the editorial team
On July 15, 2023, a ceremony was held in Florence with Maria Federica Giuliani - Councillor for, among other things, Relations with Religious Denominations, and the Culture of Memory and Legality of the City of Florence. The occasion was the arrival of the relay of Jeeps organized to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Allied landing in Sicily, made with the contribution of Gotica Toscana aps and the HMV (History Military Vehicles) Italia association, which is based in Ponzalla, at the Mugot - Museo Gotica in Scarperia.
The Monuments Men and the New Zealand soldiers who fought to save Florentine works of art from destruction and theft were thus honored. In the cemetery of San Miniato al Monte, in this regard, there was a tribute to Lieutenant Frederick Hartt. A wreath was laid on his grave, in attendance were Councillor for the Culture of Remembrance Maria Federica Giuliani and Filippo Spadi, president of the HMV Italia association, and the Consul General of the United States of America in Florence, Ragini Gupta.
“Frederick Hartt Florence is credited with saving many of our works of art at the end of the war,” councillor Giuliani recalled, “He was a great scholar and art historian of the Italian Renaissance, whose deep love he had for Italian art, after enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1942, prompted him to join the Monuments Men, the military corps that played a key role in safeguarding and recovering some of the world's most precious works of art. ”For this Florence will always be grateful to him," concluded Councillor Giuliani, "and has awarded him honorary citizenship and welcomed him, as per his wish, to the Porte Sante cemetery in San Miniato a Monte.
The relay of Willys jeeps continued to the Gothic Line in the Apennines, with visits to the bunker on the Giogo pass. In the Po Valley, the vehicles will stop at Felonica (Mantua), on the trail of the German retreat from the Po. Stops in Salò and Desenzano, and the arrival in Milan, at the Trenno Commonwealth Cemetery, conclude the journey.
Essential stops the museums of the ‘Italy War Route’ cultural circuit, historic sites symbolic of the Italian campaign. The mission is combined with a fundraiser to benefit the Tommasino Bacciotti charity, a non-profit organization that supports research in pediatric oncology and helps families of young patients. 100 T-shirts commemorating the raid have been made and will be sold at the symbolic price of 20 euros. The entire proceeds will be donated to the Bacciotti Association.
