Italian Armed Forces Day Celebrated in Washington, DC

Italian Armed Forces Day was commemorated in Washington, DC  with a mass at the Italian Church, Holy Rosary on November 4,   and on the following day, with a reception at the Italian Embassy.  The Italian Ambassador Claudio Bisogniero, General Giovanni Fantuzzi, and the Embassy diplomatic corps joined the Holy Rosary Church parishioners Sunday in a solemn  mass in honor of the fallen soldiers .In particular, special observance was made of the following soldiers who died in the line of duty during the past year: Giovanni Gallo, Francesco Currò, Paolo Messineo, Luca Valente, Michele Silvestri, Manuele Bray, and Tiziano Chierotti.  At the end of the Mass, Amb. Bisogniero delivered brief remarks noting the sacrifices of Italian troops in places such as Afghanistan, where they serve side-by-side with America troops to defend the shared values of both countries.

On Tuesday, November 5, the Italian Embassy celebrated Italian Armed Forces Day with a reception at the Embassy’s Piazza Italia attended by senior representatives from the U.S. military and federal government, together with representatives of the Italian American community.  In their brief remarks, both Amb. Bisogniero and  General Fantuzzi underscored the extraordinary commitment of the Italian Armed Forces to peace missions throughout the world.  Amb. Bisogniero also noted that Armed Forces Day was also an opportunity to reinforce the ties and friendships between Italy and the United States.

Italy celebrates Armed Forces Day on November 4th each year to mark the end of World War I in 1918, which ended in victory but took the lives of 650,000 Italians.