On Tuesday 24 May, the formal ceremony took place at Palazzo Aeronautica in Rome, in the presence of the Chief of Staff, Gen. S.A. Giuseppe Bernardis. The ceremony was attended by all Air Force General Officers and their equivalents, as well as a delegation of Wing Commanders and the respective Chairmen of the Non-Commissioned Officers“ Councils. General Bernardis, upon handing the flag to the standard-bearer, declared: ”Officers, this banner, though worn from service to the Fatherland, has been made sacred by our oath and will be preserved in this hall.“ And, upon receiving the new one, he said: ”…but our flag remains unchanged and will be kept amongst us; we shall continue to defend it valiantly in all circumstances.“ The War Flag was then blessed by the Episcopal Vicar for the Air Force, Father Giorgio Nencini. In his brief address, the Chief of the General Staff of the Italian Air Force, whilst highlighting the presence of the General Officers as witnesses to the Armed Forces” operational activities, drew attention to the Italian Air Force’s current commitment to missions beyond national borders. The War Flag was presented to the Royal Air Force on 4 November 1923, the fifth anniversary of the victory, and handed over to its first Commander-in-Chief, the flying ace and Gold Medal recipient Pier Ruggero Piccio. That flag, which inherited the traditions and decorations of those granted for use by the Royal Army’s air branch and the Royal Navy’s air force under Royal Decree No. 1489 of 17 October 1920, is today a historical artefact housed in the Shrine of Flags within the Vittoriano Museum in Rome. Following the proclamation of the Republic, in accordance with Article 12 of the Italian Constitution and by Legislative Decree No. 1152 of 25 October 1947 issued by the Provisional Head of State, the War Flag was modified by removing the Savoy coat of arms, the emblem of the House of Savoy, from the banner. Furthermore, in 1937 and 1958, the flag was solemnly renewed and blessed; it underwent conservation restoration during 2008. The current replacement of the flag (after 53 years) therefore represents the ‘continuity’ of those values that are synonymous with the history of the Institution; the ultimate purpose is to perpetuate and pass on, in a renewed form, to those who will come after us, the values for which our predecessors fought, as evidenced by the decorations adorning the Italian Air Force’s flag. Today’s event, albeit on a ‘reduced’ scale, retains its solemn character and recognises the flag’s absolute symbolic significance as an inalienable symbol of the Armed Forces’ founding values and its very history.
