Rome 28 October 2022. The 2023 edition of the Historic Carabinieri Calendar has been presented. This year it is dedicated to protecting the environment. This morning Commander General, Gen. C.A. Teo Luzi, was eager to reveal this long-awaited product to the general public. The famous television and radio host, Amadeus, hosted the presentation of the project, created by a visionary graphic design company, leader in the world of communication: the Armando Testa Group. The setting for the event was the splendid Parco della Musica Auditorium. Nature is the main focus of the 2023 Historic Calendar, which has always been one of the priorities of the Carabinieri. Suffice to mention that as early as 1816 in the Royal Patents chapter V, n. 34, we can read verbatim: arrest anyone who ravages woods, or any harvest in the countryside, as well as anyone found in the act of damaging roads, the trees planted along them, hedges, ditches, and the like, […].
In a context where the environment is the most precious resource to be safeguarded, the 2023 edition is entirely dedicated to its protection.
The force makes a daily commitment to defending people, the planet and prosperity, and every day they strive to prevent and clamp down on illegal activities damaging the environment and forestry, protecting the countryside, woods, flora and fauna and fighting crimes on illegal waste tipping. The commitment of the Carabinieri does not stop at preventing and clamping down on crimes and illegal acts impacting the environment, it also considers on-going dialogue with the new generations just as vital.
The text of the new article 9 in our Constitution, dedicated to protecting the environment, biodiversity and ecosystems, states that special attention be paid to those who will come after us. Inscribing it this way means that one of the fundamental principles that must regulate our coexistence, is to pursue a sustainable ways in the interest of future generations. It is also our duty to them to protect what the environment produces and, for this reason, every day somewhere there is a Carabiniere working to defend the quality, authenticity and wholesomeness of our food supply chains.
This unceasing work of protecting the country was the inspiration for the creative insight of the Historic 2023 Calendar. Alberto Fiz, journalist, director of the MARCA Museum in Catanzaro, art critic, curator of exhibitions was also present today to comment. The entire project was created by the Armando Testa agency with its unmistakable style where synthesis, visual paradox and curated images have been their stylistic signature for decades. Each of the artistic shots of the calendar starts off from something that is part of the visual universe of the Carabinieri, it is then revisited and interpreted in an iconic key. The goal is to describe the themes related to the daily work of the Force with an imprint of elegance, formal clean lines and visual synthesis that highlights the institutional aspect.
That’s how the twelve stages of the journey came about. They show the important activities of the Carabinieri in defence of the environment and the whole country, to protect our fauna and plant heritage, to safeguard an agri-food culture envied the world over.
The artistic images by Armando Testa, with executive creative direction from Michele Mariani, are accompanied by 12 stories of commitment and environmental protection written by an exceptional storyteller: the journalist and writer Mario Tozzi. Chief Researcher of the CNR and geologist Tozzi popularises science, also a famous radio and television host he describes the events, activities and projects of the Carabinieri in a rigorous and engaging way. For the first time in the history of the Carabinieri Historic Calendar, the 2023 edition has evolved into an integrated artistic project with a complete digital eco-system that includes a dedicated website www.calendario.carabinieri.it and an NFT work of art. The site allows you to enjoy the contents of the 2023 Calendar online in an interactive way, with a highly intuitive experiential level – thanks to the infinite scroll, it seems like the physical gesture of leafing through, adapted in a natural way to digital language.
For the first time in the history of the Corps, the project is completed with the cover of the Calendar becoming an NFT, a contemporary work of crypto-art extrapolated from the hardcopy of the Calendar and digitalised, animated, certified. The NFT transforms the cover into a hi-tech work, which is available in 10 authenticated copies, which can then be sold along with a special limited printed edition of the cover print. The works will be available for purchase through Charity Stars www.charitystars.com, a platform that manages digital auctions, for charitable ends. The proceeds from the sales will be donated to the paediatric oncology complex of the National Cancer Institute of Milan.
The project of the 2023 Historic Carabinieri Calendar comes to life in a video case history created by Armando Testa Studios. It starts off from the insight regarding environmental protection, the 12 symbolic posters in the Calendar with texts by Mario Tozzi illustrate the daily commitment of the Force.
The Historic Carabinieri Calendar enjoys considerable interest from the general public, today almost 1,200,000 copies printed, over 16,000 of which in nine other languages (English, French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese and Arabic, as well as in the Sardinian language). This shows both the affection and closeness enjoyed by this Commendable Body, as well as demonstrating the importance of the contents, making it an appreciated object, coveted and present both in homes and the workplace, to almost prove the fact that “in every family there is a Carabiniere”.
The Calendar was first published in 1928, so now it has reached its 90th edition. There was an interruption after the post-war years from 1945 to 1949, but publication resumed in 1950. Since then, with its images it has presented a timely interpreter of the events of the Force and, through them, of the history of Italy.
In addition to the Calendar, a 2023 edition of the Diary has also been published. In this case too, Nature plays the key role. The Force could not fail to perceive the state of emergency in which the national habitat finds itself. This year they have relied on “in house” writers to highlight the beauty of the seasons, as a gift of Nature, more specifically the selection includes: Gen. B. Roberto Riccardi (Commander of the Carabinieri Legion “Trentino Alto Adige”), the reserve Maj. Margherita Lamesta (Ceremonial Officer), Maj. Annalisa Gaudenzi (RAI author, already in service at the Press Office) and Mar. Ca. Emilio Limone (Press Office), authors of a number of publications.
Just like in a symphony, the four writers have coloured the seasons with the same colours always displayed during their natural passage, since the very dawn of time. Shaped by their own imagination, the four authors are all officers and very different from each other, but each in their own way recall “I Racconti del maresciallo” (The Marshal’s Tales) by Mario Soldati and transform the 2023 Diary of the Corps into a sort of “Marshal’s Diary”.
So, the sounds of silence and the white shades of the snow-capped peaks between Val di Susa and the Dolomites penetrate the inner sanctum of a winter’s tale; the plague of unnatural forest fires, in reality all too often caused by selfish and criminal hands, set alight a torrid summer on Mount Conero; a riot of beauty and colours accompanies a case of eco-mafia in the Apennines in springtime; finally, autumn encounters the human soul to describe this season experienced in the depths of its bizarre destiny.
There are two other items to complete the package:
- A table top calendar, dedicated to the theme “The Most Beautiful Villages in Italy”: tiny gems perched among the most evocative views of beautiful Italy, the land of art, literature, Italian genius and for the most romantic also of Love. Month by month, “art house” images with the Carabinieri portrayed in one of the many villages that adorn Italy, featuring the geography, precious and harmonious architecture. One stands out, Civita di Bagnoregio, the so-called “dying city”, the setting for exceptional titles such as “I due Colonnelli” with Totò or “Pinocchio”. Choosing this topic is another way to remember that the Commendable Force is always close to citizens and present all over the whole country, embedded even in those small villages inhabited by only a few thousand souls, who see the Carabinieri Station as a reliable point of reference. The entire proceeds from the sale of this table top calendar are donated to the National Assistance for Orphans of the Military Corps of the Carabinieri.
- – The desktop planner – also focused on Nature – is dedicated to the many activities carried out by the CUFA Forestry, Environmental and Agri-food Unit Command, for the restoration and sustainable use of the resources in the eco-system of the country. The focus is on the CUFA’s activities of fighting and prevention, also aimed at protecting the assets of the countryside, the food supply chain and above all at fighting all forms of eco and agro-mafias, an ever increasing phenomenon. As happened with the previous Carabinieri Planner, once again, the proceeds will be donated to a paediatric hospital and this year the beneficiary is the “Vittore Buzzi” Children’s Hospital in Milan. Furthermore, continuing with a strategy already tried out with the last edition, the at the beginning of the 2023 planner you can find a fairy-tale dedicated to the world of the little ones written by Maj. Ris. sel. Margherita Lamesta, the author who had already worked on the 2022 planner. This year too, the writer has invented an exclusive short story, this time it is loosely inspired by two original news stories, which revolved around two children united in the same destiny evoked by sharing the same name.
