Echoes of the Great War, Thursday 14 September, at the Hotel Excelsior in Marina di Massa, where in the usual weekly meeting of the Rotary Club Marina di Massa Apuan Riviera of the Centenary, a conference was held to commemorate that tragic period of our national history, deepening, among others arguments, the supreme commitment of the Italian Army.
Faced with a vast audience that saw the presence of the main local institutional authorities, the undersecretary Cosimo Ferri, if the prefect Enrico Ricci and the commissioner Giuseppe Ferrari accompanied by the consorts, the judge Alessandro Pellegri of the court of Massa, the editor-in-chief of La Nazione , dr. Marzio Pelù, and the editor-in-chief of Il Tirreno, dr. Massimo Braglia, and Gianni Romanelli chairman ANA section of Massa.
Undersecretary Ferri made a plea to the evening with words of esteem and gratitude to General Panizzi and Rotary Apuano, recalling the attachment of the high official and the Club to Apuano territory. He recalled beyond the government's commitment to the celebrations of the Centenary of the Great War.
The president of the Rotary Club, dr. Andrea Mosca, stressed the importance of remembering, a hundred years later, a founding event of our homeland that saw the involvement of the whole nation and the sacrifice of so many soldiers. "Recalling - said Moscow - the lessons will be drawn that will allow, in the future, that tragedies of this magnitude do not happen again".
During his speech, the general Panizzi - Carrarese by birth and in service in Bolzano as vice commander of the Alpine troops for the territory - has developed a broad overview of the most important aspects of the Great War. After having recalled the salient phases of the conflict in Italy, in Europe and in the other fronts of the armed conflict, the lecturer deepened some of the key themes among which, mainly, the global character of the war event: "The extraordinary nature of that conflict - even remotely comparable to those of the Risorgimento and the first colonial enterprises - lies in the exceptional complexity of the political, military, economic, ideological and social factors at stake, in a context that saw the whole nation dragged into the effort. war, with more than 5 millions of mobilized and the participation of the women themselves, as Red Cross nurses, journalists at the front, workers in the war production of industries and peasants. The Centenary of the Great War It is a unique opportunity to get to know and deepen pages of military and homeland history, deeply constitutive of our being and feeling Italians".
The Great War, as represented in the 2017 Army Calendar, gave way, among other things, to a series of innovations of a cultural, social, scientific and technological nature.
In retracing the main phases of what, as already underlined, is remembered as the first "global" conflict, the speaker has deepened the role played by our Army, through the passionate story of the daily life of the soldier, the hopes and fears of the combatants , of the acts of heroism, of the enterprises that have become legend and, finally, of the deeds not only linked to the desire to survive and to return to embrace the affections, but also, genuinely, to contribute to the construction of a better nation.
In this regard, Panizzi illustrated the significance of the traveling exhibition entitled "The Great War. Faith and Value ", designed and proposed several times by the Army Chief of Staff, to commemorate the Centenary of the Conflict. "The Italian Army - he said - it truly became the Italian Army, which identified itself in it".
Panizzi enriched his intervention with a reflection on the meaning and importance of the memory of what has happened and how the study of history is necessary for "deepen with serenity and objectivity this vast and complex chapter, also to honor the memory of those many Italians who with their sacrifice have helped to build a different world, one in which we all have the good fortune to live".
The General's appeal is aimed above all to young people, who must know that "peace is not a foregone good. Preserving and defending it can have a very high cost". Hence the duty to remember those who fought, suffered and lost their lives to defend the freedom we all enjoy today. The invitation is to visit the numerous military shrines and museums in our country, real sacred places that naturally transmit emotions, values and testimonies and contain strong educational content. "The love for the homeland is learned, especially by reappropriation of our history, reading, studying, reflecting".
He ended his speech talking about today's alpine. Engaged on several fronts, the Italian Army's alpine troops have a constant and concrete service to the country: in addition to the international missions, the "Safe Roads" operation, our Black Pens have been and are engaged in the areas affected by the earthquake, the snow emergency, the remediation of residual warfare and firefighting campaigns.
A commitment, to 360 degrees of the Army military, made possible thanks to the skills acquired abroad and to the dual means and technologies, usable both in military operations and in support of the population, in line with the "White Book" of the Defense.
Once again, Rotary has shown how important it plays for the company for which it represents a fundamental cultural reference and aggregation pole, succeeding in promoting and implementing initiatives of relevance, in the spirit of service and pride of belonging, started in the distant 1905.
In the 2018 will fall the centenary of the Battle of Vittorio Veneto and the conclusion of the conflict: an appointment that the Rotary of Marina di Massa is preparing to celebrate, honoring the memory of our fallen with cultural initiatives currently under study.
President Moscow, by surprise, has awarded the illustrious APUAN with the awarding of PHF, Paul Harris Fellow, the highest honor that Rotary International grants to women and men who excel in society with their work.
Motivation:
The Centennial Rotary Club Marina of Massa Riviera Apuana is pleased to confer Rotary high honor, PHF "Paul Harris Fellow" at NH Gen. Div. MASSIMO dr. PANIZZI capable protagonist of the best military culture and excellent witness of the Italian values
14 September 2017 mass
The recognition is added to the conspicuous palmares achieved by the illustrious guest.
There was a large and interesting debate among the numerous members and guests.
