Col. Stephen Skells holds up a pair of giant scissors after cutting a ribbon to officially open Caserma Matteo Miotto for the 207th Military Intelligence Brigade in Longare, Italy, on Jan. 24, 2025. (Rebecca Holland/Stars and Stripes)
LONGARE, Italy — A U.S. Army unit that collects intelligence in support of the service’s operations in Africa unveiled its new home Friday at a base south of Vicenza.
The 207th Military Intelligence Brigade’s transition to renovated facilities at Caserma Matteo Miotto has been in the works for six years, though construction didn’t start until about three years ago, said Col. Scott Horrigan, commander of U.S. Army Garrison Italy.
Since 2016, the brigade had been operating from Caserma Ederle, about 6 miles away. The soldiers of the 207th are expected to complete their move to Caserma Miotto by the spring.
Four buildings on base were gutted and redone as part of the project, which included installation of new security cameras and more secure classified areas. There was little activity on the base during the renovation period.
Specific details on the refurbished buildings were not immediately available Friday.
“It’s not just construction but technology that was updated,” Horrigan said.
Among Friday’s events was a reception with the family of the base’s namesake. Matteo Miotto was a corporal from nearby Thiene who served in the Alpini, the Italian army’s mountain infantry.
In 2010, he was killed in combat in Afghanistan’s Buji Pass after rushing to reinforce the area. The act earned the 24-year-old the Silver Medal for Valor from the Italian army and the Cross of Honor, which is given to victims of terrorism abroad.
“All of us understand the cost of freedom, so it is our privilege to serve on a base named for an Italian hero,” said Col. Stephen Skells, the brigade commander.
Until last year, the base did not have a name. Americans would refer to it as Longare Base, causing confusion between the town and the installation.
Meanwhile, Italians called it Site Pluto, a holdover from the Cold War that is irrelevant today but nevertheless has sparked conspiracy theories in local media that the base is a secret storage spot for nuclear weapons.
Skells unveiled a plaque near the base entrance that features a photo of Miotto.
“It’s very emotional,” Miotto’s mother, Anna Dal Farro, said Friday. “It means Matteo left a great legacy. It was very difficult when he chose to enlist, and I was very angry when he went to Afghanistan, but you have to let your children choose their own path.
Tragically, it ended like this, but he’s in the heart of everyone here.”
Anna Dal Farro and Franco Miotto, the parents of Matteo Miotto, stand in front of a plaque at Caserma Matteo Miotto in Longare, Italy, on Jan. 24, 2025. The U.S. Army base is named after the 24-year-old Italian soldier, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2010. (Rebecca Holland/Stars and Stripes)
