The ideal of freedom for which Venanzio Gabriotti fought and in whose name he died is alive. What gives him life and profound meaning are his descendants, his very young great-grandchildren Asia And Andrea Pellegrini, which this morning, on the occasion of the celebrations for the anniversary of the shooting of the hero from Tiferno, moved and struck everyone for the love towards their relative, symbol of the democratic rebirth of Italy, but also and above all for the attachment to the values that he supported and that he still embodies today, for the pride and dignity with which they showed in carrying their own surname and preserving a family bond that has its roots in history. The generational transition that they make possible and that they have publicly undertaken to guarantee, preserving and renewing the spirit and beliefs of Gabriotti together with their family, was the most beautiful gift of a special day, that of the 80th anniversary of a sacrifice in the name of freedom that no one has forgotten and which is essential to remember and bear witness to. This invitation was expressed by the mayor of Tiferno, accompanied by the members of the council, the president of the city council and some members of the highest city assembly, the president of the Institute of Political and Social History Venanzio Gabriotti Alvaro Tacchini and the president of ANPI Anna Maria Pacciarini, who spoke on behalf of all the fighting associations. Those present, but in particular the children of the fourth class of the Riosecco primary school who sang the national anthem and Bella Ciao, remembering Gabriotti with a letter and a poem, and the students of the Franchetti Salviani Institute, were invited to have knowledge and awareness of history and its teachings, to be able to defend that freedom for which so many people fought, opposing Nazi-fascism, and gave their lives, knowing that it would be a gift not for themselves, but for subsequent generations. “We are here to continue the tradition, first of our uncle Marcello and then of our grandfather Giorgio, to remember and commemorate Venanzio Gabriotti, war hero and gold medal for valor. We are happy to continue this memory. Our desire is that his life, his actions, his courage and his sacrifice are an example for us young people, so that we can commit ourselves to what we believe in and build with our work a world that we hope will be better”, they said. affirmed Asia and Andrea in front of the memorial stone dedicated to Gabriotti on the bed of the Scatorbia stream. Under dad’s eyes Luca Pellegrinimom Arianna Fondiaunt Giorgia Pellegrini and grandmother Liberta Lucia Letiwho attended the ceremony with her husband last year George, who then passed away in the following months, the two boys also recited the poem dedicated to Gabriotti and to all the officers of the regiment to which they belonged by second lieutenant Consalvo Forte. The strength of their testimony, underlined by the notes of the Puccini Philharmonic in the presence of the civil and military authorities, of the regional and national institutional representatives, of the exponents of the local fighting associations, was a charge of conviction for anyone who attended the ceremony, but also a warning, as the interventions of the mayor, the representatives of the Gabriotti Institute and the ANPI recalled, not to underestimate the dangers that still today seem to resurface from the past and to defend the ideals of peace and freedom, with the weapons of memory and awareness of history. Building a just and democratic society, against all oppression and violence, to affirm the ideals of civil coexistence, peace and union between peoples were the commitments symbolically renewed by today’s celebrations. The parenthesis experienced on the site of the extreme sacrifice of the Tifernate hero embellished a morning that began in the Chapel of the Martyrs of Freedom of the Monumental Cemetery, with the religious celebration officiated by the vicar of the Diocese of Città di Castello Don Andrea Czortek, and continued, at the Famedio, with the laying of a laurel wreath at the foot of the monument to the fallen in the two world wars, of which Asia and Andrea Pellegrini were protagonists, together with the mayor. After crossing the Scatorbia riverbed, the institutional delegation led by the banner of the Municipality and the banners of the fighting associations, reached Piazza Gabriotti for the laying of the last laurel wreath on the civic tower, thanks to the Fire Brigade of Città di Castello. The songs of the pupils of the fourth classes of the San Filippo primary school were the soundtrack to a public testimony of the anniversary of Gabriotti’s shooting which was also joined by the many citizens walking in the historic center on the occasion of the weekly market. The celebration of the anniversary of the shooting of Venanzio Gabriotti is one of the stages through which the 80th anniversary of the Liberation will be celebrated in Città di, a year earlier than the rest of Italy: it was in fact July 22, 1944 when British troops forced the Nazi-fascist army to retreat from the city towards Northern Italy. To worthily remember this important page in the city’s history, a large calendar of events has been promoted by the municipal council and municipal council of Città di Castello in which the local associations will collaborate. The organizing committee, in addition to the municipal administration and the presidency of the municipal council, includes the Venanzio Gabriotti Institute of Political and Social History, the ANPI, the War Mutilated and Invalids Association, the Association of Fallen and Missing Families in Guerra, the Trestina For Peace association.
