“Territory of significant strategic importance, as it is located close to the ‘Gustav Line’ and crossed by Via Casilina, the main artery connecting the capital and the south of the country, from 10 September 1943 it was the scene of a violent military occupation and suffered devastating bombings which caused the destruction of a large part of the building and cultural heritage. The population, the object of ferocious barbarism and forced into displacement, supported by heroic courage, profound faith in freedom and very high moral dignity, endured the loss of a large number of fellow citizens and unspeakable suffering, offering a shining example of self-sacrifice, unshakable firmness and love homeland”. 1943/1944 – Province of Frosinone.
This is the motivation with which this morning, in the representative hall of the provincial administration of Frosinone, the Minister of the Interior Matteo Piantedosi fixed the Gold Medal for Civil Valor on the banner of the Province of Frosinone. The award ceremony, with a high institutional profile, welcomed by the President of the Provincial Administration Luca Di Stefano, was attended by the Minister of the Interior Matteo Piantedosi, the Prefect of Frosinone Ernesto Liguori, the mayor of Frosinone Riccardo Mastrangeli and the historian and journalist Paolo Mieli. Also present in the room were the highest civil, military and religious authorities, provincial administrators and many local mayors.
The presenter Valeria Altobelli punctuated the various moments of the ceremony and also read a testimony from Giuseppina Capuano, born in Aquino on 10/19/1905 and resident in Piedimonte San Germano in via Petrone, who died on 16 April 2009, taken from book ‘Between the folds of memory’ by Elena Montanaro.
*THE PRESIDENT DI STEFANO: “A TRIBUTE TO OUR VALIANT CITIZENS”*
“The Gold Medal for Civil Merit is a tangible sign of the admirable courage and extraordinary resilience demonstrated by our province during the terrible events linked to the Second World War. The wounds of the past have shaped our present, but they have never undermined our determination and hope for the future” said the President of the provincial administration Luca Di Stefano.
“When every pillar had been razed to the ground, we found the strength to rebuild, when fate seemed against us, we found the strength to resist. The awarding of this high honor for which I have the moral and institutional obligation to thank the Minister of the Interior Matteo Piantedosi for his efforts, gives us an even more important task: that of solemnly committing ourselves to ensuring that the suffering suffered are not in vain, that the lives lost are not forgotten, and that the lessons learned are passed on to future generations,” he added.
“This medal represents a tribute to our brave citizens, who have demonstrated with their fortitude that life and hope can rise even from the ashes of destruction. On this solemn day, we vow to honor the past, embrace the present and build a future that reflects the strength and dignity that has always distinguished our territory.” concluded the President of Stefano.
*MAYOR MASTRANGELI: “OUR POPULATION HAS SUFFERED THE HUGE DRAMA OF VIOLENCE”*
The mayor of the provincial capital city briefly retraced those dramatic moments. “Ours was a civil population that also experienced first-hand the immense drama of violence perpetrated by French goumiers against women, men and children” explained the mayor of Frosinone Riccardo Mastrangeli in one passage, recalling the ‘morocchinate’. Furthermore he also underlined “the very high price paid by the City of Frosinone during the bloody war”.
*HISTORIAN PAOLO MIELI: “LET’S NOT FORGET HOW MUCH DIGNITY OUR FAMILIES HAVE HAD IN RESISTING”*
A careful and punctual lectio magistralis, given by the historian and journalist, Professor Paolo Mieli, thanked several times by the Minister and the President of the Province for his presence. Mieli talked about the “violence suffered by this province” and “Moroccan“, highlighting how “passing off the history of the suffering of this area only as the violence suffered by the liberators was a trick to omit the suffering of the eight months preceding the liberation“, That “they are the reason for the medal”. “If I could live in a world where everyone behaved as the citizens of this territory behaved, I would not be happy” he continued, highlighting the dignity and resistance of the Ciociaria people and recommending “don’t forget how much dignity our families had in resisting, in not being beaten down”.
*MINISTER PIANTEDOSI: “THE ENTIRE CIOCIARIA WAS, BY VIRTUE OF ITS STRATEGIC VALENCE, HEAVYLY SCORED AND AFFECTED”*
“I am pleased to be able to present this medal to the Province of Frosinone – said among other things the Minister of the Interior, Matteo Piantedosi -. An important recognition intended as a tribute to the enormous human losses, the immense suffering, the deprivations, the widespread phenomena of destruction and devastation that this territory had to suffer during the Second World War”.
“A contribution, that to the Province – added the owner of the Interior Ministry in another passage – which I particularly care about, in the awareness that the entire Ciociaria was, by virtue of its strategic value, heavily marked and affected during the tragic war events”.
“Recalling the pain suffered by the people of Ciociaria at the hands of the Nazi-fascists, and also by the aggregate troops of the allies, must serve to recognize the merit of a community which, despite the immense suffering suffered, chose to project itself and believe in the future beyond all claims, without giving in to divisive temptations. The people of Ciociaria, like the rest of Italians, made enormous efforts to contribute, once the tragedy of the Second World War was over, to the rebirth of our country” concluded the Minister of the Interior.
