«For us, the parade means marching together, remembering the past, but for build a future – if possible better – of solidarity». With these words the president of ANA, the national Alpini association, greeted the start of the parade of the 85 thousand Italian Alpine troops on Sunday morning. Many of those in Vicenza, on the final day of one of the most attended gatherings of recent years, marched under the authorities’ stage. About 450 thousand total attendances in the Venetian city during the three days of the rally. «Many Alpine soldiers – said Favero – but above all many people around, so much inspiration and great satisfaction».
The six thousand Brescian Alpine troops
The parade was opened by the fanfare of the Julia Alpine Brigade, while on the stage of honour, representing the government, the deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini, the defense minister Guido Crosetto and the minister for relations with Parliament Luca Ciriani arrived one by one. Twelve hours of parade, halfway through which the authorities pass under the stage six thousand Alpine troops from the Brescia area. The rally of the century, according to the Venetian governor: «A true apotheosis of mountaineering – he said – of solidarity, also to talk about peace».
The banner that opened the parade carried the slogan of the 95th rally at the bottom: «The Alpine troops’ dream of peace», a peace, it was said, was built day by day in the communities to which they belong by the thousands of groups distributed throughout the Bel Paese. The numbers of Alpine solidarity in 2023: over 2 million hours worked, for an economic value of almost 66 million and over 5.5 million euros in sums collected and donated.
A role, that of the Italian Alpini, emphasized by Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, “one of the most beautiful, most generous and most important souls of our country”, he said. Defense Minister Guido Crosetto returned to the topic of peace: “No one knows better than the armed forces and the Alpine troops how hard war is – he commented – and how much it is necessary to preserve peace at all costs”.
