(ANSA) - BELGRADE, 24 SET - The remains of 32 Italian soldiers killed in World War I have been returned home after more than a century. The remains, discovered on Slovenian territory, were honoured today with a religious and commemorative ceremony at the Redipuglia Military Memorial in Gorizia. Undersecretary of State for Defence Isabella Rauti, Army Chief of Staff General Carmine Masiello, and 103-year-old Paola Del Din, a Gold Medal of Military Valour recipient, were among those in attendance. The 32 unidentified Italian soldiers were discovered in 2022 near Vrtojba and will be buried at the Oslavia Military Memorial. Their return to Italy was made possible by cooperation between Italian authorities—specifically, the Defence Office for the Protection of Culture and Memory—and their Slovenian counterparts. Today's tribute, Rauti stated, "is not merely a dutiful gesture but a moral obligation: it means honouring those who fought to the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of the Fatherland; those who shed their blood to defend an idea and an ideal." Rauti then emphasised the "thread connecting our fallen from all wars to the men and women in uniform whose task it is to build, maintain, and defend—both at home and abroad—our country's security and the values of freedom and peace." Masiello described the soldiers' return as a "act of justice." (ANSA).