Panic at the 2 June parade rehearsal, thirty runaway horses and four injured

Thirty horses galloping for several kilometres between cars and motorbikes in transit on Via Cristoforo Colombo, one of Rome's main arteries. A film-like scene immortalised in videos and photos, which soon bounced back on social networks and triggered thousands of comments. These were not just any colts, however, but horses chosen to parade at the parade of 2 June and which, shortly after midnight, were ready at the Baths of Caracalla - in the capital's historic centre - for rehearsals for the event. They were in a waiting position, already lined up, but something went wrong.

From an initial reconstruction, the hypothesis is that a battery of fireworks exploded 200 metres away by a traffic policeman set off the animals. The man would later admit to having lit those fires for 'goliardic reasons' while in the company of some colleagues. The rampaging horses ran over people, vehicles and caused a few accidents. The toll is four injured: a 29-year-old policewoman and three young soldiers of the Lancieri di Montebello, including two women. None are in life-threatening danger. They have fractures, grazes and contusions. One of the soldiers, in particular, suffered a punctured lung due to a cracked rib. Slightly injured were also some of the horses, which were then picked up at various points in Colombo, as far as Eur, and secured. And the Ministry of Defence, expressing its sympathy for the injured, emphasises that Minister Crosetto, 'although on an official visit abroad, has constantly followed the development of the situation, keeping abreast of the conditions of the personnel involved' and that the foals were 'immediately rescued and entrusted to the care of the competent personnel'.

Meanwhile, an initial report on the incident has been sent by the Carabinieri to the Public Prosecutor's Office. It is not excluded that a file may be opened in the next few hours for various offences such as injury and damage. From the local police headquarters they say that, in collaboration with the police, 'all the necessary investigations for a complete and accurate reconstruction of the facts' have been started, and that the acquisition of images from video surveillance systems is underway. The checks," adds the local police, "are also aimed at ascertaining whether any explosions took place in one place or in different places and at the same time.

There was a lot of fear among those who experienced those moments up close. 'It was the scariest night of my life,' says one of those present at the parade rehearsals, 'The horses ran over anyone and anything that was in front of them. While those who found themselves passing through the streets around the Baths of Caracalla explain: 'I saw them galloping, I didn't understand what was happening. Then I noticed a policewoman on the ground being helped by ambulance personnel and a few metres away a crowd of people around a man'. There were many posts on social media in the early hours of the morning. Many speak of a 'near tragedy' and some do not hesitate to call it a 'miracle that no one died'. While on the political front, Giovanni Barbera, secretary of the Rome Federation and member of the National Direction of Rifondazione Comunista, maintains: 'The sensational flight of the Army horses is not a simple accident. It is, to all intents and purposes, a symbolic and unintentionally powerful gesture of disobedience to the staging of the militarisation of our Republic'. For Barbera, 'nature offered an unexpected lesson. The sound of a few firecrackers was enough to remind us that horses are free and sensitive animals, who do not intend to be reduced to extras in a military parade'.