This morning, in Brindisi, at the National Monument to the "Sailor of Italy", the Navy, through a solemn ceremony, wanted to remember and commemorate the sacrifice of all the sailors, civilians and soldiers, who sacrificed their lives in service of the Fatherland, making the sea their shrine.
Before the political, military and religious authorities, a young officer began the ceremony, reading the reasons for this important commemoration, which falls on the 9 in September each year. A given symbol, chosen because it recalls the tragedy of the sinking of the battleship Roma and of the destroyers DeNoli e Vivaldi which took place on 9 September 1943 in the aftermath of the armistice, off the coast of Sardinia and during which almost 1700 sailors lost their lives, including the commander of the battleship Roma, captain of vessel Adone Del Cima and the commander of the Naval Battle Forces of the Royal Navy, Admiral Carlo Bergamini.
The ceremony, attended by the Undersecretary of State for Defense, Honorable Domenico Rossi, accompanied by the Chief of Staff of the Navy, team admiral Walter Girardelli, saw the participation of local civil and military authorities, representatives of the armed force and former associations combatants.
Admiral Girardelli, in remembering the sailors who disappeared at sea: "Today we celebrate the Day of Remembrance of the Sailors who disappeared at sea, which recalls deep meanings and intense emotions for those who live their profession in the sea and for those who, in the sea, weeps for his own fallen. Paying them our respectful homage is a dutiful and just act. In our thoughts we remember them all, without distinction of rank, age, deed and status, who disappeared in times of war or peace and who have offered his life at the sea to safeguard the collective interest. We have a debt of gratitude towards them that can never be extinguished ".
Among the most significant moments of the ceremony, the lighting of the votive altar by a sailor, thehymn of the Piave sung by the naval garrison fanfare, the deposition of the laurel wreath, blessed by the military ordinary and the statements of the authorities that highlighted the importance of the ceremony, through which the memory of the many sailors who sacrificed the their life for the country.
