A century and a half of Alpine troops: off to the party, Belluno in the front row

National events are starting, with numerous celebrations also planned among the peaks of the Dolomites. The Cadore Alpine troops want to celebrate with the recovery of the historic bivouac on the Cristallo. The people of Feltre are also celebrating their 100th anniversary, the people of Belluno ask the Municipality to involve the 7th for local initiatives

the anniversary

The celebrations for the 150th anniversary of the Alpine Troops began yesterday, an event that also sees the three Ana Bellunesi sections closely involved, with events and initiatives that will culminate in the national event on October 15 in Naples, exactly a century and a half later. the foundation of the Corps.

In fact, 2022 marks a significant stage in the history of the Alpine troops: on 15 October 1872, Vittorio Emanuele II signed the Royal Decree in Naples which sanctioned the birth of the first mountain companies of the Royal Army, intended to defend the valleys on the borders of Italy. Yesterday, in the Turin Army Application School, the first event of a cycle of conferences on the theme “Alpine troops 1872/2022: mountain troops guardians of memory, an example of solidarity”, organized by the Alpine Army Troops Command and Ana, in synergy with the inter-university center for historical-military studies and research, an institution that is also taking care of the creation of a volume in English dedicated to the history of the Alpine troops.

There are many events in every corner of the peninsula, designed to celebrate the black feathers. In the Belluno area, Cortina will host a triathlon competition in April, while in September the Dolomites will also be the backdrop to the traditional “Vertigo” exercise, which will last two weeks. In May and June, the Taurinense and Julia Alpine Brigades will organize historical-military reconstruction activities, on the sites of some great battles (including Mount Grappa) to understand the reasons that led the commanders to take operational decisions.

BELLUNO REMEMBER ITS ALPINI

“The Command of the Alpine troops has already foreseen a rich calendar of conferences and various events, including the ascent of 150 peaks of the Alps that will see the flag fly over some of our beautiful mountains (including the Tofana di Rozes)”, he recalls Lino De Pra, president of Ana di Belluno, «I must reluctantly underline how the city of Belluno forgot too quickly the many Alpine troops who passed this way. It would be nice if we talked more about the Settimo Alpini, that it was involved in the life of the city and that moments of sharing were created with this reality that was fundamental for the city. Most of the members of the three Belluno sections are Alpini della Cadore or specialties linked to the Settimo, therefore the link with the territory is maximum and what the experience gained in this Corps has given us remains invaluable. As they once said: we left as boys and returned as men; this is what we all hope that new young people will experience one day through a compulsory service for the homeland, an alternative to civil services ».

RESTORATION OF BIVOUAC BUFFA DI PERRERO

The Ana del Cadore section, on the other hand, is preparing a special gift for these 150 years: “We have just started the first contacts with the Alpine Corps, the helicopter section of the Alpine troops command, the CAI and the Alpine Rescue and with other bodies to organize the recovery of the historic bivouac Maggiore Carlo Buffa di Perrero on Monte Cristallo. A similar intervention had already been carried out in 1972, on the occasion of the centenary, and now we are ready to do it again “, says the president of Ana Cadore, Antonio Cason,” it is a particularly important and complex job, because at the moment it is completely unusable , with the roof destroyed by landslides and avalanches, but we hope to be able to start the restoration already with the arrival of summer. It would be a nice gift for the Alpine troops and for our section, which is also one hundred years old this year ».

DOUBLE ANNIVERSARY

There are also a hundred candles for the section of Feltre that is preparing for this double anniversary: ​​”The 150 years of the National Alpine Corps are a fundamental stage, because without the army and the Alpine troops we would not exist, plus we are lucky enough to to also be able to celebrate the centenary of our section », comments Stefano Mariech, president of Ana di Feltre. «In the next few days, in addition to promoting the initiatives proposed by the national team, we will contact the commander of the Seventh to make ourselves available for the organization of joint events. The hope is in an improvement in general health conditions, so as to be able to better organize the great event in Naples, in which we will participate as a section ».