From the ceremony at the Japigia Shrine to the procession from Piazza Umberto to Piazza del Ferrarese. Bari also celebrates April 25th. The 79th anniversary of the Liberation began at the Shrine of the Fallen Overseas with the traditional commemorative ceremony with honors to the fallen and the laying of laurel wreaths, and speeches by the authorities present, including the mayor of Bari, Antonio Decaro.
“I am proud to be here once again today to represent my city Bari on the day in which we celebrate the Liberation of Italy – Decaro’s speech – For me, being here is not an act of mere representation. But an exercise in civil, political and institutional testimony on the day in which Italy remembers the people’s struggle against the dictatorship and Nazi-fascist occupation of the country. A ferocious, bloody, anti-democratic and liberticidal occupation. An occupation against which Italy rebelled and fought to the extreme sacrifice of its daughters and sons who from north to south in prisons in small villages and large cities along the coasts and on mountain paths died sighing for a one word freedom. This is April 25, the day of liberated Italy, the day of anti-fascist Italy.” Decaro quotes Italo Calvino and then the reference to the ‘Scurati case’, whose monologue was ‘censored’ on Rai. “We want to echo the words of Antonio Scurati, intellectual writer and citizen censored in his freedom of expression. As long as that word anti-fascism, writes Scurati, is not pronounced by those who govern us, the specter of fascism will continue to haunt the house of Italian democracy. As long as we are free citizens to gather together in the celebrations of April 25th, we will continue to bear witness to our commitment to guarantee everyone, always and everywhere, the full right to freely express their thoughts through speech, writing and any other means of dissemination”.
Below is the program of events for the day:
Shrine of the Overseas Fallen – 09.30am Celebration of 25 April, on the occasion of the 79th Anniversary of National Liberation, with a commemorative ceremony with honors to the fallen and the laying of laurel wreaths, and interventions by the authorities present, including the mayor of Bari, Antonio Decaro.
At 11.30 am, the mayor will lay a laurel wreath at the commemorative plaque affixed to the external facade of Palazzo di Città.
At 12:00, in the council room of Palazzo di Città, ceremony of delivery of recognition parchments to the relatives of the Apulian partisans.
At 6.00 pm from Piazza Umberto the procession arrives at 8.00 pm in Piazza del Ferrarese, where the ‘Partisan Concert’ is scheduled. On the initiative of the anti-fascist coordination of the city of Bari and the province composed of Anpi Bari, CGIL Bari, Arci, Libera Puglia, Zona Franka, the Students’ Union and Link university coordination. A ‘partisan concert’ will follow at 8pm in Piazza del Ferrarese.
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