On Saturday 1st October, with over six hundred participants, the 21st gathering of the Circolo del 53 took place at the Cameri military airport. The Circolo del 53 is the association that brings together all personnel who have served at the Novara-based air base, with the aim of keeping alive the history, spirit and traditions of all the organisations and units that operate or have operated at Cameri Airport over the course of its more than one hundred-year history.
In this spirit, former Commanders who reached the highest ranks of the Armed Force met with civilian professionals who performed their military service in Cameri at the time of compulsory conscription. Among them were the current Commander of the 1st Air Region, Air Squad General Tommaso Ferro, and the Commander of the 2nd Division of the Logistics Command, Air Division General Fabio Molteni, who oversee the two main bodies stationed in Cameri, the Airport Command and the 1st Aircraft Maintenance Unit.
Several local institutional representatives were also present for the occasion, including the President of the Regional Council of Piedmont, Dr Valerio Cattaneo, the Prefect of Novara, Dr Giuseppe Amelio, and the Mayor of the Municipality of Cameri, Professor Rosa Maria Monfrinoli. The authorities were welcomed by the Airport Commander, Colonel Alessandro Tudini, the Director of the 1st Aircraft Maintenance Department, Colonel Fabio Sciorella, and the President of the Club, General Giulio Mainini, who, in their respective speeches, highlighted how the presence of local institutions underscores the deep bond that unites the Air Force Base with the Novara communities.
The Prefect of Novara, in his speech, expressed high appreciation for the activities carried out at the airport.
Once the assembly had finished, the authorities and the rally participants went to the Piazza Bandiera where the wreath-laying ceremony in memory of the base's fallen took place.
The gathering also provided an opportunity to offer a tangible contribution to charitable organisations operating in the local area; in fact, the Club raised a significant sum of money to be donated to charity.
