The grenadiers commemorate the Duke of Saint Peter

20/02/14

(Rome) In the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli and the Martyrs the solemn celebration by the Grenadiers of Sardinia was held on February 18, in suffrage of Don Alberto Genovese, Duke of San Pietro, benefactor of the 1 regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna ".

The solemn ceremony, attended by military and civil authorities of the city, commemorates the Sardinian patrician Don Alberto Genovese who in 1776 donated 120.000 old Piedmontese lire to the "Regiment of Sardinia" to be used for the establishment and maintenance of regimental music, for the sustenance of the widows of fallen soldiers and for the celebration of a mass in suffrage on the day of his death.

In the basilica, crowded with people, there were about 200 grenadiers in historical uniform. Among the soldiers constantly passed medical personnel to prevent any illness due to the hat and the long standing position.

The mass was celebrated by the military ordinary Monsignor Santo Marcianò. In the first rows were present the highest authorities of the army, including General Claudio Graziano, Chief of Staff of the Italian Army and Army Corps General Vincenzo Lops .The prayer of the Grenadier was read in the middle of the celebration.

At the end of the holy mass the grenadiers left the basilica carrying the flag of war and, in front of the highest authorities of the Army, they sang the Italian anthem. They then marched to the Macao of Castro Pretorio and then returned to the barracks.

Also in Lebanon, the Duke of St. Peter was remembered. The Italian contingent based on the Granatieri di Sardegna brigade, celebrated a mass in the chapel of the Millevoi base in Shama in the presence of the commander of the West Sector - Brigadier General Maurizio Riccò and the commander of ITALBATT - Colonel Claudio Caruso.

Monica Palermo