The inauguration: 4 November 1933
The inauguration of the Monument to Italian Sailors took place on 4 November 1933, in the presence of King Vittorio Emanuele III and Duke Thaon de Revel, representing the head of the government. The solemn ceremony required long, careful preparation by the Executive Committee chaired by the Prefetto Mutinelli, both because of the presence of the king and the highest state authorities and because of the huge number of participants: ten special trains were arranged for former sailors and members of the Lega Navale.
On the morning of 4 November, as the trains arrived, participants were escorted to the port, where the navy had built a floating bridge more than 250 metres long, from the Montenegro quay to the opposite shore, seno di ponente. Vast crowds thronged the via Regina Margherita and the steps of the Roman columns to watch the royal procession.
Upon the arrival of the king, who reached the grounds aboard a motor-boat, the ceremony began: a religious rite, greetings from the mayor Giannelli, speeches by Achille Starace, secretary of the PNF and commissioner of the Lega Navale, and by the minister of the navy Sirianni, and a visit to the crypt and monument by the king and the royal princes.
During the ceremony the Lega Navale officially handed the Monument over to the Navy. The event was widely reported in the foreign press, from the Illustrated London News to the Birmingham Post.
