Institutions

CELEBRATIONS

Italians in Kenya invited to Nyeri on Sunday, 3rd November

Ambassador Natali and the Comites to remember our fallen soldiers

20-10-2024 by redazione

Italian Ambassador Roberto Natali, invites all compatriots resident or currently present in Kenya to the ceremony in honour of Italian prisoners who died in East Africa, which will take place at the Nyeri memorial on Sunday 3 November. The ambassador, who will attend the event, wishes to recall that ‘it will be an important moment to remember our soldiers and, at the same time, to pay homage to the Armed Forces, the backbone of our democratic State’.

Natali hopes for ‘a large participation by the Italians present in Kenya, as a testimony to our unitary spirit and respect for those who have lost their lives far from their loved ones in the fulfilment of their duties’.

The appointment is set for 10.30 a.m., and Holy Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m.

This will be followed by refreshments kindly offered by Comites Kenya in the adjacent premises of the Consolata missionaries.

The Comites will also organise, free of charge, the transfer to Nyeri from Nairobi and the return by minibus.

The departure of the vehicles is set for 7 am at the Village Market in Gigiri, Kingsway Tyres area.

For those wishing to take advantage of the service, please contact President Bruno Giachino on tel. 0722512055 or via email at giachinob@gmail.com or Vice-President Dario Zecchini at dario@zecchini.org

The Italian Military Memorial, in the town just over two hours from the capital Nairobi, was built by the Italian government between 1950 and 1952 on land offered in concession by the Consolata missions.

Not only does it house the remains of Duke Amedeo D'Aosta, commander of the troops that surrendered to the British army on the Ethiopian mountains of Amba Alagi, but those of 700 other Italian prisoners who from 1941 to 1946 were held in 15 camps in East Africa and mainly in Kenya and had already been buried in 25 war cemeteries scattered around the country.

Inside the shrine, it is possible to read the names of the soldiers who lost their lives during their imprisonment, after being deported and forced into hard labour and conditions at the limit of human endurance, among infectious diseases, insects and animals, poor food and zero hygiene.

The Duke of Aosta himself, although kept in a particular prison, the Macmillan Castle near Thika, already suffering from tuberculosis, died of malaria.

The Nyeri Shrine, in addition to preserving and displaying the tomb of the Duke inside the church and the tombstones of the fallen prisoners, houses part of a monument sculpted and decorated by the Italian prisoners that the Comites transported from Thika and also the tombs that commemorate the Muslim ascari who were taken prisoners together with the Italians and deported.

TAGS: sacrariocelebrazioniprigionieriConsolataNyeri

Today, Sunday, Nov. 6, Italy's Ambassador to Kenya Roberto Natali will attend with members of...

Nyeri is a small town about two and a half hours' drive from Kenya's capital Nairobi, perched...

READ THE ARTICLE

There is still time until the end of Tuesday 28 October to reserve a free seat on the bus that will take compatriots...

READ THE ARTICLE

A happy news for the Italians in Kenya and their memory, just on the eve of the celebrations that...

READ ALL THE ARTICLE

The Italian Ambassador to Kenya, Roberto Natali, attended the ceremony in memory of those...

READ ALL THE ARTICLE

The Comites Kenya, which every year organises transport for compatriots who cannot reach...

READ ALL THE ARTICLE

At last, the monumental sculpture erected by Italian prisoners in Kenya near the Ndarugu camp in Kenya, found...

READ THE ARTICLE

by redazione

When in Italy my friends ask me why I am interested in this land so distant and different, I ...

READ ALL THE ARTICLE

Being Italian in Kenya also means breaking down ideological differences, distances, social and economic disparities...

READ ALL THE ARTICLE

The endless low blue sky, dotted with opulent clouds, rests on the rolling green hills of Nyeri, with...

READ THE ARTICLE

At the time they were contacted by Fr. Giuseppe Allamano, founder of the Consolata missionaries and...

READ ALL THE ARTICLE

In recent days one of the pioneering Italian doctors in Kenya, Adriano Landra, left us.
A native...

READ ALL THE ARTICLE

He would have turned the beauty of 102 years old in a few months, worth at least twice as much because they...

READ THE ARTICLE