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The Return to the Land of the Fathers has begun, from Sardinia to Istria
Today we experienced a day full of emotions.
Our journey has begun.
The Klizia vessel received the blessing of our Bishop Mauro Maria Morfino; the Mayor of Alghero Mario Conoci donated the flag of the City of Alghero to Commander Giulio Marongiu, to signify the closeness of our community to the project Return to the Land of the Fathers; the President of the Regional Council Hon. Michele Pais expressed words of great closeness and affection that we will carry with us; Daniela Velli, granddaughter of one of the Istrian fishermen who arrived in Fertilia in 1948, on behalf of the National President of the National Association of Venezia Giulia and Dalmatia delivered a ball of red wool to reunite the threads and symbolically reunite the community of exiles scattered throughout every corner of the world.
The President of the Consortium of the Port of Alghero Giancarlo Piras wished the crew fair winds and, after a toast with Akenta from the Cantina di Santa Maria la Palma, the Councilor for Culture Alessandro Cocco, who has always been linked to the Egean Ecomuseum and FERTILIA, symbolically embraced the crew, thanking them for their work in disseminating the history and culture of our territory.
The vessel then set sail escorted by the Coast Guard and the Guardia di Finanza who wanted to honor the crew with the blast of trumpets. A departure that was filmed by the team, directed by the Director Igor Biddau, the author Mario Audino and the Producer Gianluca Pirazzoli, today in the role of a sailor, who, thanks to a team of great professionals is building a film/documentary that will give strong emotions and that will deliver to history a story made of humanity, determination and integration and resilience.
After 36 miles of navigation, the Klizia was welcomed at the port of STINTINO by the Mayor Rita Vallebella, with the notes of the hymn to Istria, in the presence of a representation of the Stintino community and the delegate of the Coast Guard, thus concluding its first day of navigation.
In the coming weeks, the journey/event Ritorno alla Terra dei Padri will spread the story of Fertilia throughout Italy, a city founded by the work of settlers from Ferrara and Veneto that after the Second World War welcomed hundreds of refugees from Istria, Fiume and Dalmatia and repatriates from the colonies. This itinerary will have its main stages in Ferrara, Venice, Gorizia, Trieste and Istria.
So much satisfaction and so many expressions of friendship and closeness from many friends who have rewarded us, in just one day, for the sacrifices and work of so many months.
Thanks to all of you from the Klizia crew.
Klizia's departure from Alghero can be seen in a video on the YouTube channel of the Multimedia Documentation Centre of Julian, Istrian, Rijeka and Dalmatian culture:
