The swearing-in ceremony of the officer cadets of the 206th “Dignity” course took place in Modena, at the prestigious Military Academy.
Among the institutional interventions, that of the general commander of the Carabinieri, general of the army corps Luciano Luongo, who, addressing the cadets, wanted to convey a message of trust, awareness and responsibility, underlining the need to face the complex scenario that awaits them with determination and vision.
He urged to do not stop at the certainties of the past, but develop a dynamic, open mindset capable of guiding and understanding change rather than undergoing it.
A warning that recalls the story of another Army officer, Major Francesco Baracca, an ace pilot in the First World War and a symbol of courage and innovation. His plane featured a prancing horse, an emblem of his courage in battle. After his death, his parents donated that symbol to Enzo Ferrari, who adopted it as the emblem of his team, transforming it into a global icon of excellence and speed.
Francesco Baracca's personal emblem, which he had painted on the sides of his aircraft, was the famous prancing horse, whose original color remains shrouded in mystery. According to some clues, the horse was initially red, taken by inversion from the coat of arms of the 2nd "Piemonte Reale Cavalleria" regiment. Baracca, in fact, had attended the cavalry school in Pinerolo between 1909 and 1910 at this prestigious unit of the Italian army, whose coat of arms featured a silver prancing horse on a red field, with its tail lowered. Baracca decided to adopt it, slightly modifying it, as a personal emblem, to assert his military origins and his passion for horses.
The prancing horse did not immediately appear on the first aircraft of the Italian ace, but was adopted in 1917, with the formation of the 91sta squadron of fighter planes. Baracca decided to change its color from silver to black, to make it stand out on the fuselage of the fighters Nieuport 17 and SPAD. The legend of the prancing horse is then linked to the birth of Ferrari. On 16 June 1923, Enzo Ferrari won the first Circuito del Savio with an Alfa Romeo RL-Targa Florio. On that occasion, he had the opportunity to meet again with Count Enrico Baracca, father of the fallen driver. Shortly after, Francesco's mother, Countess Paolina Biancoli, suggested that he adopt the prancing horse as a symbol on his cars, telling him that it would bring him luck. Ferrari accepted the suggestion and chose to keep the black horse, adding the canary yellow background, in homage to his hometown, Modena.
Thus, just as the Prancing Horse has become the symbol of a successful evolution in the world of motors, the young officers who have sworn allegiance to the Republic are called to embody that same spirit with determination, adaptability and the ability to face challenges with courage. A legacy that links the past and the future, from the tradition of the Military Academy to the modernity of the Force and the entire Italian Army.
Photo. Italian Army / web
