In 2003, the Balestrate municipal administration, interpreting the will of the community, wished to honour the memory of Giuseppe Bommarito, a Carabinieri lieutenant who died at the hands of the Mafia on 13 June 1983, by dedicating not only a street to him, but also the public space of the small villa in Via Madonna del Ponte, with the placement of a monument.
To this end, the Deputy Mayor of the time, M.llo Cosimo Affatigato, commissioned the Municipal Technical Office, in the person of Arch. Patrizia Pellecchia, to identify a symbol for the memorial.
The symbol chosen was the rock as a testimony to the strength, resistance and stability of the Carabinieri, to which Officer Bommarito, in his short life, gave prestige by dedicating himself with great commitment.
After a careful selection, the calcareous rock was identified, and thanks to the contribution of the local construction company of Milazzo Stefano, it was placed on the plinth made by the same company in the small villa.
To mark the anniversary, twenty years after the death of Officer Bommarito, on June 13, 2003, the Mayor and the entire municipal administration held a ceremony in the presence of the officer’s family members, representatives of the Carabinieri Corps and a platoon of the same Corps, inaugurated the monument on which the plaque read
TO THE CARABINIERI OFFICER
GIUSEPPE BOMMARITO
GOLD MEDAL FOR CIVIL VALOUR
KILLED BY THE MAFIA ON 13-06-1983
IN MEMORY
THE MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATION
13 JUNE 2003