Concert for Poland's Independence Day at Palazzo Madama
Date of the event:
On 21 November 2026, at 4pm in the Salone d'Onore of Palazzo Madama in Turin, a concert is held to celebrate the Independence Day of the Republic of Poland, a holiday that falls on 11 November. The event is organised by the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Milan and the Polish Community of Turin-Ognisko Polskie w Turynie, with the patronage of the Metropolitan City of Turin. [1]
The programme
The concert features soprano Dominika Zamara and harpist Leonardo Ciacci, who perform works by the sixteenth-century composer Jan of Lublin, Stanisław Moniuszko, Fryderyk Chopin, Ignacy Paderewski, Mieczysław Karłowicz and Vincenzo Bellini. [1]
The ties between Turin and Poland
Independence Day commemorates the recovery of Polish national sovereignty in 1918, after more than a century in which the territory had been partitioned between Russia, Prussia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 1919 the Blue Army was formed in France, commanded by General Józef Haller and reinforced by 22,000 Polish soldiers who had been Austro-Hungarian prisoners of war of the Royal Italian Army, grouped at the training camp of La Mandria in Chivasso. [1]
The ties between Turin, its territory and Poland date back to the Risorgimento period, when hundreds of Poles fought in the wars for Italian independence, many under the command of General Garibaldi, who in turn supported Polish patriots against Russian, Austro-Hungarian and Prussian rule. The relationship was strengthened at the end of the First World War, when Polish soldiers captured by the Italians trained at La Mandria in Chivasso before returning home to fight against Ukrainians and Soviets. These events led to the twinning between Chivasso and the Polish city of Przemyśl, while Polish soldiers who died in captivity between 1915 and 1918 are buried in Chivasso, Ivrea and Turin. The initiatives for the soldiers at La Mandria were coordinated by the Pro-Polonia Committee, chaired by lawyer Attilio Begey, who later became honorary consul of Poland in Turin. [1]
The Polish Community of Turin was formally established after the Second World War, when some officers who had fought against the Nazi-Fascists in General Anders's army corps settled in the city to complete their studies. [1]
Sources
- Sabato 21 novembre a Palazzo Madama il concerto per la Festa dell'Indipendenza della Polonia — Città metropolitana di Torino, 9 November 2026