Through Memory 2026

The international meeting “Through Memory” returns in September. This project is supported by a group of local organizations, institutions, and associations, led by the Municipality of Borgo San Dalmazzo. The initiative, which reaches its 28th edition in 2026, takes place in the mountains that witnessed the flight of Jews into “forced residence” in the French village of Saint-Martin-Vésubie in September 1943.
About a thousand people climbed the paths leading to Italy, via the Finestra pass (2,474 m) and the Ciriegia pass (2,543 m), hoping to escape Nazi-Fascist persecution. Refugees from all over Europe descended into the Gesso Valley in search of refuge; While many were saved thanks to the work of the righteous in our area, 331 of them died in Auschwitz after being deported from the Borgo San Dalmazzo camp on November 21, 1943.
The “Through Memory” march, scheduled for Sunday, September 6, 2026, at Ciriegia Hill, is not just a physical journey through places of memory, but a collective journey of reflection, awareness, and civic engagement. And it is much more than a commemorative event: it is a call to responsibility, an invitation to remember and to build together a future of peace and dialogue.
Participants retrace those arduous paths with the spirit of those who wish to keep memory alive and spread the fundamental values ​​on which the initiative is based: to build a society free from hatred and discrimination; to unite generations and cultures around a shared reflection; to remain vigilant today in the face of all forms of injustice and discrimination.

Sunday, September 6, 2026
Colle Ciriegia – Valle Gesso
28th “Through Memory” March

Italy
Departure from Pian della Casa
Estimated time to climb Colle Ciriegia: 2.5 hours / 3 hours.

12:00 PM – International Meeting at Colle Ciriegia
Introduction and facilitation by Alessandra Soncin, member of the MEMO4345 Steering Committee.

Interventions by:
Roberta Robbione, Mayor of the Municipality of Borgo San Dalmazzo, Jean Christophe Teobaldi, Mayor of Saint-Martin-Vésubie, Rosalie Bernheim, representing Yad Vashem, AMEJDAM and AME 43. The testimonies of the descendants of the persecuted Jews and the Righteous of the area will follow. The meeting will close with the sound of the shofar, performed by Rabbi David Touboul of the Maayane Or Synagogue in Nice.

MEMO4345 will be open from 10am to 1pm and from 2pm to 8pm, with free admission.

For more details on the full program and collateral events, you can visit the page on the City of Borgo San Dalmazzo website dedicated to the event or download the poster.