TRENT. In silence, as is their custom, dozens of Trentino Alpine troops have been working for two weeks to set up “Casa Trento” which will welcome three thousand Trentino black feathers on the occasion of the 95th national gathering in Vicenza. In total they expect around three hundred thousand Alpine troops in the parade, of which approximately eight thousand will be from Trentino. At the moment several teams have been working at “Casa Trento” (in Viale Trento: and it’s not a joke) and today the Trentino Civil Protection will also arrive with the field kitchens. It will be a sort of Trentino headquarters, located in the former Baronio institute, which went bankrupt three and a half years ago with a “hole” of 12 million euros and was then abandoned and which the Trentino people are now fixing.
The building will accommodate 800 cots, while the other two thousand Alpine troops will be accommodated in the football fields of the former school in campers, caravans and tents. But don’t be fooled if you think you can find a refuge: you will only enter if accredited. Word of the president Ana of Trento, Paolo Frizzi who also announces a project on gender respect to ward off the controversy over the alleged chauvinism of the Alpine troops.
Frizzi, you are working hard at “Casa Trento” in Vicenza…
«We’ve been there for two weeks setting up the residence. We started at Easter, because there was a lot of work to do to make the area usable. It is a former abandoned school. There are two and a half hectares of land that we have cleared, where caravans and campers will go, while in a part of the building, which we will also use as a warehouse, there will be 800 cots.”
Is the building a school?
«Yes, it was the former Baronio institute, then three and a half years ago the owner company went bankrupt and the building was vandalised, in terrible condition».
And as always the Alpine troops have fixed…
«Yes, with particular attention to the two homeless people who lived there and whom we supported, we also left them in recent days to temporarily guard our equipment. In these hours our Civil Protection will descend on Vicenza to arrange the kitchens. In short, even in this case it will be a “Trentino operation”.
And what will remain?
«Unfortunately nothing. The following week the three hundred chemical toilets will be dismantled and the bulldozers will raze the building to the ground because the company that bought it is an American fund: it will build a building, an affiliated center against gambling addiction and eating disorders will be created, the rest will be housing . They told us: do what you want. We had to turn the water back on, clean everything, a big job. Teams of 15-20 people have been at work for two weeks, and from today there will be around thirty because there will also be civil protection. They will have to stay until Sunday because there is constant security to be done and the area will be accessible upon accreditation, with a bracelet. Last minute ones will look for a seat everywhere but won’t be able to enter. There will be hot showers there, we have also restored the gym, in a tensile structure that was completely ruined and which will welcome people for meals. We worked hard.”
How many people will arrive?
«At Casa Trento around three thousand, we expect at least 7 or 8 thousand in Vicenza. There will also be many who will come down on Sunday morning. 14 buses will arrive from Trento and then Vicenza is close and accessible. I will be there from Thursday.”
The parade order?
«We will be after the Alto Adige section and Friuli, sixth sector, penultimate, Vicenza closes as organizer. We will parade between 4 and 5.30 pm. The presidents of the Chamber and Senate are expected, but not Mattarella, perhaps Prime Minister Meloni and Minister Crosetto.”
The theme for the future is always the same: how to attract young people who are no longer eligible for military service?
«We have equipped ourselves with school camps, we have managed to do a bit of proselytism, but the “machine” requires a lot of personnel to move forward, we need people, there is the problem of turnover. If the political choice is to maintain this status quo, it will mean that in a few years we will be the ones saying: “we can’t do it anymore”.
This is no small thing, also because beyond the folkloristic aspect that we see at the rally, there is all the silent help work of the Alpine troops…
«The parade is the party. After working for a year you also have to party, create a community, meet up with friends, but for the rest of the year, we never shy away from it. If we look at the last twelve months, a serious reflection should be made. The hope is that this year, the year of Trento as the capital of volunteering, some reasoning will be done. It is a problem not only of the Alpine troops, but of all volunteers.”
Are you ready for the controversy against the Alpine troops?
«The wish and the invitation is to come to Vicenza and have fun with the satisfaction that the good gatherings give, hoping that there won’t be the controversies of past years. However, we have shown that we are more reactive than those who attempted to create controversy to create further disagreements and undermine the credibility of the Alpine troops.”
Are you therefore equipped on gender accusations?
«To prevent them we have also started a project with the national Equal Opportunities Commission and we also have an excellent relationship in Trento: you will soon have a surprise. We have an operation ready to demonstrate that the Alpine troops have full respect for the female gender – and God forbid – so the controversies hurt, but they also gave us the opportunity to do well. However, I wonder if it always has to be only the Alpine troops who are targeted.”
