On 12 September, the beach at Lido Spineta once again became the setting for the 1943 Allied landings. Combining history, re-enactment, music and dance, the event brought memory back to the very places where those events actually took place.
Eighty-three years after the Allied landings on the Salerno coast, history came to life once again on the beach at Spineta, in Battipaglia, with the 10th edition of the Re-enactment of the Salerno Landings, the central event of Avalanche Day, organised by the MUBAT Association.
The event took place on Saturday, 12 September at 8:00 p.m. at Lido Spineta, bringing local residents and visitors back to the places that, during the night between 8 and 9 September 1943, witnessed Operation Avalanche, one of the most significant Allied amphibious landings of the Second World War.
The evening was conceived to tell the story not only through words, but through an immersive experience combining historical re-enactment, music, theatre and dance.
The re-enactment was brought to life by the associations Noi Soldati al Fronte 43-45, Gustav Line and 31° Siena Living History Group, with the collaboration of private collectors, who brought vehicles, uniforms, equipment and scenes of military life to the beach to recreate some of the key moments of the landings.
The programme included the “White Roses Ceremony”, a moment dedicated to the fallen, during which tribute was paid to the victims of the events of 1943 and to the memory of those who lost their lives during the landings and in the days that followed.
The event centred around “Radio Onda – Concerto Racconto”, dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the birth of the Italian Republic, with the participation of actress Simona De Vita and the Wind Orchestra of the Alfano I High School in Salerno, conducted by Maestro Pasquale Occhinegro.
The story was further enriched by the Dance Company of the International Dance Festival, with two choreographies created by Maestro Fabio Raspanti, who led a free workshop for Festival students from 10 to 12 September, culminating in the choreographies performed during the evening.
The evening was presented by Carmen Picciariello, with artistic direction by Guglielmo Francese.
The 10th edition of Avalanche Day confirmed MUBAT’s commitment to using historical re-enactment as a means of promoting knowledge and participation: not simply to reconstruct the past, but to bring history into the present and pass it on to new generations; not to celebrate a battle, but to tell the story of the painful journey towards peace and democracy.
The event was promoted by the MUBAT Association – Museum of Memory and Culture of Battipaglia and held under the patronage of the Italian Ministry of Culture, the Campania Region and the Municipality of Battipaglia.
