those paratroopers of the division nimbus, who died to save the civilian population closed between the anvil of the Germans and the hammer of the allies, the presence of those boys was perceived during the commemoration, on 7 July, organized as every year by the National Association of Italian Paratroopers Anpd 'I of Ancona and from the municipality of the town in the Marche. They all seemed to be there, replying "Present!" every time they were evoked, maybe - who knows ... - between a smile and a goliardic joke typical of the para.
Filottrano does not forget his "boys" of Nembo and that memory is not a mere institutional duty, but is felt, participated, moved, grateful.
Among the direct testimonies reported by the historian Giovanni Santarelli (who is also the curator of the museum dedicated to those events, which should be visited for accuracy and research in the field), in the book "The Battle of Filottrano", there is that of Danilo Borsini, who was a kid at the time. He was evacuated with his family at 3 kilometers from Filottrano, and he saw the men coming out of the hill. It was the 7 July of the 1944. Those men were paratroops. Suddenly one of them "he made a strange request: he wanted what was necessary to shave ...", He says. The paratrooper took a wooden box, the kind that the peasants used during the harvest, turned it upside down and began to shave, singing under his breath. The young man looked at him. "Suddenly I asked him: Why do you shave? And he, without regrets: to go to die! ...". After shaving, he reached his companions in the direction of Filottrano. In the evening, the news came that four paratroops had been killed. Among these was that soldier: it was Felice Chinetti, sergeant major of the 183 regiment nimbus, XV battalion, 44a company. He knew he was going to meet death, he had wanted to go in order, with that serenity of one who accepts his destiny, when the ideal is high, when you know that your sacrifice will not be useless, because you will save others from lives. For this Filottrano gratefully remembers those guys.
Ten days, from June 30 to July 9, 1944: the house-to-house fighting lasted to drive out the Germans during their "hard retreat" who fired on anything that moved. And that resisted, perched inside the castle of Centofinestre that dominated the hill and then in the monastery of Santa Chiara and in the hospital, of which they had occupied the east wing by placing machine guns at the windows. To eliminate them definitively, the allies had decided to bomb and raze Filottrano: this would have meant the death of many innocent civilians, who were already innocent victims for the suffering caused by the war. Their deaths would have been "side effects" for the allies, but not for the paratroopers of the nimbus and for their commander Giorgio Morigi, of the Italian Liberation Corps, who opposed the madness of the project. And they fought together with the Polish Corps soldiers. The Germans eventually left, but the price paid with blood was very high: the only fallen Italian soldiers were 135, not counting the Poles and the civilian victims.
The 7 July was a day dedicated to them, with the ceremonies started in the morning in Sforzacosta, whose liberation opened the way for Filottrano, in front of the names of the fallen 24s as they advanced along the river. And after the deposition of the laurel wreaths, the aviolanci by the military and civilians could not be missing, opened by Fausto Corvini and concluded by the Ancona dell'Anpd'I president, Marco Andreani. The aviolanci, with a tie rope and free fall, then continued in Filottrano, where in the afternoon the ceremony began with the flag-raising ceremony, in Piazza Cavour, on the historic tower of the aqueduct. The procession with the various labors then marched through the streets of the town, with stops at the monuments of the fallen of all wars and civilian shots, with the highlight of the laurel wreath, the flowers and the guard of honor to the sculpture that recalls the boys of the nimbus, in front of the hospital. And then again in Piazza Cavour, for the final speeches and the liturgical celebration.
With the first citizen of Filottrano Lauretta Giulioni there were colleagues from the neighboring municipalities, first of Poggio Rusco, with whom the Marche city is twinned. There was the national association nimbus, associations of paratroopers from France and Belgium and, among the military authorities, the commanders of the 185 ° RAO parachute regiment col. Alessandro Grassano, of the 185 ° Parachute Artillery Regiment “Folgore” col. Ettore Gagliardi, who donated the uniform of the general paratrooper gunner Antonino Giampietro and the commander of the 183rd parachute regiment to the museum of the battle of Filottrano nimbus, with the. Mariano Bianchi. The Polish consul sent a greeting.
Among the peculiarities of the paratroopers is that of the brotherhood in arms that becomes almost blood, in a space-time continuity in which no one is forgotten, ever, least of all the fallen. The aviolanci, then, take on an added value, that of dedication, which has the power to bind yesterday's paras with those of today, a thread of memory and sharing. And since we are dealing with paratroopers, the excitement is joined by the healthy joy of a descent by expert people who give you a magnificent show.
Because that wing that at first you only glimpse after the roar of the plane, a dot in the sky that maybe comes out of a cloud, slowly descends and colors the horizon. Thus, the day ended with other tcl launches on a shared lawn with sunflowers and, last but not least, the formation of the canopy relative work of Ancona dell'Anpd'I president Marco Andreani with Renzo Carlini, experienced instructor. The technique, one on the shoulders of the other, is beautiful to see but objectively difficult to perform, you must be extremely experienced and have a large dose of mutual trust. At the end of the launches, the world champion of the Army, col. to Paolo Filippini fell with a flag of 180 square meters "kindly lent by Asd Parachuting Belluno".
Filottrano was the most important event in preparation for the great battle for Ancona and its port. The Germans were retreating towards the Gothic line and defending the accesses to northern Italy, with the idea of preventing them from coming to fight at home. The allies had retired to Montecassino, were going back with difficulty and had to supply urgently the armies stopped in Naples, Taranto, Bari. They had needs for further outlets on the sea, then the ports of Livorno on the Tyrrhenian and Ancona for the Adriatic.
The battle of Filottrano should be studied at school, seriously, underlining its value. And not only because from here the allies arrived in Ancona and the fate of the war began to take a definitive turn. But above all because these guys, sacrificing their lives and without a moment's hesitation, sparing the population other suffering, while helping to expel the Nazis from Italy, have shown what it means to love one's country. They are an example to be proud of.
Love, when it is true, is what it offers and offers, without asking anything, whether it is a relationship or an ideal. In the sacrifice of these boys there is love for the homeland, for the defenseless people and for the honor: they are not distinct things, rather they are the same wonderful song declined to more voices. In addition to that pride of wearing that uniform and that Amaranth Basque, the pride of being called nimbus and try to be worthy of it, yesterday as today.
After all, if they have as their motto "... and by heart!", There will be a reason.
(photo: author / web)
