December 18 – Christmas Obligation in Milan
On Saturday, December 18, a ceremony was held in Milan in preparation for Christmas in which H.R.H. Prince Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy took part.
Upon his arrival in Piazza del Carmine, the Prince reviewed the Nucleo Uniformi Storiche of the Carabinieri in Milan, who paid homage to their august guest.
Subsequently, the Delegation Prior celebrated the Holy Mass, which was attended by about seventy of the members of the delegation and was followed by a charity luncheon at Palazzo Cusani, the proceeds of which were donated for the charitable works and educational projects of the delegation.
S.A.R. spent a long time in the crowded halls of the Club, celebrated by those present with warmth and affection.The Milanese day of the Prince of Piedmont and Venice ended with a private visit to the Milan Cathedral: after being welcomed inside the Crypt of the Cathedral by the greeting of the Archpriest Rev. mo Mons. Gianantonio Borgonovo, SAR, always accompanied in his stay in Milan by the Delegate for Lombardy Gr. Uff. OSSML Alberto Di Maria, went up to the Terraces, from which he was able to admire the city in the light of the sunset, renewing an itinerary already traveled by his Augusti Avi, including S.M. Queen Margherita.
Inside the Cathedral, S.A.R. was able to admire one of the Quadroni, exhibited until January, which depicts the meeting between San Carlo Borromeo and the Duke Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia, where the Savoy Prince is depicted with the insignia of the Supreme Order of the Santissima Annunziata.
19 December 2021 – Christmas Obligation, inauguration of the Delegation offices and charity luncheon for the Madagascar mission of the Sisters of St. Joseph.
After his visit to Milan, on Sunday 19 December 2021 H.R.H. Prince Emanuele Filiberto went to Valle d’Aosta to meet the Dames and Knights of the Delegation on the occasion of the inauguration of the new offices of the Dynastic Orders of the Royal House of Savoy.
H.R.H. arrived at the square in front of the Collegiata dei Santi Pietro e Orso in Aosta at about 10:45 am.
Together with the Dames and Knights of the Valle d’Aosta, H.R.H. was greeted upon his arrival by H.E. the Most Reverend Mgr. Franco Lovignana, Bishop of Aosta, the Prior Uff. OSSML Rev. Aldo Armellin, the city’s mayor Dr. Gianni Nuti, the President of the City Council Dr. Luca Tonino and other local authorities, together with many people who wished to take part in the event organised to pay homage to the Prince.
After the inauguration and the anthems, among them Montagnes Valdotaines, which was very dear to Queen Maria José and was performed by the Aosta Municipal Band, the Bishop celebrated a solemn mass, at the end of which the same band performed the Sardinian National Anthem, which was sung by soprano Larissa Yudina.
After the mass, around 80 people met for a charity luncheon at the Grand Hotel Billia in Saint Vincent, where the Chatillon Philharmonic, the oldest in the region, performed the Royal March as the Prince of Piedmont and Venice entered the hall.
During the luncheon, H.R.H. was given a graduation thesis on the contribution provided by the Royal Family to tourism in the Valle d’Aosta from the mid-19th century to 1946; the work was handed out to the Prince directly by the author, Dr. Caterina Pizzato.
A lottery followed, with prizes including works by Arianna Di Romano, Oliviero Toscani and Andrea Leonardi and a charity auction where works offered by valdostani artists, among them Salvatore Cazzato, Luciano Regazzoni, Lucia Vallesi, Franco Balan (the work was donated by his son) and François Cesire (the work was donated by a benefactress) were sold.
The fundraiser was aimed at renovating a school in Madagascar run by the Sisters of Saint Joseph in Aosta.
