SHARRYLAND
Where is
What it is and where it is
Long the Via Aurelia, not far from Rome, stands isolated the ancient coastal tower of Palidoro. Surrounded by greenery and overlooking the sea, the watchtower once stood as a defense against Saracen invasions, and today it stands in defense... of our memory. It was here that, on September 23, 1943, Vice Brigadier Salvo D'Acquisto gave his life in exchange for that of 22 civilians, taken hostage by the Nazis and threatened with death in retaliation. He was 23 years old.
Why it is special
The tower today has become a museum dedicated to the memory of Salvo d'Acquisto, Gold Medal for Military Valor. When we enter, the room is bare: it is the walls that speak. The images projected on the four walls take us inside to the past, to the Italy of World War II. A sort of red thread around the perimeter of the tower evokes the salient events, from Mussolini's speech in Piazza Venezia on June 10, 1940, to the plebiscite of June 2, 1946. And it recounts episodes, unknown to most, that had the military of the Carabinieri as protagonists.
Don't miss
We get ready to meet Salvo. We silently go up to the second floor and the important moments and memories of his short life are painted on the walls: the early years, already marked by a mild and generous temperament, the shoes given to a poor child in the cold winter of '32, enlistment, Africa, the many letters, the Royal Carabinieri Non-Commissioned Officers School and the first assignment in Torrimpietra. And then, September 23, 1943.
A bit of history
The Palidoro Tower Museum, a branch office of MuSAC, was inaugurated on September 23, 2020, on the 77th anniversary of Salvo d'Acquisto's death. All the works-the historical and artistic recovery of the tower, the design and implementation of the exhibition, and the restoration of the outdoor areas, which are of great naturalistic interest-were carried out in record time in less than a year, under the supervision of the Carabinieri Force.
Curiosities
Salvo loved to write: many are the letters preserved today at MuSAC. Among them, one, addressed to his parents, describes his first days of enlistment at the Scuola Allievi Carabinieri in Rome, his new military life, and a visit to the Historical Museum of the Arma and St. Peter's. Others are addressed to his war godmother, Miss Maria Calignano, where one can read all his sensitivity and goodness of heart.
Vittorio Pisani, Vice Brigadier Salvo D'Acquisto on Sept. 23, 1943, oil on canvas, MuSAC
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