“We love Italy, because it needs it”

“We love Italy because she needs it.” It was with these words that Partisan “Cin”, Luigi Grossi, moved the Liberation Day Celebration in Varese Province. He spoke, together with the Provincial President of ANPI (the national association of Italian partisans), Angelo Zappoli, and with the Deputy Mayor of Varese, Carlo Baroni, at the end of a morning of celebrations and after the procession, which ended at the Molinari Hall in Via Bersaglieri.

The celebration took place at a very difficult time for the whole country, and Grossi himself recalled this in his speech. “Now, like in the days when the Italian people rebelled against the occupation, we are living in a time that is worrying for our nation, and it is hard to see Italy recovering. But we managed to do it, back then, and we must also do it now, because we’re a great nation,” Grossi said.

“This reunion mustn’t become a routine.” According to Angelo Zappoli, the 25 April Celebration is of fundamental importance. “At a time when its values appear foreign, it’s important to transmit culture and values so that they are shared by everyone.”

These values were shared on the day of the rebellion by the Italian people, “when men, women and children fought to give us a free, republican Italy.”  And we have to deserve this, said Grossi, “to be worthy of those who were killed and those who sacrificed their lives to liberate Italy.”