The Presidency of the Council of Ministers launched the official Commemorations of the Centenary of the First World War during a press conference at the Vittoriano Museum in Rome, where the Italian President unveiled two exhibitions entitled: “The First World War, 1914-1918. Materials and sources” and “War Theatres. Photographs by Luca Campigotto”.
The exhibition of relics, original documents and filmed sequences on the Great War, but also of images recently taken in the symbolic places of the conflict will be available to the public in the Gipsoteca Hall, from 31st May to 30th July 2014.
The Government programme devoted to this important anniversary was described by the Deputy Secretary to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Hon. Luca Lotti, and by the President of the Historical-Scientific Committee for the Anniversaries of National Interest, Sen. Franco Marini.
Several events were scheduled including cultural and educational initiatives; schools were involved in order to convey the meaning of war to new generations. Furthermore, during the five-year period, several infrastructural activities are planned for the restoration and the enhancement of monuments and sites that were the theatre of military and civilian-related events.
The inspiring principle of the national project is the recovery of the historical memory; in 2018, at the end of commemorations, a sort of “portal of portals” will be developed, with the goal of conveying the memory of these events to future generations.
The definition of objectives, the identification of initiatives and their planning will be tackled by the Historical-Scientific Committee for the Anniversaries of National Interest and by the Interministerial Committee for the Centenary of the First World War, through the planning and operational support of the Task Force for the Anniversaries of National Interest.