Saturday, 28 Maggio, was a wet day to say the least. The rain showers, however, did not dampen the spirits of the soldati e legionari italiani present. The tent fly set up by our Regio Esercito camerati was made up of six teli mimetici which are designed to be waterproof--and they proved their value. Visitation from the public on Saturday was fairly light, as was to be expected by the rain which came consistently from the morning into the evening. There were a few American wartime displays, vehicles, and a brave USO show which performed between the cloud bursts. With nine Italian reenactors (Tenente Cristoforo, Sergente DeMino, Caporale Lorenzo, Alpino DiMauro, Bersagliere Nicastro, Soldato Dougi, Camicia Nera Tomaso Penza, Camicia Nera Giovanni Ovest, and yours truly, Centurione Giovanni). Our presence was the largest of the individual displays both Saturday and Sunday and according to the tenente, the largest Italian turn-out thus far. After the public hours closed up, a number of us went to follow the bersaglieri tradition of going to eat at the Hyde Park Brewing Company.
Sunday, 29 Maggio, the weather was infinitely improved with clear, sunny skies which dried up all the sogginess from the day before. Visitation from the public was high and a number of new Anglo-American displays had popped up. Having to attend duties in the 2020's, your centurione's return to the 1940's was a little delayed, but I am told that a spirited bocce game was played during the morning. Spirits and morale were exceptionally high and there was a noticeable energy from the audience which was very receptive to the Italian display. It is interesting that President Roosevelt's Library hosted a group where the largest single-group presence was the former enemy. We were honored and delighted to be a part of the weekend and appreciate the invitation from the site.
Italia, Avanti was very appreciative of the presence of our Blackshirts and we were thrilled to be invited to join with our old friends again. Since the plague struck two years ago, many of us have not seen our fellow camerati in a few years, so it was a great thing to catch up as well as make new friends at a lovely and important historic site.
Grazie mille!
Sunday, 29 Maggio, the weather was infinitely improved with clear, sunny skies which dried up all the sogginess from the day before. Visitation from the public was high and a number of new Anglo-American displays had popped up. Having to attend duties in the 2020's, your centurione's return to the 1940's was a little delayed, but I am told that a spirited bocce game was played during the morning. Spirits and morale were exceptionally high and there was a noticeable energy from the audience which was very receptive to the Italian display. It is interesting that President Roosevelt's Library hosted a group where the largest single-group presence was the former enemy. We were honored and delighted to be a part of the weekend and appreciate the invitation from the site.
Italia, Avanti was very appreciative of the presence of our Blackshirts and we were thrilled to be invited to join with our old friends again. Since the plague struck two years ago, many of us have not seen our fellow camerati in a few years, so it was a great thing to catch up as well as make new friends at a lovely and important historic site.
Grazie mille!