G7 of Borgo Egnazia, Andrea Cardinali from Jesi is the director of the parachutists who greeted the big names of the world, in Puglia. Cardinali (to be 41 years old), Sergeant Major of the Army belonging to the ´Folgore Parachute Brigade´ is stationed in Pisa, in the Sports Activities Department. He is European champion and vice world champion in Vertical Formation Skydiving. His face, along with that of ten other Italian paratroopers, was broadcast live worldwide on Thursday afternoon. The Army soldiers jumped from an Italian Air Force NH90 helicopter. A launch from just over a thousand metres: from the moment of take-off, in around five-six minutes, the team of eleven landed in front of the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, who had been radiantly admiring them from the start. Her eyes lit up when the Italian tricolor came down, the colors of the homeland. Next to her, with his nose turned up at her, was the president of the United States, Joe Biden, who suddenly moved away from the other leaders to go and congratulate the military. Applause also came from the French Head of State, Emmanuel Macron, the German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida. Smiles between the paratrooper from the Marche and the European leaders, from the president of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen to the number one of the European Council, Charles Michel, passing through the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak.
The ceremony involved the simultaneous opening of the flags in flight. Perfect synchrony: first, Italy landed, then it was the turn of the USA, Japan, England. Then, space for the blue banner with the twelve yellow stars of the European Union. After that, the French colors, those of Canada and Germany came down. Lastly, here is Cardinali landing with the G7 flag. The soldiers lined up in front of the leaders, reviewing them one by one: military salute and handshake. A rather difficult launch, with zero margin for error: after all, it had to be something epic and so it was. An important professional challenge for the Jesi native born in 1983. Prime Minister Meloni released videos of those moments on social media: no easy feat, given that opening the flags at the same time requires synchronization bordering on perfection.
The team was pushed in two passes. In the air, the Army boys grouped together to try to land consecutively. An unforgettable day, sealed by a selfie with Prime Minister Meloni.
Nicolò Moricci
