A delegation from the Menorca museum dedicated to the sinking of the battleship Roma visited the city of Porto Torres. The meeting, organized by the National Association of Italian Sailors (Anmi), saw as hosts the mayor Massimo Mulas, the deputy mayor Simona Fois and the commander of the Port Authority, Captain of Frigate Gabriele Peschiulli, together with Giovanni Caddeo and Roberto Barbieri of the ANMI of Porto Torres, Alghero and Valledoria.
The delegation from the city of Mahòn in Menorca was led by Luis Alejandre Sintes, former chief of staff of the Spanish army, and by Mario Capa. The community of Mahòn played an active role in the activities of welcoming, caring, comforting and - in some cases - even burial of the survivors of the Roma battleship, sunk on 9 September 1943 in the Gulf of Asinara by German bombers following the Armistice .
An experience that marked the Spanish town: the idea of establishing a museum was born from the need to keep the memory of that episode alive. The group from Menorca first visited the Port Museum and then placed a floral arrangement at the monument to the Battleship Roma. "It was a very emotional moment - declares the mayor Mulas - which allows us to remember a historical fact that well exemplifies the brutality of every war: the sinking of the battleship is not part of the acts of combat but was a mere retaliation by the Nazis to punish the Italians who had signed the Armistice.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of this tragedy and it will be an opportunity to strengthen the bond with the communities united by the event: for this reason, in the coming months we will enter into a Pact of friendship with the cities of Viareggio and Mahòn in the name of the fallen Battleship. A way to promote memory but also to send a strong message against any war".
