L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, JANUARY 13, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 6 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS mento. It embodied the Ital- ian Nation. Raccolgaci un'u- nica bandiera, una speme, "May we share the same flag and the same hope," Goffredo Mameli would write in 1847 in his Canto degli Italiani, the song that was to become our national anthem. With the revolutions of 1848, the flag turned into t h e s y m b o l o f n a t i o n a l u p r i s i n g s f r o m M i l a n t o V e n i c e , f r o m R o m e t o Palermo. The Savoias adopt- e d i t f o r t h e R e g n o d i Sardegna, adding their own coat of arms in the middle, a white cross on a red back- ground. To make it stand up more on the white band of the flag, a blue border was added: it is from this blu Savoia that all our sports- women and men get their name: Azzurri. With the unification in 1861, the Tricolore became t h e f l a g o f t h e R e g n o d'Italia. It could be seen fly- i n g o n t h e f a ç a d e s o f a l l k i n g ' s r e s i d e n c e s , t h e Parliament, all offices, and embassies. A 1925 law made it clear: besides the three colors green, white, and red, the Italian flag also had at its center the Savoia's emblem. E m b l e m t h a t w a s t o b e removed with the proclama- tion of the Republic. At school, we learn that our flag is green like our forests and plains, white like the snow on our Alps, and red like the blood of those who died during our wars. B u t o u r n a t i o n a l c o l o r s appeared for the first time on the 21st of August 1789, in Genoa, on a tricolored ribbon, while the first mili- t a r y f l a g u s i n g t h e s a m e combination was used seven y e a r s l a t e r i n M i l a n b y the Legione Lombarda, on the 11th of October 1796, a whole 8 years before being adopted as national banner of an independent Italian s t a t e , t h e R e p u b b l i c a Cispadana. The ribbon, revolution- ary symbol par excellence, characterized all the revolts o f t h e R i s o r g i m e n t o . Patriots would wear it on their coat or in their hair, during that turbulent time of our history. Indeed the coc- c a r d a t r i c o l o r e i s , s t i l l today, one of the symbols of the Italian Air Force, it is depicted on all Italian mili- tary and civil aircraft, it is part of the Bersaglieri's high u n i f o r m , o f t h a t o f o u r c h i v a l r y , o f t h e C a r a b i n i e r i a n d t h e G u a r d i a d i Finanza. Traditionally, all high representatives of the State, except the President, wear one during the military parade of the 2nd of June. This year, to celebrate the 2 2 5 t h a n n i v e r s a r y o f the Tricolore - which falls only a week after his last end-of-year speech and two weeks before the election of the new president - Sergio M a t t a r e l l a i n v i t e d t o t h e Quirinale ESA (European S p a c e A g e n c y ) a s t r o n a u t S a m a n t h a C r i s t o f o r e t t i , along with its general direc- tor Josef Aschbacher and the president of the Agenzia Spaziale Italiana Giorgio Saccoccia. To Cristoforetti, the first Italian woman to fly in space, Mattarella entrust- ed a Tricolore to be brought on the ISS (International Space Station), during the m i s s i o n s c h e d u l e d t h i s Spring. "Giving you the flag is a great honor. It's in the best hand to show it's ready for the future," Mattarella said to Cristoforetti. "The whole of Italy will be with t h i s f l a g , f o r y e t a n o t h e r amazing experience." The a s t r o n a u t , t h e f i r s t European woman to become head of the European Space S t a t i o n d u r i n g t h e E x p e d i t i o n 6 8 m i s s i o n (she'll travel to space on a SpaceX Crew Dragon, along w i t h N A S A p e e r s K j e l l Lindgren and Bob Hines), e x p r e s s e d h e r " i m m e n s e p l e a s u r e " i n m e e t i n g Mattarella who "was always v e r y p r e s e n t i n t h e s e 7 y e a r s . " S h e a l s o s t r e s s e d how proud she is to "bring the Italian flag to space." Then, our President compli- m e n t e d t h e A g e n z i a Spaziale Italiana for "all it does," because it shows the c o u n t r y i s " c o n c r e t e l y focused on the future." A flag that brings together values and sacrifices, com- m i t m e n t a n d p a s s i o n , c o u r a g e a n d d a i l y w o r k . " M a n y t r a g i c a n d h e r o i c events – Mattarella said on the occasion of the Festa del Tricolore - led us to fulfill a common destiny. From our struggles, starting from the pain and uncertainty caused b y t h e p a n d e m i c , a n e w sense of awareness and faith in the future was born. We showed every challenge can be accepted and tackled with t h e c o m m i t m e n t a n d responsibility of everyone and all." Continued from page 4 Italian President Sergio Mattarella entrusts the Tricolore to Samantha Cristoforetti, who'll bring it on board of the ISS (Photo: Quirinale-Presidenza della Repubblica)

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