San Marino, the memory of the victims of the battle of Monte Pulito celebrated
A commemoration of the highest diplomatic profile is celebrated on Sunday (4 September) in Monte Pulito di Faetano at the War Memorial. In fact, an Indian and a British representation met to commemorate their fallen in the battle of Monte Pulito on September 18, 1944. The Secretary of the Interior Elena Tonnini and the Captain of Castello di Faetano Giorgio Moroni welcomed the guests. .
Col. Virender Salaria, Military Attaché of the Embassy of India in Rome, and veterans of the 7th Duke of Edinburgh of the Gurkha rifles led by Colonel Mike Kefford. In greeting the guests, the secretary Tonni underlined the value of the sacrifice of the men involved in the turbine of the Second World War but also added from the Republic of San Marino itself during the passage of the front.
Col. Virender Salaria in a suggestive with insignia of the Special Corps of India, who arrived for the first time in San Marino, thanked the Titan Authorities for their efforts in remembering the sacrifice of the Indian soldiers who fell in the fight against Nazi-fascism. “We must constantly remember the past to take the right path towards the future” underlined Col. Salaria who was accompanied by his wife Renu wrapped in a very elegant sari. The head of the British delegation, Col. Mike Kefford, gave his surprise greeting and thanks in Italian. The delegations were visibly pleased by the presence of a school group from Faetano who in the future will have the noble task of advocating the Fallen memory.
Numerous San Marino citizens were present at the ceremony including Paola Masi of the Dante Alighieri Association as well as friends of the district including Marshal Primo Artigliere Mario Cipullo di Verucchio, the Lions Club Ariminus Montefeltro with the president Gian Luca Zucchi, Gabriele Geminiani, creator of the monument, and several citizens of Tavoleto, a city liberated on 4 September 1944 by the 7th Gurkha Rifles. The British delegation was attended by the leaders of the Gurkha Museum in Winchester including Director Daren Bowyer on a visit for the first time on the Titan.
One of the most touching moments was the meeting between “the sons of the famous fathers”, without detracting from the illustrious former. Lieutenant Colonel Richard Holworthy, son of Gen. Holworthy commander of the 4th Indian Division, was warmly greeted by Prof. Alberto Franci from Urbino, a teacher at the University of San Marino. In a long speech, Prof Franci talked about when his father was commissioned in August 1944 by the mayor of Urbino, who had just settled in a newly liberated city, to prepare a woodcut to be delivered to Major-Gen Arthur Holworthy, who is celebrated as ” Liberator of Urbino, Montecalvo, Auditore, Tavoleto ”. Franci arranged for a reprint of the work that he gave to Richard.
In the previous speech, Richard himself had a meeting with the exciting meeting with the Captains Regent Nicola Renzi and Lorella Stefanelli which took place in 2015 at the Palazzo Pubblico and the moment in which he affixed his signature in the Guest Book of San Marino. On behalf of the army, the Indian colonel Salaria thanked Daniele Cesaretti, coordinator of the ceremony, “for his relentless commitment to safeguarding the memory of the fallen Indians in other Italian locations as well”. Cesaretti replied without the active participation of the State Authorities and Faetano and the vast number of motivations linked to friends sensitive to history.
Both delegations have promised to return, even in more numbers, to future ceremonies and in particular with a view to 2024 when the 80th anniversary of the Gothic Line offensive will strike. The surrounding officers of the 7th Gurkha Rifles, an elite unit very close to the Royal Family, closed the day walking in the historic center of San Marino and being fascinated by the beauty of the landscapes. In summary, a further privileged link between San Marino and India / United Kingdom was “signed” on Sunday in Faetano.