The ceremony for the delivery of the “fez” to the new 102 VFI who were assigned to the bersaglieri specialty after having passed the 15th year took place at the Infantry School. training module for the bersaglieri specialty (MASB).
The Infantry School is the body of the Italian Army responsible for the basic and specialized training of personnel belonging to the various specialties of the infantry force, and to the specialized units of the Defense.
The MASB, which lasted four weeks, provided the young VFIs with the tools necessary to reach the physical and training standards that characterize members of the specialty in order to be employed in one of the Bersaglieri regiments and offered them a challenge to face with determination and willpower that, in the space of a month, transformed them from infantry riflemen to infantry bersaglieres, giving them a specificity and a sense of belonging to be proud of for life.
The commander of the Infantry school, Brigadier General Eugenio Dessì, underlined the importance of the values, traditions and history of the Bersaglieri and the spirit that characterizes the members of this glorious specialty.
The “fez”, crimson with a blue cord and tassel, also called “ricciolina”, made its appearance during the Crimean War of 1855, before national unity, in the battle of the Chernaya during which the Zouaves, select units of the French expeditionary force, seeing how fervently the Piedmontese sharpshooters had fought, gave them this characteristic headdress, as a sign of respect, admiration and recognition of the value expressed by the Piedmontese troops on the battlefield.
The delivery of the "fez" to the riflemen, in which theNational Bersaglieri Association, with the presence of the national president, gen. ca aus. Giuseppenicola Tota, fully sanctions the entry into the ranks of the heavy infantry units of the Italian Army and delivers a distinctive and exclusive trait that will remain engraved in the memory of the young volunteers to whom it is delivered as a symbol of success.
