Some things are not done out of courage.
They are done only to look more serenely
into the eyes of our children and our children’s children.
– Carlo Alberto dalla Chiesa
The idea and project of the exhibition were born from the studies carried out in recent years by the author to deepen and highlight the many and often still little-known links between Carlo Alberto dalla Chiesa and Parma . The General’s father, also a leading figure in the force, was in fact born in Parma.
Carlo Alberto dalla Chiesa himself, who after 8 September 1943 would become one of the main partisan commanders of the Marche, was among the liberators of the city where he arrived on 25 April 1945, with the task of reconstituting the local nucleus of the Carabinieri, and then went on to command the Salsomaggiore Tenancy where he would remain for about a year, distinguishing himself in brilliant judicial police operations. Precisely on the strength of these successes, the then Lieutenant dalla Chiesa would be promoted and sent for the first time to the South to fight organised crime .
The bond with Parma would then be renewed with his periodic visits to the tomb of his first wife, Dora Fabbo, next to whom the General is buried together with Emanuela Setti Carraro, his second wife and also a victim of the mafia massacre of 3 September 1982 in Palermo which also cost the life of the agent Domenico Russo.
Parma and Carlo Alberto dalla Chiesa therefore form an inseparable pair , as highlighted by the author in his book “Dalla Chiesa vive!” (Grafiche Step Editrice) published on the occasion of the Centenary of the General’s birth, edited by Pino Agnetti. The exhibition therefore aims to be a public tribute, never before paid in this form, to a central figure in both national and local history with the support of the Provincial Command of the Carabinieri of Parma for the initiative also in consideration of the anniversary in 2024 of the 210th anniversary of the foundation of the Force.
Itinerary
The exhibition will retrace the essential stages of the exceptional human and professional story of Carlo Alberto dalla Chiesa through a gallery of images with a strong and immediate visual and emotional impact. To make it all even more lively and engaging, the protagonist himself will “speak” and tell his story directly. The images , in fact, will be interspersed with a series of quotes from his most famous speeches , including the last one held in Palermo shortly before falling under the blows of the mafia.
In the end, together with the carabiniere, the partisan and the tireless defender of legality and democratic institutions, it will be the man who emerges according to a narrative key considered the most suitable and effective to preserve and spread the extraordinary moral and civil legacy of a protagonist of our history today more relevant than ever. Suffice it to say that the arrest of the head of Cosa Nostra, Matteo Messina Denaro, was achieved, as recalled by the top brass of the Arma, by implementing the investigative method that bears the General’s name.
The installation, designed ad hoc, will be characterized by a rigorous imprint and at the same time a strong and immediate scenographic impact . A series of images reproduced in large format and mostly unknown to the general public will lead visitors to immerse themselves in the human and value universe of the character , who will also be “physically” present thanks to both sound and video contributions.
The overall effect will be that of a journey full of surprises to discover the man, the patriot, the partisan, the Carabiniere, the martyr Carlo Alberto dalla Chiesa and his peculiar and varied relationship with Parma .
Given the aforementioned anniversary of the 210th anniversary of the foundation of the Carabinieri, the exhibition will be integrated and enriched by the display of a series of publications relating to the history of the Carabinieri preserved at the Palatina Library. Among these, the book “Il Galateo del Carabiniere” written in 1879 by a Carabinieri from Parma (Lieutenant Colonel Gian Carlo Grossardi originally from the Municipality of Medesano) and still considered today a true “moral bible” for the women and men of the Carabinieri.
The exhibition is organized in collaboration with the Monumental Complex of the Pilotta, the Provincial Command of the Carabinieri of Parma, the National Association of the Carabinieri, Parma Section “Carlo Alberto dalla Chiesa” and the Historical Archive of the General Command of the Carabinieri