The Monument to the Artillery Corps in Turin

THE TRIUMPHAL ARCH

The monument was inspired by the architecture of triumphal arches with a flight of steps and enriched by groups of statues, as well as an abundance of classical decorations.

Externally, the four corners are decorated in high-reliefs located between Corinthian columns. Decorations on the front are dedicated to the mountain and field artillery, while on the rear to the Royal Bombardiers and the heavy field artillery.

The sides are decorated in low reliefs with allegorical scenes to represent the “Genius of Fire” on the left and the “Genius of Air” on the right.

A statue of St Barbara, the gunners’ Patron Saint, is located in the center of the octagonal plan arch and holds a palm leaf in her hand, the symbol of immolation.

The internal sides of the arch with lacunar ceiling are decorated with two wide plaques with the names of the gunners awarded with the Golden Medal for Military Bravery.

WHY TURIN?

No other city in Italy like Turin might boast of having witnessed the most significant national history events, all closely linked to the Artillery Corps.

• Until 1600 the Artillery Corps did not exist as a separate specialized fighting unit, and bombardiers were not considered an integral part of the war specialists’ community. Soldiers were chosen among civilians based on their skills and hired only as long as the war lasted.
• The Corps started to officially become part of the Army in Piedmont with the Royal Decree of 20 July 1625, by which Duke Charles Emmanuel I established the first Bombardier Company. Later, in 1697 Victor Amadeus II constituted the Gunners Battalion. The first date is carved on the monument cornice, while the second is engraved on the “arrow” of the current Artillery coat of arms. In 1734, a Royal Decree by Charles Emmanuel III raised the battalion to a regiment. In 1739 Artillery was granted their first two coats of arms: one as a “battalion” and one as a “colonnella” – i.e., the word used in the 16th and 17th centuries in France and Piedmont to define the first company of a regiment led by a Colonel. However, the most significant event was the establishment of the “Regie Scuole Teoriche e Pratiche di Artiglieria e Fortificazione” (The Royal School of Theoretical and Practical Studies in Artillery and Fortification) of Turin in 1739 for the professional training of the Artillery Officers. In 1775, King Victor Amadeus III constituted the Royal Artillery Corps, which in 1784 became a brigade with its own “orderly coat of arms.”
• When Piedmont had to face the Napoleonic storm, this was its military establishment; at the end of the war the “Royal Artillery Corps” was reconstituted under the guidance of Prince Charles Albert – “Grand Master of Artillery ” – and new equipment adopted.
• In March 1848, the Artillery Corps received the first tricolor flag and took part in all the following Wars of Independence. The Unification of Italy was achieved by decree of May 4, 1861, which led to the constitution of the first Italian Army; the Artillery Corps – besides the inclusion of the pre-existing Sardinian Army regiments – was expanded with new units consisting of batteries from the pre-unitary States.
• Between 1840 and 1870, the most significant progress in weapon technology was made, such as the invention of the breechloading cannons and the rifling of the barrels. Such advances resulted in the adoption of bursting nose-coned shells that revolutionized the Corps’ technology. The inventor was General Cavalli, an Artillery Officer from the Royal Artillery and Engineers Corps Academy. He is considered the father of modern artillery.

Turin thus became a prime candidate for hosting a monument: this is the city giving birth to the Artillery Corps and also the headquarters of major metallurgical industries that significantly contributed to the technological development and manufacturing of weapons.

THE TURIN COMMITTEE

In May 1923, some Artillery officers decided to set up some initiatives to celebrate the history and deeds of their Corps. The memories of World War I – still highly vivid in their minds – inspired their project: the final victory was also achieved thanks to the substantial contribution of the Artillery Corps. Two proposals were put forward: building a monument and writing a general history of the Italian Artillery. The latter was written by Colonel Carlo Montù – the promoter and first Secretary-General of the Committee for the Monument to the Artillery Corps – and published on 2 August 1934. Originally, Col Montù’s project was to have a commemorative plaque attached to a wall of the Palace of Venaria, the place giving birth to the first Artillery Units.

However, the original idea to commemorate the Corps’ deeds simply through a plaque appeared quite inadequate from the beginning, thus leading to the project of a commemorative monument in Turin.

In May 1923, the “Committee for the Monument to the Artillery Corps under the high patronage of the Duke and Duchess of Aosta” was set up and headquartered in Turin Via San Francesco da Paola 22. General Alessandro Goria chaired the Committee.

The goals of the Organizing Committee were to celebrate the deeds of the distinguished Corps, the heavy industry workers’ skills, and to pay a lasting tribute to the bravery of the Corps’ members of staff.

The unveiling was envisaged by 1928 to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the Victory.

THE ARTIST

The Committee awarded the contract to sculptor Pietro Canonica, (Moncalieri 1869-Roma 1959), a pupil of the sculptor Tabacchi. The artist graduated from Turin’s Academy of Fine Arts and became internationally renowned. He crafted numerous works in Turin and in Piedmont, including the monument to the Italian Cavalry Soldier (1923), located in Piazza Castello, Turin.

THE LOCATION

Sculptor Pietro Canonica and Gen. Goria agreed that the ideal location for the work was Piazzale Duca d’Aosta, an area of scenic beauty where three major avenues converged: Corso Trieste, Corso Trento and Corso Duca d’Aosta. The location was originally meant to face the entrance of the National Stadium; today, the site houses the Polytechnic, and the Avenue has been renamed Corso Duca degli Abruzzi.

However, in the Prince of Piedmont’s opinion, the most suitable location for the monument should have been the city center, i.e., Piazza Solferino; in fact, he repeatedly stressed the importance of such a site through his adjutant and collaborator Ambrogio Clerici.

When evaluating the project, the Commission instead identified a different site to the one initially envisaged by the Committee: the area where Corso Vittorio and Corso Massimo d’Azeglio intersect, close to an elevated portion of the Valentino Park. Yet, this site required massive and expensive work to flatten the area and cut some of the trees. Therefore, the Commission opted for the place at the intersection of Corso Cairoli and Corso Vittorio Emanuele, which was considered more suitable, both in terms of costs and scenic beauty.

FROM A ROUGH SKETCH TO THE PROJECT

After consultation, the city warmly welcomed the initiative; in February 1926, the Hygiene & Building Commission asked the President of the Committee not only simple drawings of the project but further details, such as the draft or the scale drawing of the work, for an evaluation of the sites proposed.

Canonica started working. Initially, his plaster model was an arch with a rectangular plan, which he later changed into one with an octagonal plan. However, the need to cut costs led to a simplified model and decor.

Two large cannons originally envisaged on top were removed, and a bombard replaced the giant central statue in front of the crownwork. The two sides were also modified: two fountains replaced the high-relief decors after the unveiling, even though they were never operated. The general prefectural commissioner C.A. Donato Etna approved the project and the new location by a decree dated 23 September 1926.

1927 THE COMMENCEMENT OF WORKS

Works started at the end of May 1927. Canonica intended to complete them by half April. The firm Cavagningo was commissioned for the stonework; this was a company from Rezzato, a town nearby Brescia and in the vicinity of Botticino, famous for its limestone yards bearing the same name. The Firm Albino Guilizoni was instead commissioned for the building work.

From its very beginning, the erection of the monument was relatively slow due to further engagements by the artist, who appointed sculptor Luigi Squarzini to replace him. The agreement was to conclude the building work in 1928. Works started in autumn 1927, and the monument structure and decor were completed in seven months, except for the statues.

The technical issues were not the only difficulties to raise some concerns. The costs for the earthworks and foundation of the gigantic monument drained the coffers of the Committee and required the intervention of the Podestà (i.e., the principal authority equivalent to a mayor) of Turin, Admiral Count Luigi Balbo Bertone di Sambuy. The unveiling ceremony had to be postponed, while requests for further financing had to be submitted. Unfortunately, there seemed to be a conflict between the financing of the Arch and the large amount of money already invested in the building of the Lighthouse of Victory (Faro della Vittoria) on Maddalena hill, inaugurated in May 1928. However, the municipality agreed to support the project, and the mayor provided a substantial contribution to a grateful General Sasso, Vice President of the Committee, in November 1929. Meanwhile, Canonica completed all the statues and decor planned, even though reduced in number and simplified to the project approved four years before.

1930 THE UNVEILING

The unveiling took place on 15 June 1930 with a solemn ceremony in the presence of Their Royal Majesties. The date coincided with the 12th anniversary of the beginning of the Piave Battle, to the final result of which massive employment of weaponry had been decisive.

A news report from Giornale Luce, shot in June 1930, showed their Majesties’ arrival at the Railway Station of Turin accompanied by a large group of people. The documentary shows in sequence the motorcade gliding by along the streets of Turin escorted by police officers riding their bikes, the monument still veiled with a white cloth; the Guard of Honor marching down the streets to the cheers of the crowds, and the deployment of platoons saluting. Finally, the video shows the blessing of the Arch enriched with bronze sculptures, the speech held by the Duke of Aosta, the veterans parading, and the performance of the military band.

THE CITY LIFE AND THE “VALENTINO ARCH”

The monument was erected in an age of profound changes for the city: Turin had been a prestigious location for the latest International Exhibitions, the last of which was held from May through September 1928, and intense construction activity was in progress. The reorganization of the manufacturing sector started at the beginning of the industrialization age, and the FIAT Lingotto plant, which opened in 1923, became an iconic building together with Palazzo Gualino, one of the first examples of the Italian Rationalism.

Since the 1930s, to most city inhabitant strolling along the river banks, the Arch at the entrance of the beloved city park was simply known as the “Valentino Arch.”

Even today, not many people know that the access door from Corso Vittorio to the city’s green heart is a Tribute to the Artillery Corps.

THE 2004 RESTORATION

As many other historical snapshots gradually consigned to oblivion despite having been in full sight for over seventy years, the Arch inevitably started showing the signs of aging.

The restoration of the Monument to the Artillery Corps was devised in 2004 in agreement with the municipality and framed within the patronage project aimed at the protection and enhancement of the regional cultural heritage. The project was an initiative of the Association chaired by lawyer Fabrizio Benintendi, based on previous and similar restoration activities in the city, among which the Corpus Domini Cathedral and the Gobetti Theater are outstanding. The goal of the initiative was to raise the funds needed and to commission the works.
The contribution by FIAT was vital since the preliminary stage. The Group agreed to finance the restauration works and in change asked for having their advertising boards displayed on the scaffoldings.

A third party, the Compagnia Italiana di Conservazione (Italian Association for Conservation) was commissioned to carry out the works. The association had long been identified as an expert for partnership by the Associazione Amici dei Beni Culturali Piemontesi (Piedmontese Association of Cultural Heritage Supporters) and was commissioned to carry out the first surveys on the monument at the beginning of 2004; several damages were highlighted in the structure and works of art. All sculptures revealed heavy signs of wear and corrosion from urban pollution. The color of the outer surfaces exposed to weather changed to green; on the inside, there was an accumulation of black residuals generated by decay over all the surfaces not exposed to rain.

The restorers used special techniques and modern equipment to maintain the original features of the project and the characteristics of the materials. The work was completed in spring 2005, thus revealing the original beauty of the Monument to the Artillery Corps. Despite the monument will probably continue to be popular under the name of “Valentino Arch”, the city’s inhabitants will hardly be able to ignore its magnificence.

DUPONT: HISTORICAL SNAPSHOTS STORIES FROM THE PAST

While the restoration works were in progress, 70 years after the erection of the Arch, 180 abandoned plates were found in two inner rooms. These plates belonged to Armando Dupont, and a quick search in the city’s archive revealed that the man, a street photographer, was appointed by sculptor Canonica to protect the site against “beggars, rogues, and vagabonds.” After the unveiling, he was in charge of looking after the monument. The Arch was his home and where he left his “message in a bottle” from the past century for the future generations.

Studying the photos was a further discovery itself! The 90 better preserved and most significant plates were snapshots of everyday life in Turin and Piedmont in the 1920s. The life framed in the pictures shows vivid scenes from a past age that still arouse emotions that challenge popular stereotypes. Whoever is familiar with the historical, political, and social context of the period and has heard tales from their fathers or grandfathers will be able to evoke a clear picture of Turin in the mid-1920s under the Fascist regime.

Curiously, not much of what we see reminds us of the well-consolidated Fascist regime. None of the symbols or scenarios usually associated to the Fascist era can be found in the photos. The only exceptions are an austere gentleman with the badge of the fascist party on his lapel, a fascist emblem known as “cicca” or “fascio Littorio” on the monument to the Artillery (later removed in 1943), and two shy, hardly martial young ladies wearing their uniforms of the Giovani Italiane, side by side with two bold and slightly bony athletes.

The images of soldiers, civilians, and sportspeople tell us about a city whose traditions were partially still profoundly linked to the Royal Family and the Partito Liberale, and partially supported socialism. A city that had not yet become anti-fascist could thus be labelled as almost ignoring fascism. This is an accurate picture of a town Mussolini will never like, far from being enthusiastic about the regime and its rituals. A city where even the fascist party officials like Cesare De Vecchi di Val Cismon or Paolo Thaon De Revel remained loyal to the monarchy, first and then to the regime.

The photographs were all shot between 1926 and 1932 (except one, dated 1924): the regime had taken office, Piero Gobetti died in exile, and Antonio Gramsci was in prison. However, the liberal and the socialist sides of the city were well alive beneath the ashes, silently waiting until the Resistance to rise again. The military scenes by Dupont show an Army profoundly linked to the monarchy, still proud of the victory achieved in the battle of Vittorio Veneto, never adopting the fascist salute or its emblems. Against the walls of the Martinetto shooting range (that appears in some of the photos by Dupont), the monarchist and liberal soldiers like Giuseppe Perotti and socialist workers like Errico Giachino, will die side by side. The Golden Medals for Military Bravery and Resistance will be awarded to noblemen like the artillery Tenant, Marquis Felice Cordero di Pamparato and workers like Dante Di Nanni. The Royal Army is still alive within the spartan old barracks from the Sardinian kingdom. The soldiers’ square faces are those of the honest and brave Piedmontese farmers and workers, proud to serve in the same units where their ancestors had served and won historical battles. The lean and proud Army Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers were mostly from Veneto and forged by the trench mud and the mountain snow. They still wear the 1915-18 war uniforms and the “Adrian” helmet, a symbol of World War I, later replaced in the mid-1930s.

The scenes from the civil life show muscular and gritty athletes and young ladies in demure gymnastics clothing competing for the historical sports clubs founded in the late nineteenth century. The feelings conveyed are happiness and sportsmanship, nothing like the unnatural, stiff “heroic” postures of the “fascist Saturdays’ sports activities.” The award ceremonies offer proud, spontaneous, and smiling athletes, well far away from the bombastic postures of the fascist imagery.

An unusual group of photographs refers to the Colony’s Exhibit celebrating the Italian territories of Africa. The exhibition was held within the frame of the great National Italian Exhibition of 1928 in the district of Pilonetto, currently the area of Corso Sicilia and Viale Dogali. A broad African market was set up to give visitors the illusion of being in the African colonies, with exotic animals, canoes, and people of the local ethnic groups. Among the transplanted palm trees, dromedaries, fake huts, and papier-maché minarets, the visitors are amiably and informally chatting with Arabs and black people. The Italian soldiers and Carabinieri are alongside with their Askari and Zaptiè comrades, the local soldiers serving in the armies of the European colonial powers in Africa. Racial laws are still far away, as well as the forceful separation from the loyal comrades of the colonial wars.

Other pictures witness simple and spartan hobbies, boat tours, rustic picnics on wooden planks, people strolling in the city’s parks, group trips in the mountains or to the Cathedral of Superga. These photographs offer a poor but upstanding city life. Its inhabitants have just left behind the grief of the massacre of World War I but are still unaware of the forthcoming horrors of the next decade.

The images we were delivered by Dupont tell us a more intimate History, where public events unfold alongside the activities of ordinary people who are the actual protagonists, too often forgotten.

Bibliografy and Sitography:

• documents by Leonardo Mastrippolito, Edmondo Paganelli, Pier Carlo Sommo
• Comune di Torino, Settore Decoro Urbano
  http://www.comune.torino.it/papum/user.php?context=opere&submitAction=dettaglio&ID_opera=M050
• Istituto Luce Cinecittà
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKY6nLMLX3c

Postcards