Keeping the memory of the past alive to further strengthen our democratic values On Thursday 15 February, in the Aula Magna of the Institute of Military Aeronautical Sciences in Florence, the Military Aeronautical School commemorated the day dedicated to the memory of the victims of the “foibe” massacres in Venezia Giulia and Istria and the exodus of over 300,000 Italians at the end of the Second World War and in the post-war period. To mark this occasion, the School organised, as it does every year, a historical and cultural conference attended by numerous students from schools in Florence and Tuscany, as well as a delegation of Carabinieri from the School for Marshals and Brigadiers in Florence. Colonel Prisco Antonio Monaco, Commander and Headmaster of the “Giulio Douhet” School, after welcoming the guests, opened the conference by giving the floor to a number of final-year cadets, who provided a historical context for the dramatic events and analysed the socio-cultural causes that fuelled the hatred underlying the violence. This was followed by a presentation by Dr Lucia Bellaspiga, a journalist and historical researcher dedicated to studying and disseminating the historical memory of the tragedy – a commitment for which she has received numerous awards. Dr Bellaspiga, a second-generation exile and an expert on the events, captured the attention of those present with her talk, which was rich in insights and powerful content drawn from interviews with exiles. The journalist’s participation aroused considerable interest among the young participants, as evidenced by the numerous queries and questions to which she responded, whilst also recounting the experiences passed down by her own parents and grandparents. The conference concluded with testimonies from several exiles, including the grandmother of one pupil, who chose to send her contribution in the form of an audio recording, and Mr Claudio Bronzin, an eyewitness to the notorious Vergarolla massacre, an incident in which at least 100 Italians lost their lives, including some members of his family. The Day of Remembrance is an Italian national civil holiday established by Law No. 92 of 30 March 2004 to preserve and renew “the memory of the tragedy suffered by Italians and of all the victims of the foibe, of the exodus from their lands of the Istrians, Fiumani and Dalmatians in the aftermath of the Second World War, and of the more complex events concerning the eastern border”. The “Giulio Douhet” Air Force Military School, inaugurated in 2006, is a secondary school offering the final three years of secondary education in the classical and scientific streams, with admission via a public competitive examination. The aim of the school is to foster the balanced development of its pupils in human, cultural, moral, physical and character terms, so that they acquire the necessary skills to become good citizens and face the challenges of tomorrow, regardless of each pupil’s future life choices.
