A Republic Day which this year took place this morning (2 June) in two official events in the province of Lucca, as part of the 78th anniversary celebrations, organized by the prefecture of Lucca in close collaboration with the Municipalities of Lucca and Pietrasanta, the Province of Lucca, the Interprovincial School Office of Lucca and Massa Carrarathe provincial student council and the other civil and military administrations involved.
The day presided over by the prefect Giusi Scaduto it began at 8.40 in the capital with the testimony of a laurel wreath at the war memorial in Piazza XX Settembre, attended by local authorities including the mayor Mario Pardini and the president of the province Luca Menesini, to continue into the courtyard of Vallisneri scientific high school where the military ceremony took place organized by the Carabinieri with the raising of the flag to the tune of the national anthem, the reading of the message from the Head of State and the delivery of the honors of Knight of Merit of the Italian Republic to Samuele Cosentino and Giuseppe Andracchio.
Opening the parade in Lucca was the banner ofTuscan Association of Volunteers of Freedom.
The event continued inside the gym where the students were the protagonists of a dialogue with the teacher Carla Andreozzi – representing the Historical Institute of the Resistance – on the results of a survey in schools, conceived and conducted by them in recent weeks, on the meaning of the Republic from a historical and contemporary perspective.
The students ofIsi Pertini, of the Isi of Barga and of the Lucca historical center comprehensive institutethey presented the trailer carried out as part of the pilot project 1 Take – 2 Points of View, aimed at creating audiovisual products on the phenomenon of femicide. The awareness initiative promoted by the Prefecture, the Municipalities of Lucca and Barga (where the three participating schools are located), the Equal Opportunities Commission of the Province of Lucca, the Lucca and Massa Carrara Interprovincial School Office, the Accademia Cinema Toscana, the Cassa di Risparmio and Banca Foundations del Monte di Lucca, Lucca Cinema. The products created by the students will be screened in cinemas in the province.
“This morning – says mayor Mario Pardini – we celebrated Republic Day at the Vallisneri scientific high school in Lucca, together with the civil and military authorities, the fighting associations and the students. Seventy-eight years ago, on 2 June 1946, Italy was called to choose and chose the Republic. Afterwards our Constitution was born, like a lighthouse rising from the rubble left by a dark period. She continues to remind us how then we were able together to turn on her light, which still guides citizens, administrators and rulers today. In 1955, speaking to students in Milan, Piero Calamandrei said many important things, but in particular that “The Constitution is not a machine that once set in motion goes forward by itself. The Constitution is a piece of paper, I drop it and it doesn’t move. For it to move, we need to put fuel back into it every day.” A responsibility that first and foremost involves politics, which must make a strong commitment to moderate that perennial opposition that distances people from voting and which certainly has nothing to do with the lesson of June 2, 1946. Thirty-two years ago I was also a student, I graduated from the Vallisneri scientific high school. Today I addressed young people through that memory. “One of the offenses committed against the constitution is indifference to politics,” Calamandrei underlined again that day to the student audience. And obviously the quote is not aimed at all those who were here today to celebrate the Republic with us, whom I thank. I simply say that Calamadrei’s words should be repeated more often, because they speak of good practices that unite us as a people. Understanding the profound meaning of those words is the greatest challenge both for those who administer and for the new generations, who I hope and hope will become increasingly interested in public life, with the same civic spirit demonstrated by our fathers and grandfathers, who 78 years ago with their vote they gave us democracy. Long live Republic Day.”
The National Day celebrations in the province of Lucca then moved in the Duomo square of Pietrasantawhere some of the vehicles of the Armed Forces and Police, firefighters and the Italian Red Cross were deployed.
At 11am the military ceremony took place by the Carabinieri with the delivery of the honors of great officer to Pietro Pietrini of Imt Lucca, of officer to Amedeo Pugliese, of knight to lieutenant Alessandro Colosimo.
The students of the Pietrasanta 1 and 2 comprehensive schools reached the location of the ceremony with a 12 meter flag which they will deliver to the firefighters for subsequent placement on the bell tower of the church of Sant’Agostino.
In Pietrasanta the mayor Alberto Stefano Giovannetti spoke as follows: “On 2 June 1946 the Italian people, for the first time also with the vote of women, chose the Republic and took the first step towards the affirmation of the values of unity, freedom and solidarity which, a little later, became pillars of our Constitution. On those values, the Italian people have built their being a national community. And Pietrasanta – I say this with the pride of a mayor who is, first of all, a citizen – has not only preserved that sense of community: it has opened it to the world. Thanks to tenacious and industrious “culture of doing” of our master craftsmenadmired and sought after by the most famous Italian and foreign artists, we have discovered our international soul, cultivated day by day the ability to welcome different and often very distant experiences, to react together to difficulties and, together, overcome the most severe obstacles”.
“As I have already had the opportunity to say, this small city does great things – said the mayor -. And it succeeds because it has understood and made its own the most authentic and modern sense of the word “community”. On this stage, for example, the festival Words in Art it brings the most diverse thinkers to discuss the most disparate topics. A few days ago, on our navy, three different countries – Italy, France and the Principality of Monaco – tested their teamwork in the event of an environmental emergency. Entering our museums and art galleries is like taking a “world tour” because each exhibition, each exhibition is different and tells a different story, despite being in the same place: Pietrasanta. I believe this is the truest spirit of June 2nd, the most precious legacy of those who made our history. And my commitment, as mayor but above all as a citizen that I ask you to share, is to continue to strengthen and pass it on. Today we do this on a special occasion and it is with a deep sense of gratitude that I once again thank His Excellency the Prefect of Lucca for giving our community the honor of hosting this ceremony. Long live Italy, long live the Republic, long live Pietrasanta”.
