Since that ‘nightmarish’ night between May 16th and 17th, when after 3.30 am a sea of water and mud poured into Sant’Agata sul Santerno, unfortunately causing two victims and causing incalculable damage to homes, commercial activities, schools , farms, roads and structures including the local Carabinieri barracks, almost 11 months have passed. A catastrophic event which, although the local population, thanks also to the precious collaboration of hundreds of volunteers, rolled up their sleeves, left quite a few scars. The Carabinieri barracks (owned by a private individual) turned out to be unusable, making it necessary to relocate the soldiers to the Army structure in nearby Massa Lombarda. Just under a year ago, yesterday the gates of the new structure located in via Allende officially opened, and the symbolic laying of the first stone took place last November 8th.
The inauguration saw the presence of the mayor Enea Emiliani, of the brigadier general, Massimo Zuccher (commander of the Emilia Romagna Carabinieri Legion, of his deputy, colonel Fabio Coppolino, of colonel Andrea Lachi (provincial commander of the Carabinieri of Ravenna), of the captain Cosimo Friolo (commander of the Compagna di Lugo), the prefect of Ravenna Castrese De Rosa, Giuseppe Torina (commander of the Sant’Agata Army Station), civil and military authorities and the parish priest Don Giuseppe Grigolon who blessed the new site.
Although it is a temporary site, it cannot be ruled out that the new barracks – which stands on an area granted for 10 years on loan for free use by the Municipality, entailing a cost, entirely borne by the Army, which amounts to approximately 125 thousand euros – can become the definitive headquarters of the Santagata Carabinieri. For the Army, this is the first structure in Italy to have been built using naval containers, based on the philosophy of recycling and reuse. It is self-sufficient, equipped with solar panels and is so to speak ‘raised’, at least one meter above ground level; in the unfortunate event of flooding, the water will flow beneath the surface. The contract was awarded to Green Living LTD, while the executing company was Eco System Puglia.
“Today is a beautiful and exciting day for Sant’Agata – said Mayor Emiliani –. That night in May Marshal Marco Giordano (former station commander of S.Agata) and Deputy Brigadier Giuseppe Torina, who were on voluntary duty for to supervise all emergency activities and to lend a hand to the authorities in managing that very difficult phase, they literally found themselves in the middle of the wave of the river that had broken. Only thanks to mutual collaboration were they able to save themselves and from the following day they were present, together with many of their other colleagues from Sant’Agata, to lend a hand to the population. The original barracks was also destroyed and as the municipal administration we immediately took action, involving the prefect to quickly understand how to quickly reactivate the garrison. ‘Arma turned to the municipal administration looking for a new site where an innovative structure could be built. Together with the Technical Office and in mutual agreement with the Arma we identified this area. It is an excellent result because it brings the Carabinieri back among our people”
Luigi Scardovi
