Ciampi Visits Desenzano for Historic Memorial and Unity Speech

For Desenzano, the approaching historic day is the visit of President of the Republic Carlo Azeglio Ciampi. The beautification works on the park and the roads leading to the monument area of San Martino have started in recent days and will continue throughout the entire day. However, this is not certainly the main significance of the head of state’s visit. In fact, in Desenzano, Ciampi inaugurates a new era of dialogue with the nation. From San Martino della Battaglia, precisely from the Risorgimento Museum, the president will send a televised message, seemingly live across networks, to the entire Italian people. A message of peace, fraternity, but also a warning not to forget the meaning of November 4, 1918, which marked the end of the First World War and sealed the achievement of Italy’s unification. A journey that began on the hills of Solferino and San Martino in June 1859, with the famous battle that shaped the history of Italy’s Risorgimento. Therefore, Ciampi’s visit is definitely the first stage of a long “tour” that will take him to Turin, Novara, and Milan—places that witnessed Italians fighting for the conquest of freedom, which is the foundation of the republican story. A journey to find the reasons for our unity and to transmit them to the nation, especially to the younger generations. The other extraordinary fact is the presence of a President of the Republic in Desenzano after 42 years. The last visit was by then-President Giovanni Gronchi accompanied by General Charles De Gaulle, President of France, on June 24, 1959. Shortly after noon that historic day, Gronchi and De Gaulle arrived in San Martino before continuing to Solferino, accompanied by the President of the Senate Cesare Merzagora, the President of the Chamber Giovanni Leone, Prime Minister Antonio Segni, French Foreign Minister Couve de Murville, and Minister of War Guillaumat. Welcoming the authorities was the president of the Solferino and San Martino Society, Count Novello Pappafava, with Hon. Aimoni, president of the committee for the centenary celebrations. Today, that same society, led for fifteen years by President Fausto Fondrieschi, President of the Brescia Juvenile Court—a career magistrate—has received a significant recognition. It is Fondrieschi himself who tomorrow will deliver the opening greeting to our head of state and other authorities. Then, the microphone will pass to Ciampi who will address the nation (from 12.20 to 12.40). “The society is honored by President Ciampi’s visit,” states Fondrieschi, “and it is also proud because the validity of its centennial work—honoring the fallen of the two Risorgimento battles and bearing witness to that great era of civil and moral advances that was the Risorgimento—is thus highly recognized. It is a tangible expression of the foundational moments of freedom, independence, unity, and the free people. It seems particularly appropriate to understand the origins and our shared history.” These are the values on which Ciampi will surely focus during his about twenty-minute speech to Italians: liberty and respect for human dignity are the founding principles of our democracy, of any democracy. The official program includes the presidential arrival by plane at the Ghedi military aerodrome around 10:40 a.m. From there, Ciampi will transfer by car to the Solferino ossuary, expected to arrive approximately at 11 a.m. After the commemorative ceremony, the procession will move around 12 to San Martino della Battaglia, probably passing through Pozzolengo. At the Risorgimento Museum, located behind the tower, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi will be greeted by President Fondrieschi. Before that, the head of state will visit the ossuary, review a guard of honor, and lay a wreath in the chapel where part of the remains of the victims of the bloody 1859 battle are kept. At 12:20, a televised address will be broadcast nationwide. Departure from San Martino is scheduled just before 1 p.m. The president is expected to return to Ghedi and then fly to Rome. It is worth noting that the official schedule may be subject to changes without notice, due to security concerns.