Mayor of Vittoria Pays Visit to Minister of Defence

In June 2017, the minister of defence inaugurated and wreathed a restored Hungarian chapel in Vittoria, which is a memorial to those Hungarian soldiers who had died in a POW camp in Sicily during the First World War. The present visit by the mayor aimed at discussing the duties concerning the further preservation of the Hungarian chapel and also at reviewing further possibilities in the field of Hungarian–Italian war grave care cooperation in Sicily.

At the meeting, the minister of defence said that the conscientious efforts to keep the memory of dead Hungarian soldiers alive also shows that the Italian–Hungarian relations are traditionally excellent, and thanked the contributors for their work and support through which they have been helping to preserve the memory of our dead Hungarian soldiers in a worthy way. The minister reaffirmed that Hungary pays tribute to the soldiers’ memory by providing the utmost care of the graves of foreign troops, including dead Italian soldiers. The delegations agreed that the launch of joint tribute tourism would significantly help the Hungarian and Italian nations to continue preserving our historical past and keeping our heroes’ memory alive in a deserved way.

At the discussion, the two sides expressed hope that the renovated Museum of Italian–Hungarian Military Relations will soon open in Vittoria.

On 5 September, Mayor Giovanni Moscato visited the MoD Institute and Museum of Military History to attend the launch of a book entitled “Hungarian Chapel in Sicily", which tells the story of the restoration of the chapel.

Photo: Veronika Dévényi