Remembrance Park, Gorizia

Author: Antonio Ballarin

Dear Mr. President of the Republic Hon. Sergio Mattarella Quirinale Palace, Rome Mr. President, We have learned with bitterness – from reading the article by Aldo Cazzullo in the «Corriere della Sera» of October 11th of this year – of the state of incredible degradation in which the Remembrance Park of Gorizia finds itself, transformed into a bivouac for migrants. The story, as reported, cannot leave us indifferent. The Remembrance Park was designed to remember the fallen of the First World War. It is an area of ​​about two and a half hectares right in the center, along Corso Italia, already used as a cemetery in the mid-19th century. The project was born in 1923 from an idea by Enrico del Debbio. The Park is characterized by various paths that, in the shade of the numerous trees, allow you to discover the various monuments that have been placed. The park houses busts dedicated to the Gorizia irredentists Giovanni Maniacco and Emilio Cravos, to the Tuscan interventionist Vittorio Locchi and sculptures celebrating the Alpine Brigade “Julia” and the Infantry Brigade of the “Wolves of Tuscany”. In the centre of the park there is a fountain and the remains of a chapel, built in 1929 by Del Debbio and destroyed in August 1944 by Slovenian collaborators, on the orders of the Nazis. A plaque commemorates this episode and bears witness to one of the many wounds that Gorizia suffered in the 20th century. In fact, the wall bearing the names of the 665 deportees from Gorizia during May 1945, the month of the Yugoslav occupation, completes the path by bringing the victims of the massacres perpetrated by Tito's communist militias closer to the fallen of the Great War. The Park has been included in the circuit of various historical and cultural itineraries, in particular within the Monte Calvario and City of Gorizia sectors. These circuits are aimed at promoting knowledge of the events of the Great War, especially among the new generations. It is particularly sad to have to note how this space, which should be consecrated to memory, has been brazenly defaced, among other things on the occasion of the centenary of the First World War. While we understand the delicate problems that the reception of emigrants poses, we cannot remain insensitive in the face of the devastation of a place that is testimony to the respect due to the many fallen on the borders of Italy. We are convinced that the State and local administrations must intervene as soon as possible to put an end to this unacceptable situation. Certain of your understanding and interest, please accept, Mr. President, the assurance of our highest consideration.           Rome, 20 October 2015 The following have signed the letter: Adriatic Coordination – Bologna National Association of Venezia Giulia and Dalmatia - Rome Association of Istrian Communities - Trieste; National League - Trieste Free Municipality of Pola in Exile - Padua Free Municipality of Zara in Exile - Torreglia (PD); Association of Italian Dalmatians in the World - Torreglia (PD) Free Municipality of Fiume in Exile - Padua Regional Institute for Istrian, Fiuman and Dalmatian Culture – Trieste Association for Fiuman, Istrian and Dalmatian Culture in Lazio – Rome Society of Fiuman Studies - Rome Dalmatic Madrinato – Padua Union of Istrians - Trieste