Not since the days of compulsory military service had such a large number of Navy personnel swearing -in ceremonies been held in La Maddalena— 416 in total, including around 100 women. Lined up yesterday morning in the Avegno square of the Petty Officers' School, they swore allegiance to the Italian Republic, before over 2,000 relatives who had come from all over Italy.
In attendance were the Commander of the West Navy, Admiral Enrico Pacioni; the Military Ordinary for Italy, Archbishop Gianfranco Saba; Federica Porcu, representing the Province of Gallura and the Municipality of La Maddalena; the Mayor of Palau, Franco Manna; Captain Gianluca D'Agostino, Maritime Director of Northern Sardinia; the Bishop of Tempio-Ampurias, Monsignor Roberto Fornaciari; and other senior officials from the Army, the Navy-Coast Guard, the Carabinieri, and the Guardia di Finanza, as well as representatives of the Prefecture and Police Headquarters. The 416 sworn-in volunteers (VFI) of the 12th course (Persefone) and the 13th course (Centauro) were sworn-in volunteers. After the oath was read aloud by the commander of the training institute, Francesco Mafiola, followed by a speech, the commander of the West Navy and the military ordinary for Italy spoke. The oath had been preceded the evening before by a grand concert held in Piazza Umberto I by the San Domenico Savio town band, organized by the Municipality of La Maddalena and the island's parish. This was a clear sign not only of welcome for the soldiers and their many relatives who had arrived on the island, but also of confirmation of the close ties between the three communities that have always coexisted on the island: civil, religious, and military.
At the end of the concert, a stream of people, including military personnel in uniform and their families, followed the band as it began the traditional "retreat" from Piazza Umberto I to the training institute. Here, the same band played "the silence" to conclude the day preceding the swearing-in ceremony, which took place yesterday, Saturday, June 26th.
