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
