The celebrations for National Unity and Armed Forces Day in Canada took place yesterday evening at the Rideau Club in Ottawa. The event was organized by the Office of the Defense Attaché and Defense Cooperation, in collaboration with the Embassy of Italy in Ottawa. The evening was attended by Senators, Members of Parliament, senior military officers, institutional representatives, as well as individuals from the Canadian economic, cultural, and scientific communities, and members of the diplomatic corps, accredited attachés, and the Italian community.
In his welcoming address, the Ambassador of Italy to Canada, Alessandro Cattaneo, emphasized the extraordinary contribution of the Italian Armed Forces in defending freedom, democracy, and peace through missions conducted under the auspices of the United Nations, NATO (where an Italian contingent is deployed in Latvia under Canadian command), and the European Union. Ambassador Cattaneo also highlighted how the defense relations between Italy and Canada are growing, referring to the recent missions to Canada Undersecretaries of State Sen. Isabella Rauti and Hon. Matteo Perego di Cremnago.
After the greetings of Brigadier General Davide Marzinotto – Defense Attaché and Defense Cooperation Attaché – Senators Tony Loffreda and the President of the Canada-Italy Parliamentary Friendship Group, Hon. Angelo Iacono, took the floor, both reaffirming the strong ties between the two countries and emphasizing values such as democracy and freedom.
The celebration also served as an occasion to present to the Canadian public a manuscript copy of Leonardo Da Vinci’s Codex on the Flight of Birds, created by the Italian School of Scribes Amanuensi Scriptorium Foroiuliense of San Daniele del Friuli (UD), in the presence of its President, Dr. Roberto Giurano. The Codex was donated to Library and Archives Canada through the Embassy of Italy.
