National day for the victims of Covid, the ceremonies in Italy

Today will be a sad day for Italy which stops in memory of the Coronavirus victims. Green light of the Senate for the establishment of the National day in memory of covid victims. The Constitutional Affairs Commission of the Senate unanimously approved the bill which establishes that March 18 will be the day to commemorate the victims of Covid. The initiative aims to "to preserve and renew the memory of all the people who have died as a result of this epidemic". The proposal that received the green light from Montecitorio is summarized in the unified text (AC 2451 and abb., S. 1894) consisting of 6 articles.

Dragons in Bergamo

On the occasion of the first edition of the Day, Prime Minister Mario Draghi will be in Bergamo, will participate and intervene. A wreath of flowers will be placed at the monumental cemetery of the city. Subsequently, the inauguration of the Bosco della Memoria will take place with the ceremony for the planting of the first 100 trees at the Martin Lutero alla Trucca Park. Greetings and institutional interventions are foreseen. It will all be broadcast live by Rai and on the institutional channels of the Presidency of the Council. Both official moments will be closed to the public because all of Lombardy is a red zone.

The invitation of the state

On the occasion of the National Day, the State, the regions, the provinces and the municipalities can promote initiatives, ceremonies, public events, meetings and moments of remembrance. In particular, those initiatives aimed at the younger generations to further sensitize them to this sad moment in world history. Schools will also be able to organize similar events to promote understanding and learning of issues related to the spread of the coronavirus epidemic and the international commitment to its containment. The law provides for a minute of national silence.

The memory of March 18, 2020

It is no coincidence that the date of 18 March was chosen. A year has already passed since the indelible memory of the column of Italian army vehicles leaving the city of Bergamo with the coffins of Covid victims. Army trucks exited the city, carrying the hundreds of coffins of the dead awaiting burial, to take them elsewhere for cremation. On March 18, 2020 Italy was facing its blackest day: 2.978 victims of Covid-19 nationwide.

Ceremonies throughout Italy for the National Day for the victims of Covid

Many ceremonies are scheduled. The president of ANCI, Antonio Decaro, sent a letter to all the Italian mayors asking them to participate in the day with a minute of silence to observe, in conjunction with the speech in Bergamo by the president of the Council of Ministers. With the Italian flag placed at half mast. The mayor Giuseppe Sala, in Milan, in Piazza Scala, at the same time as Bergamo, will remember the victims of the pandemic. Also the Lombardy Region announces that the belvedere of Palazzo Pirelli and that of Palazzo Lombardia in Milan will be illuminated with the tricolor. TO Rome the presidents of the Senate commissions, invited by the President of the Senate Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati, they will observe a minute of silence. In the Chamber, on the other hand, the flags will be hoisted at half mast. At Palazzo Vecchio, in Florence, a plaque will be placed in the courtyard of the Customs to remember the dead of the Tuscan city.

The celebrations in the South

The mayor of Bari and president Anci Antonio Decaro, with the prefect Antonella Bellomo, they will observe a minute of silence from the balcony of the office in the Palazzo di Città. In Palermo in the Green area a commemorative tree will be planted at Villa Trabia. The ceremony will be attended by Mayor Leoluca Orlando, the Deputy Mayor, Fabio Giambrone and the Councilor for Green, Sergio Marino.
After the ceremony, at Palazzo delle Aquile a minute of silence will be observed. Throughout the day, flags will be displayed at half mast in the municipal and metropolitan city buildings. All Sicilian mayors will observe a minute of silence, flags will be displayed at half mast in the municipal buildings.