The glorious body of the Guardia di Finanza celebrates the 250th anniversary of its foundation. Two exhibitions at the Shrine of the Flags of the Vittoriano Armed Forces in Rome and at Palazzo Madama in Turin tell of its long history of service to the country of Italy. – Carlo Franza’s blog

As part of the celebrations for the 250th anniversary of the foundation of the Guardia di Finanza, Palazzo Madama hosts in Corte hosts the exhibition 250 YEARS – TRADITION AND FUTURE in the Medieval Court, which offers a real immersion in the history of the Guardia di Finanza. A 250-year history of serving the community, told in an imaginative and visual way by a succession of pictorial works and embellished with historical relics from the Historical Museum of the Guardia di Finanza, the Royal Museums of Turin and the State Archives of Turin. Before delving into the exhibition for the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the foundation of the Guardia di Finanza, I would like to point out that my father Martino Franza he took part in it by enlisting in 1918, while the cousin Armando Franza he entered it in 1920; cousin Armando then had three children, Giovanni, Leonzio and Giuseppe Franza, all three of them were also financiers, and he had Giuseppe among his children Armando who is still General of the Guardia di Finanza, serving in Bari. General Armando Franza in an article published in March 2021 in the monthly Il Finanziere underlined and headlined for the Franzas, “a 100-year tradition”.

Now, the exhibition in question starts in the story from 1774, the year of establishment of the Legion of Light Troops of the Regno of Sardinia, the first Italian example of a Corps conceived for military and customs surveillance at the borders, and reaches up to the modern and versatile economic-financial police of today.
The combination of these elements highlights the many aspects that have contributed to forging and sedimenting the Tradition of the Body, a solid foundation on which to build the Future. A 250 year long history at the service of community, told in an imaginative and visual way by a succession of pictorial works and embellished with historical relics from the Historical Museum of the Guardia di Finanza, the Royal Museums of Turin and the State Archives of Turin.

The combination of these elements highlights the many aspects that have contributed to forging and sedimenting the Tradition of the Body, a solid foundation on which to build the Future.

The memorabilia. On display are:

• documents and memorabilia from the Historical Museum of the Guardia di Finanza;
• the original colonel flags of the Piedmontese Royal Legion, heir to the Light Troops Legion, coming from the Royal Museums of Turin and specially restored by the Guardia di Finanza on the occasion of its 250th anniversary of foundation;
• originals and reproductions of the constitutive documents of the Legion of Light Troops (1774), kept in the State Archives of Turin.

The immersive path. The Immersive path it was conceived by Studio Cieffe of Venice, architects Fabrizio Berger and Carlo Sordillo, as an emotional experience, in which the senses are stimulated by a series of inputs of lights, colors and contents that accompany the visitor on a temporal journey.

Its volumetric perimeters, which in perspective view appear composed of light, are actually made up of solid metal structures, powder-coloured in gunmetal gray which, to the sight and touch, recall the colors of the Guardia di Finanza and the solidity of the its TRADITION, forged over two and a half centuries of operation.

The visitor walks on wooden platforms, fire-aged by artisan carpenters, whose creaking evokes times gone by and cradles the memory.

The walk places alongside artefacts and paintings in a time tunnel, whose colors brighten as time passes, until it ends on a monitor which offers spectacular images of the vast fields of action of today’s Guardia di Finanza, always projected towards the FUTURE.

The setup was deliberately conceived without binding walls, so as to always allow the gaze to wander respectfully admiration of the contents of the Medieval Court of Palazzo Madama.

All the materials used for the exhibition are reusable and recyclable, as well as constructed and assembled in strict compliance with safety standards.

The Artist. Vittorio Bustaffa (1972), painter, illustrator, trained at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice.
Since 2004 he has participated in collective and personal exhibitions of painting and illustration in galleries and institutions in many Italian cities and abroad (France, Spain, Holland, USA). He has created illustrations for multiple publishing houses and drawn concept for cinematographic products, for 2D animations, for amusement parksto, for conferences and for company videogame products software house. Executes Live Painting in theatrical contexts and collaborates regularly with important communication agencies and with the University of Padua. He is responsible for the “Illustration” sector and teacher of “Painting Techniques and Experimentation” at the International Comics School, Padua branch. He lives in Padua.

The pictorial work carried out for the exhibition “250 YEARS – TRADITION AND FUTURE” was conceived to accompany the visitor on a journey through the history of the Guardia di Finanza. The execution of the images has the aim of evoking imaginative suggestions that highlight the spirit of “being a Financier” through the representation of significant moments and subjects (uniforms, environments, …), visually rendered through a chronological succession of reading, from left towards right. The quick gestures of the brushstrokes and the signs, sometimes apparently chaotic, bring out the action and energy. These qualities, inherent in the spirit of the Body, can initially disorientate the observer, but as soon as one observes carefully, every sign, every gesture underlies a harmonious order that recomposes the individual sequences into a single visual story that is more emotional, as well as descriptive. This is how the Guardia di Finanza is, with all its strength Tradition and its specific skills, protagonist of a sort of illustrative frieze that aims to testify to a constant presence, for over two centuries, of men and women committed to providing an important and delicate law enforcement service for the entire community. Especially today, in an era of great social changes and transitions, the Financiers preserve those fixed points in the values ​​that can be viaticum for the community to find an adequate measure in being able to rethink itself and, looking at the Futurerenew in energy and serenity. (Vittorio Bustaffa, painter and illustrator)

The historical exhibition dedicated to the 250 years of history of the Guardia di Finanza was inaugurated on 24 April 2024 in the Shrine of the Flags of the Armed Forces of the Vittoriano in Rome.

The event opened with greetings from the Director of the Shrine, Col. EI Attilio Cortone and the General Director of the Vittoriano and Palazzo Venice (LIVE) – Dr. Edith Gabrielli, followed, in order, by the interventions of the Tg1 journalist, Filippo Gaudenzi, of the General Commander of the Guardia di Finanza, Gen. CA Andrea De Gennaro, and of the highest authority present , the Chief of Defense Staff, Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone.

In closing, the traditional ribbon cutting took place, entrusted to Mrs. Elena Manildo De Gennaro.

The exhibition started from 1774, the year of establishment of the Legion of Light Troops of the Kingdom of Sardinia, the first Italian example of a Corps conceived for military and customs surveillance at the borders, and reaches up to the modern and versatile economic-financial police of today.

Visitors had the opportunity to relive, following a fascinating immersive journey, the most significant moments and events in the history of the Institution, told through a succession of pictorial works by the artist Vittorio Bustaffa, memorabilia and documents made available by the Historical Museum of the Guardia di Finanza, from the State Archives and from the Royal Museums of Turin.

Among these, also the faithful reproduction of the constitutive documents of the Light Troops Legion and the original colonel flags of the Piedmontese Royal Legion from the second decade of the 19th century which, for the 250th anniversary of its foundation, were specially restored by the Corps.

The exhibition, set up at the Complesso del Vittoriano, Shrine of the Flags in Rome, remained open to the public until 25 June 2024 with free admission.

I close with the motto NEC RECISA RECEDIT (“Neche Spetta Recedes”), officially adopted by the corps in 1933 and initially written by Gabriele D’Annunzio in 1920 on a photo that he gave to some financiers, together with the words “Alle Fiamme Gialle, honor of Fiume”.

Carlo Franza