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The Column of LiberationApril 19-27, 2008created by |
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Sponsorships granted as of Friday, August 01, 2008
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The event has been developed by the GoticaToscana non profit association of Scarperia, whose statutory aims include the promotion of historical research on WWII in Italy. The GoticaToscana association has also organized successful large-scale HMV events such as the “Twin Cities” and “Route of the Heart” rallies in Florence and Siena, which took place for the 2006 and 2007 Liberation day celebrations.
The 2008 event will take place on two weekends (April 19-20 and 25-27 2008) and include several important sideshows, such as joint parachute jumps from a historic C47 airplane by Italian and US-based WWII Airborne reenactors, historical exhibitions, and public gatherings.
As already noted, the event, besides its historical dimension, will be primarily aimed at collecting food, medical implements, and money for charity purposes and international aid, under the direct management and with the guarantee on final use by the charity organizations involved.
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Table of content
Journey’s End
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Journey’s End
“The Column of Liberation”
HMV and Reenacting Event
Italy, April 18-27, 2008
By Corso P. Boccia and Filippo Spadi, #24493
Scarperia, Florence, Italy
So it’s over. End of story. It’s the late afternoon of Sunday, 27 April 2008, and the sun, which has been shining hot since the early morning, when we were assembling our column in Ferrara, is slowly arching towards the low horizon of the vast plain around us.
A large civilian crowd still engulfs us, admiring our HMVs parked in downtown Sermide and visiting the riverside area where just a while ago DUCKWs have tested their floatability in the Po river, their propellers slowly churning the air when they descended the jetty into the river, its waters swollen by the unseasonal rains of the previous week. Clumsy creatures, those DUCKWs, when they are about to take waterborne status.
Oblivious to the crowd, we might as well be alone in the desert, though. Because the journey is over, and with it the sense of purpose and expectation for the task ahead, which kept us alert, sleepless that we are.
Now a thin invisible film separates us from reality. Maybe tiredness is catching up at last, maybe it’s the realization these strange, magnificent days are over.
Not that we can indulge in such introspection, as we have to see to it that all vehicles are put on their way home safe, and in the process we say our goodbyes to old and new friends. Then we’ll start our trip home,
savoring this last opportunity to ride our HMVs in the little convoy which will bring us back to Tuscany, once again through the Apennines passes whose control cost so many lives sixty-four years ago, and which our northbound column had traversed – well, only yesterday, but it seems already a faraway experience.
The idea of “The Column of Liberation”, a large-scale on-the-road HMV event traversing Italy for about 650 miles from Rome to the Po – an unprecedented undertaking in Italy – was conceived by the GoticaToscana non profit association at the beginning of 2007. It was clear from the beginning this new venture presented a very difficult task, necessitating the collaboration of many subjects, both associations and individuals. We would not be working from scratch, though, since we had learned a lot from our successful events of the previous years, and had established a good network of relations with individuals, private concerns, and public administrations, both national and local.
As was the case with our past events of this type, we conceived of “The Column of Liberation” not only as a joyful and attractive occasion for HMV collectors and reenactors, but also as an opportunity to further public awareness of our hobby and its educational as well as entertaining value. The 2008 event, organized on the occasion of the Italian 63rd WWII Liberation Day celebrations, had the further aim of collecting money for charity purposes. To this end, we sought and obtained the full partnership of the Italian Red Cross, and elected the Giuseppe e Margherita Coletta Charity Association as the beneficiary of the sums.
Thus, thanks to the joint effort by many, and the relentless activism of the GoticaToscana executive secretary (whose unshakeable optimism proved to be founded on outstanding organizational skills), the idea progressed from the project stage to reality. Which, to some, seemed an impossiblity only a few weeks before.
It is the late afternoon of Friday 18 April 2008, and we are overseeing the unloading of our HMVs at a picked location near the southern outskirts of Rome. When the transport trucks, which brought our vehicles, depart we realize we’ll go back home only the long and hard way, up to the Po and back. Many participants have already joined us for the night. Familiar faces of long time friends as well as new people we will learn to appreciate as impeccable fellow travelers during the following days. They are coming from the southernmost tip of Italy as well as from its Alpine boundaries, giving us the sense of how this event will be truly national in scope. And, quite appropriately, tomorrow we will travel the paved roads of our national Capital, an unprecedented fact for a privately organized HMV event.
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Next morning, an early sun dissolves the scattered clouds of the previous day, warming us. The balance of participants joins us after a night trip by chartered busses, hurrying up to retrieve their previously transported vehicles, or hastily putting on their equipment while the column is formed along the Ardeatina Highway, its traffic heavy even on this early Saturday morning. But we are on a tight schedule, and time runs away fast.“Move up!” – The impatiently shouted command fills the air, amplified by our loudspeaker for all to hear. An exhortation which, often repeated over the following weekends, will become familiar to everybody, to the point of jokingly becoming a semi official motto for the event, with a fair share of bitingly humorous remarks at our expense. Which of course we heartily accept in good stride, as becomes a Tuscan.
Off we go, the long snake of our column uncoiling along the highway, its quite appropriate first destination the Cecchignola military base, home of the Italian Historical Museum of Military Motorization.
The museum, directed by Col. Matteace, is a veritable paradise for HMV collectors, its top-class exhibits including some extremely rare vehicles. However, we have arranged for the stop at the base primarily as a final assembly point for our column before its entry into Rome, and we cannot devote the museum the time it deserves. With the promise of coming back on another occasion for a proper visit, we get ready for the next leg of our trip to the Eternal City.
The Rome City Police are waiting for us at the Cecchignola, with a few motorbikes and a car. The officers have an air of confidence, and we’ll find out during the day they indeed know their job, performing feats which sometimes leave us openmouthed.
Off we go, with their escort opening the way and blocking difficult intersections, along the old Roman roads: the Ardeatina, the Appia Antica, than through the Terme di Caracalla, till we enter the old city gates. By way of Via Vibenna we reach the Coliseum, its majestic bulk no less impressive to us as it must have appeared to the conquering troops of the US Fifth Army in June 1944. We proceed along the Fori Imperiali and reach our final destination in Rome: the Altare della Patria, Italy’s shrine to the unknown soldier, erected at the turn of the 20th century. There, under the watchful and helping eye of a discreet security service, we park our vehicles amid the usual crowd of tourists from all over the world, happily surprised by this unexpected show, which was not included in their trip plan by the travel agency.
Rome is a beautiful city, and we enjoy its magical atmosphere to the full. As per our program, our bagpiper intones a short musical homage to the unknown soldier on the Altare della Patria’s imposing stairs, the monument’s hugeness dwarfing our parked vehicles, even the largest in our column, such as our friend De Rosa’s SPA Artillery tractor.
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Our stop lasts almost an hour, giving tourists and many HMV collectors who have come to see us time to enjoy the vehicles, and giving out enthusiastic comments.
To a certain extent, we were unable, at the moment, to fully grasp our feelings. Such an early crowning of our efforts – to be all together at such a symbolic place in our national capital, the sun shining over us, a large crowd extending their congratulations to us; only later we will feel the emotions which the occasions deservingly brought out.
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Sergio Martino move up from Piazza Venezia
At about 10:30 a.m. we reassemble and depart for the second leg of our morning trip to Lake Bracciano. Off we go along Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, than proceed along the Tiber to the Flaminio Stadium. Soon, Rome
is behind us, and we enter Highway 2, the Cassia, its heavy and chaotic traffic as evident as ever. It’s here that our indomitable Police escort proves its best. At their passage, the wall of cars lined bumper to bumper in both directions open up miraculously, like the Biblical waters of the Red Sea in front of Moses, such is the commanding presence and the professionalism of the motor bikers of the Gruppo di Intervento Traffico of the Municipality of Rome.
Our guardian cops wave us goodbye once we get at the city limits, and we are on our own up to Lake Bracciano and the Italian Air Force Museum at Vigna di Valle, where we’ll have lunch. We follow our route on maps and we get to our destination without trouble. It’s about midday, and we have time to service our vehicles, enjoy a beautiful sun at the lake shore, and proceed to lunch, cafeteria style, at the Air Force base where the museum is sited. Before WWII, Vigna di Valle was an important seaplanes base, a faraway past in the fast moving history of aviation.
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After a good lunch, we have the opportunity to visit the Museum, a first-class institution of its kind, preserving some landmark machines of which only one example survives, such as the Italian Campini n. 1, the first jet plane to fly long distance in August, 1940, as well as several Macchi’s and Savoia’s of Schneider Cup fame. After the tour, we enjoy some more time the beautiful scenery and sunshine of Lake Bracciano, then we start for the third leg of our trip, destination Viterbo by way of Sutri, Capranica, and Vetralla. The region traditionally known as Tuscia, the southern part of the land where the Etruscans built their sophisticated civilization before Rome took dominance almost three thousand years ago, is a natural painting of colors, its gentle hills an ever-changing mosaic of vineyards, planted woods, beautiful old villas, and pastures, where cattle and sheep roam peacefully in the early afternoon.
We pass through Sutri, with its ancient Roman settlements excavated into the tuff and its amphitheater. Then a short stop at Capranica to refill our vehicles, causing the usual euphoric surprise by its inhabitants, and we proceed on our route to Viterbo. All is going as planned, and only a couple of vehicles have mechanical problems. This gives one particular Willys at the back of our column the opportunity to display the remarkable strength of its design, by towing a fully loaded ¾ ton Dodge (with problems at the distributor) up and down very steep hills, for several miles to Viterbo.
Meanwhile, we reach the outskirts of the town, where the local Police meet us to escort us to Piazza del Plebiscito and the Corso, among two wings of people who crowd the area on this sunny Saturday afternoon,
then we reach the barracks of the Italian Army Non-Commissioned Officers School, where we will set up for the night.
We pass through the security check at the gate and park our vehicles in an orderly way in the main barracks square, before proceeding to dinner. Later, several participants reach their hotel destinations in Viterbo, while about seventy of us bed down in the barracks rooms, in typical military fashion. Cots, lockers, and the “cube” of blankets and sheets to be carefully setup in the morning, remind many of us of their military service, when we were all much younger!
We are tired, and most are asleep before retreat is sounded. The next morning we wake up early, and after breakfast we assemble besides our vehicles in the main square for the reveille formation. The hymns of the
several Italian arms and services are played, followed by the National Anthem, which we all sing together with the military cadre at the base for the flag raising ceremony. The School Deputy Commander, General Di Luzio, has come to give his farewell speech on behalf of the Army, and we thank him for having allowed us inside the base, providing both logistical support and, no less important, the opportunity to stop at this
symbolic location.
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Today’s route will put to test our vehicles: a trip of about 100 miles from Viterbo to Castiglion Fiorentino by way of Orvieto, Todi, and the Lake of Bolsena. Again, the landscape is beautiful. Because of the hilly country we will divide the column into two sections comprising light and heavy vehicles, so that both can proceed at their ideal pace, not to belabor the engines.
This is also a day requiring good navigation skills, since to avoid the main highways we will have to make many detours along secondary roads. Several jeeps and motorcycles are needed to guide our two column
sections through the hamlets and towns dotting our way. At mid morning, we reassemble at the beautiful little town of Montecastello di Vibio, where refreshments offered by the locals are waiting for us. We park around the village walls, and have the opportunity to visit en enchanting place which many of us have never been before, greeted in exquisite ways by the locals. Unfortunately, our stop must be short, as we have to travel a long way before reaching our midday stop on the shores of Lake Trasimeno.
The Umbria region, where we are now, is named as “the green hearth of Italy”, and rightly so. The only Italian region south of the Alps without a seacoast, its landscape reflects three millenniums of civilization from the Etruscan through Rome, the middle ages, the Renaissance, and the more recent centuries. Hardly anything is wilderness here. Every single tree, every vineyard or crop, and of course each town and farm is the product of labor and the work of generations through the ages.
So the going is tough, but rewarding. And the difficult task, requiring reciprocal help by vehicles owners, always ready to stop if some other driver seems in trouble (even if we have arranged for servicing trucks and
assistance) strengthens the bond among participants, making the Column of Liberation a large family of friends.
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Tired but satisfied we reach our restaurant at the lake near Castiglione del Lago. Not only is lunch waiting for us, but also a veritable crowd of people who have taken the opportunity to visit the place knowing we were coming. So much that it proved a difficult task, for our friends from nearby Cortona, to keep our off limits parking area free from visitors’ vehicles.
The tasty meal, served professionally while we enjoy the beautiful view on lake Trasimeno, is refreshing after the long morning trip. However, we must leave sooner than we would like, as the road to Castiglion
Fiorentino is still long. After lunch, a few participants, visibly sad, wish us goodbye to get back home near Rome or to the South, as planned. But they will not resist the chance of rejoining us the following weekend, changing their plans unexpectedly.
Our arrival in Castiglion Fiorentino is the appropriate end for our first days together. The whole place is waiting for us at the main parking area outside the town walls. Bands play music and the Military Corps of the Italian Red Cross has set up a demonstration camp complete with tents and equipment, including a rare WWII Italian artillery tractor.
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We listen to the welcoming speeches by local authorities and to the music played by the several bands, while majorettes contribute a light note to the show, and the people gather around our vehicles asking questions and taking photographs.
While the main body of the Column of Liberation has been cruising along lovely Umbria and Tuscany, the second wing of our Column – the Lucca Detachment – has set up a vehicle exhibition, also together with the local Italian Red Cross, at the city of Lucca to the west of Florence. They will reach us the next weekend in Florence and will proceed to the North with us from there.
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The Column – the Lucca Detachmen
The first part of our event is over. We oversee the recovery of our HMVs at a convenient location made available to us by the municipality of Castiglion Fiorentino and we start our trip back home, on chartered busses or by cars. Tired but satisfied, we look forward to the coming Friday and the beginning of the second half of our adventure.
We organizers, though, will have to attend several chores already before then. Among these, a particularly welcome one is that of meeting the US based WWII Airborne Demonstration Team, who are coming to Italy to jump from a historic C47 aircraft. Together with them is Mr. Louis Napier, 504th Parachute Infantry veteran who fought in Italy from Sicily to Anzio, then carrying on his dangerous duty in Holland, the Battle of the Bulge, and Germany. Needless to say, his presence with us means more than we could possibly put in writing, but we try our best to convey him our thankful feelings.
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The Airborne Demonstration Team in Pisa with the Commander and Deputy commander of
the school, Colonels Lupini and Chiarenza
We have arranged for their stay at quite a proper location: the Italian Army Parachute School at Pisa, where our guests will be able to enjoy the right atmosphere, just looking around at the jump towers and peeking inside the large parachute rigging sheds at the base. We are received with the warmest welcome by the Commander and Deputy commander of the school, Colonels Lupini and Chiarenza, the latter also himself an avid HMV collector.
The following day, we take our ADT guests from Pisa to the ABMC Florence American Cemetery and Memorial, and some of our American friends are able, for the first time, to pay respect to the burial of relatives who fell to liberate Italy in WWII. Then, we proceed to Castiglion Fiorentino, where we will start anew our event, carrying our vehicles up to the Po river. A tasty dinner in a nice local restaurant is the perfect occasion to get together again after these few days of separation.
On the early morning of Friday, April 25, we assemble again at the main parking area in Castiglion Fiorentino, where a German StuG III Ausf F quite appropriately stands watch. This is a WWII relic retrieved from its resting place where the retreating Wehrmacht had used it, after it had broken down mechanically, to bridge a small stream during their retreat up north in July 1944. As for our arrival a few days before, it looks the whole town is gathered to see our departure, enjoying the usual confusion when vehicles assemble, come and go for a last refueling, and finally get their proper place in the column, exhaust smokes filling the air together with the unusual noise of sixty-years old engines.
We start our journey under a beautiful sun reaching Arezzo, where we parade through the main avenues downtown amid a cheering crowd, and then along the Arno river valley in the direction of Florence. This is home territory for our group of organizers, and we see many friends waving at us from the road side, or among the Florence Police Historical Group who, running on vintage motorbikes and dressed in vintage uniforms guide us safely through the many intersections along the crowded way.
The morning goes on without problems, and by 1:00 p.m. we reach our midday destination at Rovezzano, a suburb of Florence. We are again the guests of the Italian Army, thanks to the help of Col. Liverani, the
commander of the Predieri barracks, home to the Italian contingent of the EUROFOR, the joint deployment-ready force set up by the European Union. Our vehicles park inside the base, in the company of an old M4
and a more recent M47 tanks standing guard under the flag pole in the barracks square.
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The good outcome of our first weekend has left a trace on everybody, and it’s a very happy and vocal crowd, which assembles in the large dining hall of the barracks. The lunch at Florence is the first occasion when we can properly introduce our ADT guests to the assembled crowd. Also, veterans Luis Napier and Enrico Bosi (who fought in the Italian RSI “Battaglione Azzurro” during WWII) receive standing ovations when they are introduced, and Colonel Liverani gives a short welcoming speech which goes well beyond the customary niceties, stricking a responsive chord with everyone present.
After lunch we enter Florence by way of the large avenues along the Arno river, then up the majestic tree-lined road to the panoramic Piazzale Michelangelo, offering a beautiful view of the city sprawled along the river in the valley below.
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The weather is perfect, and together with the view and the crowd of tourists and visitors, this makes for a very welcome stop, the perfect surrounding for Liberation Day, April 25. The Italian Red Cross, as before in Castiglion Fiorentino, has arranged their exhibition of vehicles and equipment, and after a while even more HMVs come when the Lucca detachment joins us at the place under the leadership of Beppe Bendinelli driving his amphibious Ford GPA, bringing the number of vehicles to about 75. Our people enjoy the scenery and the company of eager visitors, and we have time to stop at length at the Piazzale, amusing shopkeepers and customers alike when we go take an ice cream clumsily moving around in the crowded places, encumbered with steel helmets and full field equipment.
Then we start our climb along Highway 65 towards the Mugello, where we will spend the night at Scarperia. It’s well known route for many of us, but nonetheless a difficult one for our old vehicles, with steep climbs and narrow roads. All of us make it without problem, though, and at about 7 p.m. we reach Scarperia, where we enter the medieval town between two wings of applauding people. Remembering our previous coming two years before, their only worry seems this time no armored vehicles are present, as was the case for the “Twin Cities Rally” in 2006. We explain it would not have been feasible to get a column of Shermans up the peninsula from Rome to the Po!
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In Scarperia on the road to the Giogo Pass
A tasty dinner at the Scarperia Sporting Club association (who we have come to count upon for their professional service and the top quality of their cooking) ends our long day. Tomorrow we will cross the Apennines range, covering in one peaceful day the distance the Allied armies had to fight for from September 1944 to April 1945.
Saturday, we reach Barberino di Mugello early in the morning, where we stop shortly to be greeted by the Mayor, an old friend who trusted us when we organized our first HMV event in 2005. Then we climb highway 65 through the Futa and Raticosa passes, reaching Livergnano – “Liver’n Onions” to the GI’s – where we stop at the Monument celebrating the US 91st Infantry Division, who liberated the place at a high cost in 1944.
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At Livergnano, we are welcomed by our friends of the Winter Line Association, co-supporter of the event. Also, several more vehicles from the CVMS (an Italian HMV club) join the column, coming from several locations in Northern Italy, and proceed with us towards Bologna, which we reach by way of secondary roads through Botteghino di Zocca. Our destination for lunch is the Museo Memoriale della Libertà managed by the Anzaloni family, and when we reach its gate a large Italian flag is flying on top of a huge welcoming sign to the Column of Liberation.
The atmosphere is homelike, since most of us know well the Anzaloni family – Edo, Arturo and Carla – as well as the place, which houses the museum (devoted to WWII and the Liberation of Bologna) and hosts a
large military fair several times a year. Our column now includes more than 90 vehicles, and we fill the large parking areas when we assemble for lunch.
Our afternoon trip will take us from Bologna to Ferrara – a rather short trip as the crow flies, but a long one for us, who have obligingly assured several townships that we will pass through them on our way, to offer as
many people as possible the chance to see our HMV’s. It’s a difficult task for the organization and the participants, but well worth the effort. We are glad to note the “Germans” among us receive a fair share of applause and appreciation, a sign that the consciousness of the historical character of events such as ours is spreading, pushing aside doubts about the inclusion of German WWII vehicles and uniforms in a Liberation Day celebration.
We arrive near Ferrara at the Barbieri factory compound, where we are going to have dinner, at about 8:00 p.m., and we are greeted by a huge crowd of people, come to see our arrival. Colonels Lupini and Chiarenza
from the parachute school are also there, also to attend the opening of an historical exhibition on “Operation Herring” – the last WWII combat jump by Italian parachute forces fighting alongside the Allies, which took place near Ferrara in the early Spring of 1945, concurrent to the Allied offensive into the Po Valley. The exhibition, which is linked to our event, was setup by the Ferrara chapter of the Italian Parachutists Association.
Upon our arrival, Col. Chiarenza, his voice repeated over a sound system, expertly describes to the public each vehicle when it passes in front of his stand, commenting not only on the types and function of our HMVs, but also getting into the subtle nuances of their different colors and markings.
Our dinner is a huge affair, with hundreds of people crowding the large structure available. It is also an occasion for celebrations, particulalry in honor of the several veterans among us. Luis Napier and Enrico Bosi, who came along with the column, and also a Brazilian veteran from the Brazilian Expeditionary Force which fought on the Northern Apennines alongside the US 10th Mountain Division, and two more Italian veterans from the Italian WWII Parachute Troops, men who fought and survived the epic battle at El Alamein, or jumped on Operation Herring itself. Each of them is introduced to the audience, each is welcomed by a roaring applause, while the Airborne mottos of different nationalities resound aloud in the air, a chorus of voices singing them at top lungs in the veterans’ honor. Nationalities do not matter in this, nor considerations about which side individuals fought on more than sixty years ago.
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It is already dark when we start our final leg of the journey to Ferrara. The night is starry, and we form our column once more, enjoying this unusual night trip in our HMVs, guided through the night by an efficient
security service by the Italian Carabinieri. Parading through Ferrara’s historic downtown area with our vehicles, in the magic atmosphere created by the city lights reflecting on the ancient buildings, while we reach Piazza Ariostea, remains a very special memory for all of us who were there.
No sooner are our vehicles parked in Piazza Ariostea than most of us proceed to their night quarters at several hotels or at the Ferrara Youth Hostel, which we have reserved beforehand. A few will sleep near the
parked vehicles under tents set up by the local volunteer services, who also act as night guards at the area. Others yet must attend to several organizational matters for the following day, and have to stay awake for
long before literally “hitting the sack” in the early morning hours.
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Ferrara - Piazza Ariostea
Sunday, April 27, 2008 has finally come. The last day of our wonderful trip through Italy. And, we hope, a proper finale for all who covered the long distance on the road, as well as for the many others who join us only for this last day. Our column now includes 115 WWII HMVs as well as a dozen more postwar vehicles, among these several historic vehicles from the Italian Fire Department, such as a DUCKW and a WWII German Schwimmwagen put back into service as a fire fighting amphibious vehicle. Opening the way to our column is a 1970’s Alfa Romeo “Giulia” in the typical gray-green color of an old emergency squad car, the well known “Pantera” which so many of us remember from our youthful days. Aboard it, a crew dressed in historical Italian Police uniforms.
In all truth, it’s a staggering view. Such a long column of HMV’s – which when in motion covers much more than a mile in length (a conservative estimate) – knows indeed no precedent in Italy, and not many beyond
our national borders. Already the previous day, during our trip from Bologna to Ferrara, looking back at its length from the vehicles at the head of the column when we crossed the vast expanses of the Po valley at
sunset was quite an impressive sight. A seemingly unending line of military vehicles, their unmistakable shapes silhouetted against the horizon in the west, reaching far into the plain to the point where even the big trucks were no more than small moving dots along a distant stretch of the road.
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Today, however, the column is only one part of the show. At mid morning, “Drag-em-oot”, a historic C-47 aircraft based in the UK, will carry our two airborne contingents to the drop zone near Sermide, executing two jumps, each with 20-21 parachutists. Already the previous day the jumpmasters have surveyed the drop zone to get the necessary information, and they have OK’d the location, which was carefully chosen to assure both safety and a good show for the audience. And audience there is. All available space along the winding road which borders the drop zone, several kilometers long, is crammed with people (for obvious reasons, vehicles are forbidden to park along the jump areas). It looks like everybody for many miles around have converged to the place- a fact later confirmed by our friends from Sermide, who stated they had never seen such an assembly of people before in their life at home.
We reach the area on schedule at 10:30 a.m., and the column proceeds slowly through the crowd to reach its parking areas at a safe distance from the drop zone. We have previously communicated with the C-47
crew at the Villafranca airport to assure its timely arrival on the drop zone. The atmosphere is charged with expectation, both among the audience and us. While we expect it, the first sound of the C-47 engines with
their slow drumming getting nearer cannot but bring shivers along our spines. Then we see it, its beautiful unmistakable shape getting closer at jump altitude, making its first pass over the drop zone to check wind and ground conditions.
The first jumps will be executed by the ADT. They have come a long way, from their homes in the States and their association’s base in Oklahoma, crossing the Ocean and then riding on our vehicles from Tuscany to the Po. One of them, though, did not need to travel that far. Pierguido Lanucara is the only Italian among the ADT jumpers, having gotten his ADT brevet in Oklahoma the previous winter (adding it to his two Italian
parachute qualifications – both military and civilian).
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And now their moment has come. The first stick of seven jumpers leaves the airplane, small dots in the clear blue sky at first. One by one, the chutes open, no reserves are needed, thankfully. They descend gently to the ground (well, at least it looks a gentle fall from a distance) among the general applause and cheering of everybody’s present. The second and third sticks follow, a long line of green canopies streaking the sky above us, and soon all of them are safely assembled at the building at the drop zone, which acts as our improvised CP during the show. Smiles beaming on their faces, they are extremely satisfied, and all of us with them.
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The Airborne Demonstration Team after the jumps
We celebrate the event by taking out a bottle of Italian grappa, and get together for picture taking. We find out one jumper had his M1 helmet jerked off by a riser, but he got out with only a big bruise below his left eye. And, the helmet was safely recovered on the soft ground, undamaged. Our location and the building, which appears unchanged from WWII; the parachute jumps; the American voices. It is hard at times to remember this is the year 2008 and not Italy, 1944.
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But that was only half of the show. Now the Italian parachutists will also jump. Because the Italian Parachutists Association have organized their own way of celebrating “Operation Herring”, and 21 Italian parachutists clad in the typical mix of British and Italian uniforms used by the Italian soldiers fighting alongside the Allies in WWII, are going to execute a second jump from the C-47.
It takes the airplane about one hour to get back to the Villafranca airport, load up, and return to the drop zone. Then, “Drag-em-oot” is here again, giving all of us a second chance to experience those wonderful feelings.
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Three more sticks jump out of the plane, under the leadership of Luca Migliavacca from Milan, who has also put together the required uniforms for his jumping friends. Again, each chute opens flawlessly, affecting a
perfect jump. Later, both US and Italian parachutists will tell us what from the ground seemed (to the non parachutists among us) quite an easy job under perfect circumstances of weather and terrain, was not such a nice walk, after all. The winds were rather strong at jumping altitude, and it takes quite a bit of expertise to properly jump out from a C-47 to avoid hitting the fuselage or getting a wrong descent position when the
canopy opens. And, the chutes themselves were of the old military types, not so easily guided as those of today. Hats off to all of the men who, with passion and professionalism, carry their wish to honor the fighters of yesterday one step forward than most of us do.
The C-47, its mission accomplished, donates us a magnificent low altitude passage on the drop zone, which leaves everybody exited and constitutes the perfect crowning of our wonderful morning at the drop zone.
It’s now time to start again, destination Felonica, where another exhibition of historic aircrafts, including a T-6 Harvard, a Macchi G506, and a Fiesler Storch, expects us. Once there, we will also be joined by official
delegations from the Italian Carabinieri, the Army Engineers Corps, the “Folgore” Parachute Brigade, as well as a US SETAF detachment from the Ederle Barracks in Vicenza.
The weather is hot, and everybody starts feeling the tiredness accumulated during the previous days. After the air show, the lunch, and official ceremonies including a presentation of honorary certificates to all who
jumped in the morning, we move one last time to nearby Sermide, along the Po river, where the people are waiting for us with the usual happiness and warmth which meant so much to us during the whole event. Such is the crowd that we can hardly reach the riverside area where a reenacting camp has been setup since Saturday, and where our amphibious vehicles will be launched into the river for a final demonstration
The first one to go is a modern vehicle by the Fire Brigade, which will act as a safety boat. Our DUCKWs then descend into the river, necessitating a careful driving since the waters are swollen by the rain of the previous week. This also prevents them to transports reenactors and visitors, as we had planned to do.
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The C47 at the Villafranca’s airport
The C47 at the Villafranca’s airport
The C47 at the Villafranca’s airport
So there we are, back where we started our story. The day is advancing towards its end. The first groups of participants start preparing their vehicles for the trip back home to locations stranded all along Italy. It’s
impossible not to feel sad when we exchange goodbyes with old and new friends. We have shared a unique experience, which in retrospect has developed even too fast for grasping its many pleasant moments, its
varied character. Our initial euphoria in Rome, soon to be overshadowed by the long trip to Viterbo. The cheering crowd in Castiglion Fiorentino a fleeting picture replaced by the beautiful locations in historic Florence.
The beautiful landscapes of the Northern Apennines, giving way to our long ride through the Po Valley and our night entry into Ferrara. And all of this finally absorbed by our magnificent last day, marked by the
spectacular jumps by the ADT and the Italian Parachutists Association, with the essential contribution of our British friends and their C-47 plane, whose coming – according to the rumors spread by a few malignant individuals, was but a publicity stunt by our Association.
Sorry, it was all for real, and the Column of Liberation will be remembered for long as an unprecedented event on the Italian HMV and reenacting scene.
As always in this kind of endeavors, many people have significantly contributed to the success of the event, and we redirect to all of them the many sincere words of congratulations and appreciation, which we have
received from so many quarters. If anything, the Column of Liberation has confirmed the old saying that unity is strength. It is now up to all Italian HMV clubs and individual collectors to make sure this will not be an isolated occurrence. To understand this success points in the right direction to develop the hobby in our country, by putting aside the parochialism and – in a few cases – the personal idiosyncrasies which have only hampered the growth of a mature and constructive HMV scene in Italy, to the benefit and for the enjoyment of all concerned.
Meanwhile, we still have to get home from Sermide. And our long trip to Tuscany under the fading sun in the west of the Po valley and through the darkness of the Apennines night will be a notable HMV experience in itself, full of beautiful moments and sensations.
So, time to go. We look back to the now little column of five or so vehicles carrying our group of friends from the Florence and Mugello area, and we read the same feelings into each other’s eyes. Well, anyway. The
gear is in neutral, the ignition turned on. With clutch depressed, a light step on the starting switch is all that is needed to start our trusted Willys on the first try. Its engine seems to be purring even more happily than usual, maybe she feels we are going back at last. But it must be just a trick of the imagination – we all know machines have no soul, don’t we; and yet..
“OK, move up, let’s go”
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General Event Program
Updated toFriday, August 01, 2008
Download pdf file
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Saturday April 19 2008 – 1st day: Rome - Viterbo
“Column of Liberation”
8:00 a.m. – Arrival and registration of participants at the Military vehicles Historical Museum at the Cecchignola Rome.(*)
9:00 a.m. – “The Column of Liberation” departs towards downtown Rome.
9:30 a.m. – Stop and ceremony at the Altare della Patria (Monument to the Unknown Soldier)
11:00 a.m. – Departure towards Anguillara Sabazia via Cassia.
12:15 p.m.– Arrival at Lake Bracciano
12:30 p.m.- Arrival and stop at the Italian Air Force Historical Museum at Vigna di Valle
1:00 p.m. – Lunch and guided tour of the museum
4:30 p.m.- Departure towards Sutri (Highway 2)
5:15 p.m. – Transit through Vetralla
6:00 p.m. – Arrival in Viterbo and stop.
7:30 p.m. – Trasfer to military installation in Viterbo for dinner and sleeping accommodations.
Sunday April 20, 2008 – 2nd day: Viterbo – Castiglion F.no
“Column of Liberation”
8:30 a.m. Departure from Viterbo towards Orvieto
9:45 a.m. Transit through Orvieto, proceeds towards Todi (PG)
10:45 a.m. Arrival in Perugia and stop.
11:45 a.m. Transit through Magione towards Lake Trasimeno
12:45 p.m. Arrival at Lake Trasimeno and stop for lunch.
2:30 p.m. Departure towards Castiglion del Lago
3:30 p.m. Arrival in Castiglion Fiorentino
3:30-6:30 p.m. Vehicles exhibition with detachment from the Italian Red Cross
6:30 p.m. Vehicles proceed to parking accommodations – End of the event (*)
Sunday April 20, 2008 - 2nd day: Lucca detachment
“Lucca detachment”
9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Vehicles exhibition with detachment from the Italian Red Cross in Lucca
The Column will stop from April 21 to April 24, allowing for the arrival and deployment of parachute reenactors.
Friday April 25, 2008 – 3rd day: Castiglion F.no – Scarperia
“Column of Liberation”
8:30 a.m. Departure towards Arezzo
9:00 a.m. Arrival in Arezzo and stop.
10:00 a.m. Departure towards Montevarchi
11:00 a.m. Transit through Montevarchi
11:30 a.m. Transit through Figline Valdarno/Incisa
12:30 p.m. Arrival in Pontassieve and stop for lunch
2:00 p.m. Departure towards Florence
2:30 p.m. Transit through Rovezzano
3:00 p.m. Arrival in Florence, stop, and rendezvous-with the “Lucca Detachment”
3:00-5:30 p.m. Vehicles exhibition with detachment from the Italian Red Cross.
5:30 p.m. Departure towards Scarepria (Highway 65)
7:00 p.m. Arrival in Scarperia and stop for dinner and sleeping accommodations.
“Lucca detachment”
9:00 a.m. Departure from Lucca towards Pescia
10:00 a.m. Transit through Montecatini Terme
11:00 a.m. Arrival in Pistoia and stop.
12:00 a.m. Arrival in Prato and stop for lunch
1:30 p.m. Departure towards Florence
3:00 p.m. Arrival in Florence and rendezvous with the “Column of Liberation”
The two columns will follow the same route from this point
Saturday April 26, 2008 – 4th day: Scarperia – Ferrara
“Column of Liberation”
8:30 a.m. Departure from Scarperia towards Lake Bilancino
9:00 a.m. Transit along Lake Bilancino
9:20 a.m. Transit through Barberino di Mugello towards the Futa Pass
9:50 a.m. Arrival at the Futa Pass
10:00 a.m. Transit through Pietramala towards the Raticosa Pass
10:30 a.m. Arrival in Monghidoro and stop.
11:00 a.m. Transit through Loiano
11:45 a.m. Transit through Livergnano towards Botteghino di Zocca
1:00 p.m. Arrival in Bologna / San Lazzaro di Savena at the Museo Memoriale della Libertà and stops for lunch.
2:00 p.m. Departure towards Castenaso
2:30 p.m. Transit through Castenaso
3:00 p.m. Transit through Granarolo Emilia towards San Pietro in Casale
4:00 p.m. Transits through San Pietro in Casale.
4:30 p.m. Transit through Cento towards Mirabello.
6:00 p.m. Arrival at Poggio Renatico and stop for dinner.
80:00 p.m. Departure from Poggio Renatico towards Ferrara.
8:20 p.m. Arrival in Ferrara, vehicles exhibition and recovery for the night.
Sunday April 27, 2008 – 5th day: Ferrara – Felonica/Sermide sul Po.
“Column of Liberation”
8:30 a.m. Departure from Ferrara towards Vigarano Mainarda
9:00 a.m. Arrival in Bondeno.
10:00 a.m. Departure from Bondeno towards Sermide
10:30 a.m. Arrival in Sermide in time with the Airborne Demonstration Team jump from a C47 aircraft on the nearby Drop Zone
11:30 a.m. Departure from Sermide towards Dragoncello
11:45 a.m.Arrival in Dragoncello and stop at the Italian Parachutists’ Shrine
12:30 p.m. Arrival in Felonica and stop for lunch.
2:00 p.m. Departure from Felonica towards the Felonica Drop Zone.
2:30 p.m. Second jump by the Airborne Demonstration Team
3:30 p.m. Vehicles assembly at the Po River and launching of amphibious vehicles.
6:00 p.m. End of the event and vehicles recovery for the night (*)
Registration and rules of the event
1) To participate to “The Column of Liberation 2008” event it is necessary to fill the Registration Form which may be downloaded from this site in pdf or ms word format
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The pre registration fee could be paid through Postal Money order or Bank Transfer:
- Postal Money order on the CC Postale n° 71628283 at “Gotica Toscana Onlus - Via A. Galilei 7 - 50038 - Scarperia (FI) – Italy” with the statement “Column of Liberation”.
- Money Transfer to IBAN IT60 N 07601 02800 000071628283 “Gotica Toscana Onlus - Via A. Galilei 7 - 50038 - Scarperia (FI) – Italy with the statement “The Column of Liberation 2008”.
2)Registration requires the payment in advance of € 25,00 through Postal Money order or other forms to be agreed with the organizers. This amount, if the registration is accepted by the organizers, will not be refunded under any circumstances other than the canceling of the event. NOTE: those who want to book for vehicle transportation by truck or personal transportation by bus must pay the required amount together with the pre registration fee.
3)Ordinary registrations deadline is Sunday, April 6, 2008. Thereafter the organizers may or may not accept further participants.
4)In any case the event has a maximum number of participants, variable depending on the availability of equipment and for reasons of scenic impact and coherence. We strongly advise to book soon, the more so if interested in sleeping accommodations at local hotels and residences
5)The main column will be formed by pre 1945 military vehicles only; a subsidiary column will be formed by military vehicles from 1946 to 1977.
6)Participants may wear historical uniforms, or ordinary wear. The organizers will strive to distribute reenactors on vehicles, but we are not responsible for providing adequate space.
7)If participants will wear historical uniforms, these must be coherent with vehicles age. In all cases, UNIFORMS OF POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS OF ANY KIND (INCLUDING THEIR FIGHTING UNITS) ARE NOT ALLOWED.
8)Vehicles must conform to traffic regulations. Owners and drivers will be held responsible for damages caused by the vehicle. In any event, no liability whatsoever shall be attached to the promoters and sponsors of the event in respect to any injury, loss or damage suffered in or by reason of the event, however caused.
9)Subject to specific restrictions by the organizations at certain stages of the event, not-functioning, weapon-looking devices conforming to existing laws and regulations may be displayed by participants, who will be individually responsible for their possession / displaying / carrying and will collaborate and comply with requests which may come from Law Enforcement officers. Restrictions may apply also as regards the use of flags and badges of all kinds.
10) All participants must adhere to a behavior becoming to the occasion. It is strictly forbidden to engage in any form of violence, molestation, or any other unrespectful behavior which may be detrimental to the good outcome of the event. It is specifically strictly forbidden to carry or point weapon-looking devices in any intimidating way.
11) It is strictly forbidden to march, sing, or let out other loud expressions unrespectful to other participants and the public.
12)Reenactors and other uniformed participants will refrain in all cases from engaging in political discussions, also about the local or general history of the places and period. Equipment may be displayed and pertinent explanations may be given to those interested.
13)The organization reserves at all times the right to forbid participation to the event to those who will not abide to the present rules, without previous warning and with no right to refund of any registration fees paid.
14)Each group / individual will be held responsible for the proper preservation of all areas / sites / places / rooms / services available for use, and accessories thereto, for any damages of all kinds.
15)For any other issues not covered by these rules, please contact the organization.
16)It is strictly forbidden to use guns or other firing devices of any kind, including, but not limited to, blanks, fireworks, signals, smoke, and whatever else may create alarm with Law Enforcement authorities. Fires of any kind are also forbidden.
17)Children under 18 years of age may participate under the responsibility and direct supervision of their parents, and subject to their written consent. Minors will not man weapon looking devices of all kinds within city borders.
18)Transportation of participants and their vehicles, when provided as hereinafter described, will be under the direct responsibility of the carrier, and no liability whatsoever shall be attached to the promoters and sponsors of the event in respect to any injury, loss or damage suffered in or by reason of such transportation, however caused.
Logistics and Transportations
The organizers will provide limited transportation services for vehicles and participants. These services must be booked in advance.
VEHICLES TRANSPORTS
April 18, 2008 – From Bologna San Lazzaro (Museo Memoriale della Libertà ) to Rome Cecchignola.
- From Florence Calenzano to Rome Cecchignola.
April 24, 2008 – From Bologna San Lazzaro ( Museo Memoriale della Libertà ) to Castiglion Fiorentino (AR)
- From Florence Calenzano to Castiglion Fiorentino (AR)
Nominal fee for vehicle transport to Rome Euro 40,00
Nominal fee for vehicle transport to Castiglion Fiorentino Euro 30,00
The organizers may also provide additional transports or contribute to the expenses for such transports for trucks carrying at least 8 light vehicles, or a full load of heavy vehicles, for vehicles departing from other places than those above named. Contact the organizers for details.
The organizers will also provide for the return trip of vehicles to Bologna and Florence at the end of the event. Contact the organizers for details.
SHUTTLE BUS SERVICE FOR PARTICIPANTS
April 19, 2008 – From Bologna San Lazzaro (Museo Memoriale della Libertà ) to Rome Cecchignola.
- From Florence Calenzano to Rome Cecchignola.
April 25, 2008 – From Bologna San Lazzaro ( Museo Memoriale della Libertà ) to Castiglion Fiorentino (AR)
- From Florence Calenzano to Castiglion Fiorentino (AR)
Nominal transportation fee for individual participants round trip bus service Euro 20,00 per person
Note: round trip bus service operates on the morning of the above dates for reaching the listed destination, with return trip taking place at night the following days.
Sleeping Accommodations
As for any other service provided at no cost by the organizers, only limited space is available, which will be assigned on a first booked-first served basis.
April 19, 2008 - Viterbo: free sleeping accommodations in a military installation. Hotel service is available at cost based on direct bookings and payments by the interested parties.
April 24, 2008 - Castiglion Fiorentino: free sleeping accommodations in sports auditorium (cots required) – no bus service is scheduled to reach such accommodations.
April 25, 2008 – Scarperia : free sleeping accommodations in school building (cots required). Hotel service is available at cost based on direct bookings and payments by the interested parties
April 26, 2008 - Ferrara: free sleeping accommodations (cots required). Hotel service is available at cost based on direct payments by the interested parties, booking service available.
We cannot guarantee separate space to groups / families
Costs
a) Participation to the whole 5-day event, including eight meals costs Euro 90,00 for non GoticaToscana members; Euro 80,00 for GoticaToscana full members.
Costs for specific days is determined as follows
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Remember: Pre registration fee Euro 25, plus transportation costs to be paid in advance.
Required Statements
Liability Statement
I, the undersigned, declare that I have read and fully understood the rules of the event and all information pertaining to the event, and that I accept them without any implied or stated exception whatsoever. I also acknowledge that my participation to the event will be at my own risk, and that I will hold the event’s promoters, sponsors, and their agent, free from any and all civil, penal or other liability in respect to whatever fact or circumstances pertaining to my participation to the event, including but not limited to injury, loss, damage, suffered or caused in or by reason of the event.
Privacy Statement – Informed Consent
I, the undersigned, acknowledging the informative note by Gotica Toscana, via Alessandro Galilei 7 50038 Scarperia (FI) CF: 9002200483, in its quality as the entitled agent to treatment, pursuant article 13 of the Decreto Legislativo 196/2003: “Code on the protection of personal data”, give my consent to the communication of said data to the subjects indicated at point 4 of the informative note, for the purposes and within the limits indicated in said note. I assume responsibility for communicating any changes to said data that may take place over time.
We inform that, pursuant to D.Lgs 196/2003, no previous consent by the interested party is required for the treatment of personal data for the stated purposes or for data however pertaining to the economic sphere of said interested party.
Consent to the publishing of personal images
I, the undersigned, pursuant to art. 96 of law n. 633 of 22 April 1941 and modifications thereto, give my consent to Gotica Toscana, via Alessandro Galilei 7 50038 Scarperia (FI) CF: 9002200483, to the publication in any form of my personal image, when said consent is required, also pursuant to article 136 of D.Lgs.196/2003, and with the provisions and safeguards of article 137 of said D.Lgs. 196/2003. The given consent applies only to images pertaining to my participation to the public event which I herewith register for, and exclusively for purposes of documentation and promotion of the said event.
We inform that the consent is required only for the publication of images whose main subject is the portrayed person, rather than the public event as such, even if containing images of participants.
Routes
Updated theFriday, August 01, 2008
download the routes in pdf format
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“Column of Liberation”
19th April 2008
Roma – Museo Storico della motorizzazione militare della Cecchignola.
Via Ardeatina
Circo Massimo
Piazza Venezia
Via Cassia SS2
Via Braccianese SS493
Via Anguillarese fino a Anguillara Sabazia
Via Romana
Via Reginaldo Belloni SP11B
Via Vigna di Valle SP11B
Via San Celso SP2A
Via Claudia SP4A fino a Bracciano
Via Settevene Palo SP4A
Via Circumlacuale
Via Sutri
Via Cassia SS2 fino a Sutri
Via Cassia SS2 fino a Capranica
Via Cassia SS2 fino a Vetralla
Via Cassia SS2 fino a Viterbo.
20th April 2008
Via Cassia SS2 fino a Montefiascone
Strada Maremmana SS71 fino a Orvieto
SS205-SS448 in direzione Corbara
SS448-SS397 in direzione Marsciano
SP375-SS317 fino a Perugia
SS75bis in direzione Magione
SS599-SP303 in direzione Castiglion del Lago
SS71 in direzione Camucia
SS71 fino a Castiglion Fiorentino
25th April 2008
SS71 Arezzo
SS69 Montevarchi
SS69 S.Giovanni Valdarno
SS69 Incisa Valdarno
SS69 Rignano s/Arno
SS67 Pontassieve
SS67 Compiobbi
SS67 Rovezzano
Firenze
SS65 Pratolino
SS65 Vaglia
SS65 San Piero e Sieve
Scarperia
26th April 2008
Scarperia
San Piero a Sieve
Lago di Bilancino
SS65 Cavallina – Barberino di Mugello
SS65 Passo della Futa
SS65 Covigliaio – Pietramala
SS65 Passo della Raticosa
SS65 Monghidoro – Loiano – Livergnano
SS65 fino a Zena poi via della Collina
Località Botteghino di Zocca
San Lazzaro di Savena – Ozzano Emilia
SP4 Villanova di Castenaso – Castenaso
SP4 San Giorgio in Piano
SP11 San Pietro in Casale
Pieve di Cento
SP50 Mirabello
Poggio Renatico
SS64 Ferrara
27th April 2008
SS64 Ferrara
Vigarano Mainarda
Bondeno
SP69 Burana – Pilastri – Sermide
SS496 Malcantone – Poggio Rusco
Dragoncello
SP35 Felonica
“Lucca detachment”
25th April 2008
Partenza da Lucca,
SR435 in direzione Pescia,
via Francesca Vecchia
strada Provinciale Romana in direzione Chiesina Uzzanese,
via Della Repubblica,
SP26 via Camporcioni in direzione Montecatini Terme,
via Giovanni Gentile in direzione Pieve a Nievole,
SS436,
viale Roma,
SS435 in direzione Pistoia,
raccordo di Pistoia,
via Francesco Guicciardini,
via Toscana in direzione Agliana,
SP126 variante Prato in direzione Prato,
via Leonardo da Vinci,
SR325,
SR66 in direzione Firenze.
From there the “Lucca detachment” joins the “Column of Liberation”.
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We thank in advance all those who will participate or contribute to the event in any way.
See you soon!
The organizers
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