On Saturday, June 27th, was the inauguration for the museum MARMOLADA GRANDE GUERRA 3000 m, the highest museum in Europe, located at the centre of the Sacred Monumental Area in the Serauta ropeway station.
It was a highly emotional ceremony intended to remember and commemorate the thousands of men under opposing flags who suffered, fought and died in the First World War on the Marmolada. Some of the most moving moments included the readings of letters and poems from the war by actors Roland Selva and Riccardo Zini, as well as songs by the Edelweiss A.N.A. Monte Grappa Chorus and the die Kaiserjager Innsbruck Band.
President of the MARMOLADA GRANDE GUERRA 3000 m museum Alberto Curti was on hand to greet guests and introduce the addresses from the various authorities who participated in the event. “Special thanks goes to the President of the Marmolada Ropeways Enterprises Mario Vascellari for the investments made towards this important project that continues the dream of his father Bruno Vascellari and Mario Bartoli, the life and soul behind the original museum built in 1990. The new museum concept really manages to involve the visitor in the events that took place on the Marmolada, inspiring reflection to make sure that a similar tragedy should never happen again.”
“It’s important to get the new generations to understand what war really is. Everyone must move in the same direction and raise awareness among populations to try to find different ways to solve our differences” declared the Honourable Franco Marini, President of the Mission Structure for the Centennial of the Great War. “The MARMOLADA GRANDE GUERRA 3000 m museum serves a very important purpose on which we will continue working in the following years.”
“I am happy to be here for my first official role and I bring you greetings from President Luca Zaia” were the opening remarks by the new President of the Veneto Regional Council Roberto Ciambetti. “What is really remarkable about MARMOLADA GRANDE GUERRA 3000 m is that, compared to other museums, it provides a different and absolutely accurate reading of the conflict: it doesn’t recount war rhetoric; instead it focusses on the human aspect of the men who became soldiers.”
The speech by the President of the Province of Trento, Ugo Rossi, was highly significant. “There is a reason we are all gathered here today, to honour the memory of those who lost their lives on the Marmolada during the Great War. Relationships between peoples don’t lay in nationalism or integration; there is another way to build peace. We must give value to the ability to build positive relationships by going beyond borders. The Province of Trento will be by the side of the Province of Belluno along this path.”
“Every one of us has a duty: to be ambassadors for peace. And this museum, MARMOLADA GRANDE GUERRA 3000 m is a great messenger for peace, to remember that which must never happen again” said Councilman Florian Mussner from the Province of Bolzano.
Representatives from the Tirolo Region Anton Pertl, the Carinzia Region Reinhart Rohr, the Black Cross Heinz Derfler and General Federico Bonato, Commander of the Alpine Troops, all spoke at the event.
In his closing remarks, Engineer Mario Vascellari, President of the Marmolada Ropeways Enterprises, thanked everyone. “My heartfelt thanks goes to the companies involved in the remodelling of the museum, the historians who found and chose the relics for the displays, and all the people who contributed their part by providing their ideas and their hard work.”
The ceremony concluded with a military salute and the placing of a flower wreath at the museum.
