Last Friday 31 May the “National Conference on the liberation of Rome” was held at Villa Sarsina in Anzio. The conference, organized by “Freedom for Italy” and the Italian Naval League, saw as speakers government representatives and diplomatic authorities of various countries, the Ministry of Business, the Defense General Staff and Confindustria, as well as the prefectural commissions of Anzio and Nettuno, municipalities where the Allied landing occurred on 22 January 1944.
During the event we wanted to commemorate the sacrifice of the thousands of young Anglo-Americans who landed on our shores eighty years ago and who, with their sacrifice, made a fundamental contribution to the victory over Nazi-fascism. Furthermore, during the conference the awards ceremony for the “Thank you dear friend” competition was held, aimed at high schools in our area. The students were asked to write a letter to one of the soldiers buried in the Neptune American Cemetery to thank him for his sacrifice. The winner of the competition was Arianna Anastasi Valenza of the “Santa Lucia Filippini” Parity Institute, followed by Giorgia Lo Piccolo, student of the “Emanuela Loi” Technical Economic Institute, and Maddalena Baccellini, student of the Professional Training Center of Anzio, who she ranked third. The girls had also read their letters during Memorial Day which took place in recent weeks at the American Monumental Cemetery, on that occasion Giorgia Lo Piccolo’s letter was read by her schoolmate Ilaria Diana.
“Thank you dear friend” was an excellent tool for reflection to help young generations understand the events of the Second World War and the liberation.
