Fulvio Bracco's docu-movie awarded for "Giorno del Ricordo" (Remembrance Day) 2024

The students of Liceo Linguistico Primo Levi of San Giuliano were awarded at Montecitorio (Rome) for their emotional docu-movie dedicated to the story of Cav. Lav. Fulvio Bracco, and they were invited to the Quirinale for the Celebration of the ‘Giorno del Ricordo’ in the presence of the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella.

Realized thanks to our Historical Archive, which supported the students and provided them with photos and historical documents, the work was presented at the “National Competition 10 February: Beloved shores – Rebuilding after the exodus between regret and fortitude” promoted by the Ministry of Education and Merit and the Associations of Istrian, Fiuman and Dalmatian exiles.

The students of the 3A and 3B classes, coordinated by teachers Rita Borali and Vincenza Spatola, have produced a film on the life of Cav. Lav. Fulvio Bracco, an Istrian exile and successful entrepreneur who impacted the development of Milanese and Italian chemistry. Through the voice of Fulvio Bracco, for the occasion reinterpreted by the students, we relive the highlights of his family history, such as the arrest of his father Elio for high betrayal due to his close relations with his brother-in-law Francesco Salata, a fervent and active irredentist; or the period of internment first in Mittergrabern and then in Feldbach. After the Second World War, the entrepreneur, Diana Bracco’s father, helped the Istrian exiles in the Villa Reale refugee camp in Monza, employing them in his company and giving them back their human dignity as citizens.

On 14 February, at Palazzo Pirelli, the project of the Liceo Linguistico Primo Levi students received another important award from the Lombardy Region as part of the sixteenth edition of the regional school competition “The sacrifice of the Italians of Venezia Giulia and Dalmatia: preserving memory, respecting truth, working to guarantee the rights of peoples”.

The award ceremony was introduced by Regional Council President Federico Romani and featured testimonies by Istrian exiles Marisa Brugna and Anna Maria Crasti from ANVGD, the National Association of Venezia Giulia and Dalmatia, as well as speeches by Regional School Office representative Andrea Saba and Lombardy Region President, Attilio Fontana.

“More than 70 years have passed since the tragic events in Istria, Dalmatia, and Rijeka, which forced 350,000 Italian citizens to flee, leaving behind their property, possessions and activities started in those lands”’ – stressed Regional Council President Federico Romani. “It was one of the darkest pages of our country’s history, shrouded for a long time in silence and darkness, like the many victims swallowed up by the karst cavities of Istria and Venezia Giulia. The foibe was a genocide that took no account of age, gender or religion. A drama that we have a duty to remember because today the real adversary to beat is indifference: we must help the youngest to learn about this tragic page of our history. A challenge that we can only win through knowledge and thanks to initiatives such as the competition that the Regional Council promotes every year in Lombardy’s schools.”

The work of the students of the Liceo Linguistico Primo Levi of San Giuliano received the 1st Prize with the following motivation: a prestigious video, based on a strong narration and solid sources, which tells the story of Fulvio Bracco, an exile whose life is an exemplary parable of a personal and collective drama and rebirth.