Cittaducale was invaded by black and red uniforms for one morning. In the center of the Rieti province, the Carabinieri organized a handover ceremony at the helm of the Forestry, Environmental, and Agri-food Units Command, which had been under the direction of Lieutenant General Antonio Pietro Marzo for the past six years.
The Senior Officer, who retired after almost 50 years of military life, handed over the baton. Lieutenant General Andrea Rispoli, who had previously served as the Interregional Commander of the Carabinieri in “Ogaden,” as well as in the Lazio and Calabria Legions, and commanded the Provincial Commands of Bolzano and Avellino, received the responsibility. The ceremony took place in the presence of the Commanding General of the Carabinieri, Teo Luzi, and numerous religious, civil, and military authorities.
This change in leadership will ensure continuity in the actions of the Carabinieri, who have been actively strengthening their ties with the United Nations in recent months. In early May, they hosted an exhibition showcasing how Italian “green berets” are capable of environmental protection. The exhibition later moved to Rome, where it was welcomed by the Chief of Defense Staff, Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, Minister Francesco Lollobrigida, and Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin.
In New York, the Carabinieri, alongside the “Carabinieri: Italian Biodiversity Peacekeepers” exhibition, General Marzo and Under-Secretary for Operational Support, Atul Khare, signed a “Letter of Understanding,” marking a crucial step in the collaboration between the United Nations and the Carabinieri’s International Excellence Center for Environment and Land Conservation in Sabaudia.
The UN values its relationship with the Carabinieri highly, believing that “forest protection is the best solution to combat climate change.” With this conviction, they aim to make Sabaudia a center for training personnel to be deployed in international missions with a strong focus on environmental protection.
The idea is to establish a collaborative relationship similar to what the UN already has with the Center of Excellence for Stability Police Units (CoESPU) in Vicenza. Through this center, police forces from around the world are trained in Italy and subsequently made available for United Nations missions. The project operates thanks to crucial cooperation with the United States, which provides the necessary resources for its functioning.
At the Lazio school, leveraging the experience gained by the Carabinieri through the Organization for Forestry, Environmental, and Agri-food Protection, which consists of 7,000 units specifically oriented towards territory control and conservation, courses in environmental policing will be organized. These courses aim to prevent offenses against biodiversity, ecosystem damage, and safeguard agri-food productions. Beneficiaries will include officials from all over the world, as well as military, police, and civilian personnel, who will be deployed in international missions.
To commemorate the exhibition and preserve over time the display set up in New York from last May 8 to 26, as well as the close link with the UN, the Carabinieri also produced a limited edition philatelic sheet with three stamps. Only 2,000 copies were printed, featuring two Carabinieri on horseback observing stamps dedicated to the royal eagle, Mexican bear, and wolf—symbols of forests often threatened by human actions.
“We are proud of our role and will increasingly dedicate ourselves to training international forces,” said General Marzo during the exhibition presentation at the United Nations. The Carabinieri are committed to carrying out this mission, and with the new course initiated by General Rispoli, they will continue to strengthen the fruitful relationship between Italy and the United Nations.
