The Minister of Defense Hon. Roberta Pinotti accompanied by Undersecretary of State Domenico Rossi, by the Chief of Defense Staff, gen. Claudio Graziano, by the Army Chief of Staff gen. ca Danilo Errico, in the presence of the curator of the exhibition, Dr. Dal Forno, of the main civil and military authorities of Rome, inaugurated at the Historical Museum of the Infantry in Piazza S. Croce in Gerusalemme the exhibition on the Great War entitled “Bulletin 1268. paper border ".
The Army, on the occasion of the centenary of the Great War, wanted to create a commemorative exhibition that represents the conflict starting from its protagonists, that is, the many men who, even not being devoted to arms, held up their rifle to fight on the front, in response to the country's appeal.
A tribute to the soldier, to the farmer, to the worker, thrown into the trenches hundreds of kilometers from their families, as well as to women with a basket at the front or those who replaced men in factories.
The victory bulletin, the 1268 number, sanctioned the end of the war and was taken as the emblem of the exhibition, as a reminder of the moment when all of Italy united and moved around its flag, looking at peace as if a huge conquest.
Minister Pinotti, answering journalists' questions, emphasized "the use of force is not a desire of the military, but sometimes a necessity - the Italian military has learned from the history of the Great War that strength is the last element to be used and they are the first to be aware of the importance of dialogue between peoples ".
“This exhibition - underlined General Graziano - illustrates a past world in many aspects, but which still reverberates in our lives today. A world in which the peace we know, thanks to the overcoming of the sense of opposition, also derives from the blood of the trenches, shed by our soldiers in many places. This story is essential because the memory must not go out, all these stories must remain in our hearts and this historical itinerary gives us the opportunity to explain what we are today. A great country, a great people who have a great spirit of solidarity, but also pride in being Italian and in loving the homeland ".
The Chief of Staff of the Army, gen. ca Danilo Errico, highlighted how "with this exhibition, the Italian Army has chosen to consolidate that ideal continuity of values that unite not only the Italian soldiers of every generation, but an entire people who, in the First World War, discovered the sense of unity and the nation ”.
The route of the exhibition is articulated on several levels of understanding through a differentiated treatment of the topics and issues related to the conflict, in order to better involve all visitors.
The following paths are provided:
- tactile, which allows the public to handle some memorabilia (helmets, parts of equipment);
- multimedia, with references to other collections and / or documents belonging to Italian historical archives;
- experiential, through the reconstruction of a trench equipped with audio-visual systems to favor the identification of the visitor in the historical moment represented.
The exhibition is divided into 20 exhibition halls, with 1 bookshop, 122 didactic panels, 120 memorabilia, 17 display platforms, 30 display cases, 8 mannequins with uniforms or period clothes, 1 trench (1 scale: 1) with 5 x covered surface 6 mt., 3 video screens, 2 touch-screen.
The exhibition, which is sponsored by Roma Capitale, the Lazio Region, the University of Rome "Tor Vergata", the Institute for Cultural and Natural Artistic Heritage of the Emilia Romagna Region and the Autonomous Province of Trento, will be opened from 10 September 2015 to 4 November 2018, with the following times:
- from Tuesday to Friday from 09: 30 to 12: 30 and from 15: 30 to 19: 00;
- Saturday and last Sunday of the month from 09: 30 to 12: 30;
- Monday closing week.
Admission is free.
