H.E. Andrea Perugini, Ambassador of Italy during his speech on Il Giorno della Republica at Zuiderstrandtheater.
By Guido Lanfranchi.
On May 29th, the Embassy of Italy in The Hague decided to celebrate the 72nd anniversary of the Italian Republic together with the diplomatic community of the Netherlands. An incredible amount of guests accepted the invitation of the Ambassador H.E. Andrea Perugini, and convened at the Zuiderstrandtheater to enjoy typical Italian music and food.
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On June 2nd, 1946, in the aftermath of World War II, the Italian people were faced with an historical decision: whether to continue to be ruled by the King Umberto II, or to transition towards a republican form of government.
Slightly more than half of the Italian voters decided to opt for the second option, and in June 1946 the Republic of Italy was born. Today, 72 years afterward, while political forces dialogue in order to set up a new government, Italy celebrates the 72nd anniversary of the Republic, and it decided to do so under the motto “United for our country.”
In The Hague, the Ambassador H.E. Mr. Andrea Perugini and the Italian Embassy organized a marvelous event in order to celebrate this anniversary, inviting the diplomatic community and the Italian community in the Netherlands to convene at the Zuiderstrantheater in Scheveningen, The Hague.
A tremendous amount of guests answered to the call, and started arriving at the theater in the late afternoon of May 29th. Ambassador Perugini, together with Ms. Mariska Perugini-Visser and several members of the Embassy’s staff, stood at the entry and welcomed all the guests, who took place in the reception room.
Soon, the guests were invited to enter the theater, in order to enjoy the concert given by the Fanfara dei Bersaglieri, Sezione di Altamura.
The Ambassador addressed the guests, reminding them of the importance of this anniversary for Italy. H.E. Mr. Perugini praised the efforts of the Italian people to uphold the values of the Constitution, in spite of any challenges. He also stressed the importance of the role of Italy in sustaining the European Union, “an imperative choice” given that the EU “brought to the continent peace and stability,” which are not to be given for granted.
Moreover, the Ambassador praised the incredibly positive bilateral relation between Italy and the Netherlands, of which next year will be the 115th anniversary.
The focus moved then from politics to music, as the Ambassador introduced the Fanfara Bersaglieri di Altamura, founded 15 years ago by director Michele Castellano.
As the Ambassador welcomed the soldiers-musicians on the stage, he pointed at the special weapons that the Bersaglieri held in their hands: musical instruments. Hopefully, in the future, “all armies in the world should do the same,” the Ambassador said.
Thanking the guests, the theater, the Italian Embassy, and all the sponsors, the Ambassador officially gave the start to the concert.
The Fanfara dei Bersaglieri kicked off the performance with the Italian and the Dutch national anthems. Then, they performed two typical songs of the Italian Bersaglieri, Alla fronte il cappello piumato (The feathered hat on the forehead) and Reggimento di papà (Daddy’s regiment), as well as Forse, forse, forse (Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps), a popular song by the Cuban songwriter Osvaldo Farrès.
Maestro Daniele Difato then took the direction stage, and guided the Bersaglieri through the performance of two medleys, one of Ennio Morricone’s pieces, and another of classical music pieces.
When Michele Castellano took again the lead, the Bersaglieri performed two famous pieces from Italy (Con te partirò) and the United States (The House of the Rising Sun), before closing the concert with typical Bersaglieri’s songs, such as Bersaglieresca, La ricciolina, and Flik Flok.
Towards the end of the concert, all the organizations involved decided to show their mutual gratitude. The Italian Embassy in The Hague gifted the Bersaglieri and Maestro Difato with white roses for each musician. In turn, Mr. Giacomo Casanova, President of the Associazione Nazionale Bersaglieri Sezione di Altamura, offered gifts of gratitude to H.E. Mr. Perugini, coming from both his association and the Provincial Government of Bari.
Finally, the tradition of the Bersaglieri involved one last ceremony. When a feather spontaneously falls from the hat of a Bersagliere, the fallen feather should be given to a lady in the room, together with a gentleman’s kiss, as a symbol of a gift to all the ladies in the room. The Bersaglieri chose to give the feather to Ms. Perugini-Visser, who received it among the applause of the audience.
As Italy is famous worldwide for its food, the Italian Embassy had a hard job in meeting the expectations of its guests with the reception that followed the concert. Nevertheless, they definitely succeeded in doing so. As the guests exited the concert hall, they found a number of different stands organized by Italian restaurants coming from all over the Netherlands.
These stands offered a variety of typical Italian dishes, such as orecchiette, panzerotti, cannoli, prosciutto di Parma, as well as many innovative recipes by the Italian chefs living in Holland, all accompanied by wine and other drinks.
The guests remained for a long time in the Zuiderstrantheater, and enjoyed the conversations among each other while tasting the Italian flavors.
