On Saturday 18 September the opening of the exhibition at Villa Bonci in Loreto, located within the SLE and Scuola Perfezionamento Sott.li
Among the authorities present were Senator Salvatore Piscitelli, who inaugurated the exhibition with the traditional ribbon-cutting ceremony, the Mayor of Loreto, Dr. Paolo Niccoletti, and the Bishop of Loreto and Pontifical Delegate, Monsignor Giovanni Tonucci.
For the event, more than two hundred former “Baracchini” arrived from various parts of Italy, including the Marche region; these were the students of the ‘Francesco Baracca’ Institute in Loreto, the headquarters of the National Organization of the Sons of Aviators (ONFA); the meritorious moral organization that from 1930 until the eighties carried out its assistance activities ‘in-house’, in the Marian city, in favor of the orphans of the aviators, before the definitive transfer to Cadimare (La Spezia). The occasion for the opening of the exhibition coincided with the traditional gathering of former students who, through the activity of their Club, chaired by Dr. Francesco Meacci, arrived at the thirty-fifth edition of the periodical meeting. This time in Loreto, after 80 years since the first establishment of the organization ‘on the highest of the Lauretan hills’, in the presence, among others, of the President of the ONFA, Air Force General (r.) Piergiorgio Crucioli.
Thus, a piece of Marche history is being told through the 90 years documented by the photographic exhibition; but even more so, it is an initiative that presents itself to the territory in the spirit of the Air Force’s devotion to Our Lady of Loreto, its heavenly Patron since March 24, 1920 with a decree of the then Pope Benedict XV. In the year when the 90th anniversary of the proclamation of the Holy Patron is being celebrated, the initiative, as recalled by Colonel Mauro Sabbione, Commander of the Loreto Institutes, represents an opportunity for integration and collaboration between the Air Force and the most important public and private entities of the Marche region, highlighting the synergy, the enthusiasm of the private entrepreneurs, and the substantial contribution of the most representative institutions of the city have made it possible to realize the event in a very short time. The exhibition represents a journey through time within the walls of Villa Bonci, which was primarily used by children and young people from families of the Italian Air Force. The historical photographs on display will allow visitors to relive events and moments from the life of the city of Loreto and the Italian Air Force in the Marche region. Villa Bonci, an example of Liberty style, is another exhibition space available for future events in the Marche region. The exhibition will be open to the public and can be visited upon reservation at the following numbers: 071.750692012-2016-2018-2028 – e-mail:
aerolingue@aeronautica.difesa.it.
