L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JULY 17, 2014 www.italoamericano.com L'Italo-Americano 3 Carabinieri celebrate their 200th anniversary Matteo Renzi and many other politicians and military personal- ities participated in a large cere- mony where many Carabinieri were recognized for outstanding and exceptional service. On Sunday Pope Francesco, after celebrating Mass in Saint Peters Square, received thou- sands of Carabinieri coming from all over Italy for the special meeting organized with him to celebrate their 200th anniver- sary. Pope Francesco warmly thanked them for coming to visit him, "Grazie, cari amici Carabinieri, di essere venuti così numerosi! Il Signore benedica voi e le vostre famiglie" ("My dear Carabinieri friends, thanks for coming in such a large num- ber! May the Lord bless you and your families"). The Pope also reminded them of the Christian aspects and values of their "mis- sion" and wanted to celebrate the memory of Vice Brigadiere Salvo D'Acquisto, who was exe- cuted by the Germans in Palidoro (near Rome) during World War II. D'Acquisto was a young Carabiniere who exchanged his life for the lives of citizens due to be executed in Continued from page 1 L'Italo-Americano special sum- mer edition is back, a double edi- tion that will be with you for the next two weeks. As the newspaper is constantly improving, the last months went by very fast, marking some important steps in its evolu- tion. Thanks to the digital revolu- tion, L'Italo-Americano is now available on tablets and smart- phones, and daily updates are pro- vided on our Twitter and Facebook pages. More recently, the newsletter has also been introduced, featuring our Top Weekly Stories. The local sections of the newspaper have been extended to 8 communities in 4 different States, and we are constantly approaching new ones in order to expand the Italian American network on the West Coast. The total number of pages has been increased, without increasing the cost of subscription. The English section has been upgraded, with the goal of reaching out to second and third gen- erations, but without losing our distinctive feature: the Italian section written by our contributors in Italy. The remarkable commitment of L'Italo-Americano staff is always aimed at differentiating the content of our articles and columns, as well as at strengthening our presence within the community through several social events. Now here it comes the summer break, a very important moment to dedicate to our families and ourselves. This short break will allow us to meditate on the results achieved so far and to make great plans for L'Italo-Americano of the future. We will regain our strength and reaffirm our commitment to offer you the highest quality of information and a future full of new initiatives that meet your needs. Dear readers, we invite you to email your suggestions, com- ments, and critique to letters@italoamericano.com. You are our audience, our end-users, and you have the important task of help- ing the newspaper improve day after day. Con affetto, It's vacation time: you get the special edition, we take a creative break retaliation for the killing of a German soldier by the Partisans; instead, he claimed responsibili- ty and was executed for the offence. In their history the Carabinieri have made countless heroic actions, but Salvo D'Acquisto is the hero they are most proud of today. Going back in history, the first urban police force is thought to date from the Roman Empire. In 29 A.C. Emperor Cesare Augusto founded two different police authorities called Cohortes, one to keep order and safety at night, the second one to protect the city from foreign attacks. These two forces didn't have military duties but were created with the sole purpose of safeguarding the city and its people. Today, coincidentally, Italy still has two main armed forces to protect its citizens and keep order. In fact together with the Carabinieri, the older of the two, there's also the Polizia. Many people wonder why there are two forces with similar roles. The reason may be found in the past following the Fascist dicta- torship when, to prevent a "coup d'état" by one military force, the Polizia was created (1954) to split the military power into two. Yet, despite Carabinieri involvement in the suppression of opposition during the rule of Benito Mussolini, they were also responsible for his down- fall. Many units were disbanded by Nazi Germany, which result- ed in large numbers of Carabinieri joining the Italian resistance movement. Nowadays, there's no reason to fear another dictatorship, but the two organizations are used to working side-by-side, with simi- lar duties, and perfect coordina- tion. Happy 200th anniversary Carabinieri! "Carabinieri nella tormenta", a bronze sculpture made to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Carabinieri army From the director

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