Italian Military Internees between history and memory: Insubria hosts the study day «IMI: We Met Them»

On Tuesday 22 September, from 9 am to 1 pm, the Main Hall of the University of Insubria, at Via Ravasi 2 in Varese, will host the study day «IMI: We Met Them», promoted by the University’s Department of Human Sciences and Innovation for the Territory (DiSUIT) and Ernesto Cairoli State High School.

The initiative focuses on the history of the Italian Military Internees (IMI), explored through the research carried out by students taking part in the history workshop «The Historian’s Craft» at Cairoli High School. The students will present their research project, offering an opportunity to explore and reflect on a significant chapter of twentieth-century history.

The day will begin at 9 am with institutional greetings from Paola Biavaschi, Director of DiSUIT, and Walter Fiorentino, Headteacher of Ernesto Cairoli State High School. At 9.30 am, the students will present the first part of their work.

At 11 am, Fabio Zucca, Associate Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Insubria, will give a lecture entitled «The Twentieth Century: the Century of Genocides». After the break, at 11.30 am, the students will continue presenting their research project.

At 12.15 pm, Andrea Parodi, national executive of ANRP, will explore the topic «The particular situation of IMI officers after the summer of 1944 and the case of the 44 heroes of Unterlüss».

The closing remarks, scheduled for 12.45 pm, will be delivered by Monica Iori, Philosophy and History teacher at Ernesto Cairoli State High School, and Claudio Mezzanzanica, President of the Varese Institute for the History of the Twentieth Century.

The initiative offers an opportunity for schools, universities and historical research to come together, with students playing a central role in reconstructing and passing on historical memory.