ROME-A five-year initiative to commemorate the centenary of the First World War was launched under the patronage of the Italian government on Friday at the Vittoriano.

 The project involving various activities promoted by the government for the 100^th anniversary of the outbreak of the Great War, was introduced by Luca Lotti, the vice secretary of state to Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, and Franco Marini, the chairman of the Committee for Scientific and Historical Anniversaries of National Interest, at a press conference held in the Zanardelli hall of the Vittoriano museum. They were later joined by Italian President Giorgio Napolitano.

 The event marked the opening of two exhibitions-which will be officially open to the public on Saturday-‘The First World War, 1914-1918. Materials and sources' and ‘Theatres of War. Photographs by Luca Campigotto.’ The aim of both exhibitions is to the commemorate World War I and to showcase efforts since 2006 to assemble documents and rare material in order to reconstruct the history of the era.

 The interactive exhibition, which involves audio and video footage, is a development from a web portal created in 2006, www.14-18.it, which contains documents and films to provide the public with a more realistic and in-depth knowledge of the events which took place during the Great War.

 The ‘Theatres of War. Photographs by Luca Campigotto’ includes “intense, cinematographic images of a desolate nature.” In addition to the display of photos, a multimedia App has been created, which recognises the images and provides relevant explanations to promote the study of the War-an example of one of the didactic aspects of the initiative.

 According to the organizers, the exhibitions show that the Great War has not been, and will not be forgotten but that it should be part of Italian history and Italian identity.

 Mr Lotti said, “it is fundamental to remember those who allowed us to become who we are today.” Mr Lotti added that it is “the duty of a country to collect traces and memories, cherish them, study them and make them known to the public.”

 In addition, Mr Lotti spoke of the didactic purpose of the initiative, as schools at every level will be provided with a more profound knowledge of the war with 8,000 classes dedicated to Italian history every year.

 The students will travel back in time and re-discover the cultural heritage and memorial places that are present in the region. There will be 8,000 teachers and over 200,000 students participating in the project to fulfil the initiative’s pedagogical aim.

 During the conference on Friday Mr Marini said, “The First World War is an important page in history for young boys and girls today.”

 A Facebook page will also be created and will act as a platform for sharing information about the historical events through documents, letters and photographs, which will be posted by students from primary and secondary schools.