The celebrations on the occasion of the 78th anniversary of the foundation of the Republic concluded this morning in a packed University Square. Various commemorative initiatives promoted by the Prefect Maria Carmela Librizzi saw the protagonists of the young people who, alongside the institutions of the province, exalted the republican values contained in the Constitution. The Republic Day ideally began on the afternoon of June 1st, in Piazza Bellini – transformed for the occasion into a splendid open-air theater – with the performance of Mameli’s anthem by the “Musicainsieme a Librino”, directed by Professor Alessandra Toscano. The young musicians presented the honors for the “merit of the Republic” to the Lieutenants Antimo Arpaia, Carmelo Bonanno, Salvatore Impieri, Giuseppe Longo and Giuseppe Musumarra, to Professor Pierluigi Catalfo, to Doctor Agata Cosentino, to the Inspector of the State Police Stefano Platania, to Dr. Francesco Puglisi, to the Fire Brigade Inspector Orazio Rapisarda and to Dr. Gennaro Tramontano and to Mr. Concetto Gaetano Tati, respectively, lieutenant colonel and brigadier of the financial police.
Led by journalist Salvo La Rosa, the guys from Musicainsieme a Librino offered the public songs by Leonard Cohen (Halleluja), Enya (Adiemus), Modena City Ramblers (Centopassi) and Franco Battiato (Permanent Center of Gravity). The orchestra and choir of the Teatro Massimo Bellini, directed by the maestros Francesco Di Mauro and Luigi Petrozziello, subsequently performed in the “concert for the Republic”, promoted in collaboration with the mayor of the Metropolitan City and the superintendent of the Opera body, making the square vibrate to the notes of Bellini, Verdi, Rossini, Puccini and Mascagni and the songs “Catalogo del Sole” by Emanuele Casale – dedicated to Giovanni Falcone, Francesca Morvillo, Paolo Borsellino and the escort agents – and “Hymnus Sidereus – The emblem of the Italian Republic”, by Francesco Muraca, in its first performance.
Today 2 June, “Republic Day”, opened with honors to those fallen for the country with the laying of the laurel wreath in the Vestibule of the Military Shrine, located in the Church of San Nicolò l’Arena in Catania. Subsequently, in Piazza Università, the ceremony took place in the presence of the civil, military and religious authorities of the province, of the fighting and weapons associations, as well as students of various Etna schools. The performance of Mameli’s anthem by the students of the “Vincenzo Bellini” Conservatory of Catania, directed by professor Salvatore Distefano and accompanied by the splendid voice of soprano Silvia Alongi, and the flag-raising ceremony preceded the reading of the President’s message of the Republic and the intervention of the Prefect Librizzi.
Subsequently, the values of the Republic were expressed in the words of students and representatives of civil society. Gabriele Tempera, a young student at the “Bellini” conservatory, underlined the extraordinary relevance of Republic Day, to be experienced not as a memory of a distant event, but as a daily exercise in exalting the values on which our democracy is based. Angela Raimondo, student of the Lucia Mangano Institute of Higher Education, read the message that Dr. Paola Tricomi, researcher at the University of Siena originally from San Gregorio di Catania, sent to the Prefect on the occasion of the June 2nd celebration, in which it is underlined that the “Republic – a reality that could not survive without everyone’s contribution – is called to welcome, in all its aspects, both institutional and civil society, every form of minority and social marginality”.
Salvatore Pappalardo, deputy director of the Diocesan Caritas of Catania, instead exalted the value of “solidarity action” which, constantly outlining our Constitution, “contributes to the common good and adds value to the lives of many people , who with their silent work in favor of the least allow solidarity to manifest itself in the name of the values of the Republic, ensuring that no one is left behind and thus making the principles set out in the art alive and implemented. 2 of our fundamental charter”. Finally, Sirya La Spina, a student at the “Rita Atria” Comprehensive Institute, read a passage written with her classmates Nency Praino, Giulia Montaperto and Francesca Rapisarda on the theme of legality. For the young students, the deepest sense of legality is “understanding that behind every rule there is not only an imposition, but also a possibility to be safeguarded, a right to be protected, a freedom to be protected”.
At the end of the celebrations, the Prefect, thanking all those present and, in particular, the young people as “protagonists of the impulse towards the social and moral renewal of the nation”, underlined how “the reflections heard on 2 June are positive examples of active citizenship and affirmation of the founding values of the Republic. As the President of the Republic underlined, we can and must all be operators of the Constitution!”.
