Italian city pays tribute to FEB doctors and nurses

A monument dedicated to the memory of the nurses and medical staff of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force (FEB), a regiment sent by the country to fight for the liberation of Italy in World War II, was inaugurated this Friday (23) in Piazza della Resistenza, in Pistoia, Tuscany.   

The initiative was organized by the association Linea Gotica Pistoiese Onlus and by the Brazilian Army in honor of the health professionals who helped the war wounded in the first field hospital created in the Italian city, in 1944.   

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the ceremony was attended only by institutional authorities. Present were the mayor of Pistoia, Alessandro Tomasi, the Army attaché at the Brazilian Embassy in Italy, Colonel André Luiz dos Santos Franco, some representatives from the Brazilian diplomatic headquarters in Rome, and religious figures.   

During the event, the medal “Tribute to FEB” was also posted on the municipal strip of Pistoia, where the Military Votive Monument is located, built on the site that housed the old square cemetery.   

The inauguration was possible after a series of studies to develop and put the idea into practice and thanks also to the fundamental contribution of the Cassa di Risparmio di Pistoia e Pescia Foundation, which supports local initiatives.   

The monument is made of raw marble with a stone base. The flower bed was made with Brazilian soil, while the commemorative plaques were made of metal with a satin finish.   

“The friendship between Brazil and the city of Pistoia is renewed once again thanks to the posting of a commemorative plaque in the area dedicated to the memory of the garden in Piazza della Resistenza, in a flowerbed positioned in front of the entrance to the Fortress, remembering the Expeditionary Force Brazilian (FEB), which during the Second World War was part of the 5th Army”, says an official statement from the city hall.   

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The FEB arrived in Italy in September 1944, at one of the most critical moments of the war. The first fights highlighted the Brazilian medical team, which included 73 volunteers. (ANSA)