The flag of Rome Capital to honor the 1393 Sailors of the Battleship Roma
Nine September 1943, a German plane hits and sinksBattleship Rome, Flagship of the Royal Navy. 1393 sailors died, together with the commander of the Naval Battle Forces, the squad admiralCarlo Bergamini. Only 628 survived.
Nine September 2012, 69 years after that tragedy, the Municipality of Rome handed over the flag of Roma Capitale to the President of theRoyal Ship Rome Association. The flag will be carried to the flag room created by the Association in Porto Mahon, Menorca, where the burned shipwrecks and the survivors of the sinking were hospitalized, and where twenty-six of our sailors still rest.
30th anniversary in Mahon - 1973
25th anniversary
50th anniversary
60th anniversary
75th anniversary in Mahon
A commemoration for the 75th anniversary of the sinking of Roma took place between 8 and 9 September in Mahon on the island of Menorca.
Guest of honor Gustavo Bellazzini (born in 1921), one of the last survivors still alive; Gustavo also had a surprise: Sister Demetria (also born in 1921) participated in the ceremony on the 9th, who welcomed and treated the wounded hospitalized in Isla del Rey.
Mario Cappa did the honors, very valid builder of the Museum of the Armored Rome inside the restored and restoring hospital of Isla del Rey and tireless organizer of these two days. Numerous relatives of the fallen and survivors were able to visit the Spanish Naval Base where the surviving sailors and officers were quartered (on day 8) and the hospital of Isla del Rey as well as the monument-sepulcher of the fallen buried in Mahon.
During the ceremony on the 9th, the Crest of the Association depicting the bow frieze of the Roma was delivered to Mario Cappa.
75th anniversary in Messina
The "Day of Remembrance" was held in Messina on 10 September last, to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the sinking of the Battleship Roma and the two destroyers "Antonio Da Noli" and "Ugolino Vivaldi, also the sailors who lost their lives in that tragic day, including the natives of Messina and the Province.
The commemorative ceremony took place on the seafront of the city of Messina with the laying of a wreath of flowers at the base of the marble plaque in memory of the fallen sailors who work at sea followed by the blessing given by Don Vincenzo Castiglione.
Afterwards, the seminar organized for this occasion took place in the Hall of Mirrors of the "Palazzo dei Leoni" seat of the Metropolitan City of Messina and was organized by the New Presence Movement Giorgio La Pira, chaired by Dr. Calogero Centofanti, with the support of Dr. Placido Parisi. The intervention of the Mayor of Messina Hon. Cateno De Luca, who brought greetings from the Metropolitan City, focused on the morality of the time and on the example for the new generations. The initiative had the applause and collaboration of the relatives of the sailors who fell in the tragic event and of those who survived.
Of particular interest was the photographic exhibition set up in the hall of mirrors, with some photos of the discovery of the wreck of the "Roma" kindly granted by the engineer Guido Gay and Ugo Gerini taken from the site www.azionemare.it and the two destroyers "Antonio Da Noli "and Ugolino Vivaldi" courtesy of the USMM and Sergio Baldazzi archive. Also exhibited, two general plans of the "Roma", one in longitudinal section and the other seen from above courtesy of the association naval culture and the static model of the "Roma" in scale 1: 350, with the camouflage patterns of 1942 and the deck of the bow painted with red and white diagonal stripes, the work of the model maker Francesco Fazio of the AFS association
Mahon 2008
Sanremo 2004
Sanremo 2005
Sanremo 2007
