As tradition now dictates, on the occasion of Republic Day, which turns 78 this year, there will be 70 firefighters who will dress the Colosseum with the Tricolore.
The firefighters will carry out a maneuver without impact on the monument, which is a symbol of our homeland’s history and which has been declared a world heritage site.
Fifty meters by forty, weighing four hundred and fifty kilograms. These are the numbers that tell the size of the two thousand square meter tricolor flag which tomorrow, as per tradition, for the 78th anniversary of the Republic Day, will be lowered from the highest façade of the Colosseum by a contingent of 70 firefighters, coming from all over the world. the regions of Italy.
To “dress” the Colosseum, SAF (Alpine Fluvial Speleum) officials and operators of the National Fire Brigade were employed, who studied and implemented a system of ropes, over 2,000 meters long in total, anchored directly on the blocks of the Colosseum. amphitheater and mounted with protections without the use of nails or anchoring systems that could damage the monument, symbol of Rome and world heritage site.
The delicate maneuvers of lowering the Tricolore, tested on the night of 28 May, were carried out by 24 firefighters, divided into groups of 8 corresponding to each of the three colors of the Flag. For the first time, this year there are also three female firefighters, experts in rope maneuvers.
The greatest difficulties for the perfect descent of the Flag are represented by the force of the wind at the various floors, a critical issue that requires perfect coordination of the personnel involved in the lowering.
To overcome the possible problem of gusts, the Fire Brigade have installed a system to control the speed and direction of the wind which, if too strong, could constitute a danger to the safety of the entire contingent as well as determining the failure of the fire. operation.
To best support the team’s work, a General Coordinator is present on the ground who will give the descent times to the 3 Coordinators present on the facade, one for each color of the Flag, who will correct any differences in horizontal heights of green, white and of red.
On each of the three work levels, emergency systems have been set up, capable of guaranteeing rapid evacuation of any injured people during the descent, both from outside and inside the Colosseum.
