«We were supposed to have dinner together next Saturday, a moment of our own, of chatting and affection, instead…». The senator Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati, Minister for Institutional Reforms, has a cracked voice. The pain is palpable, she has suddenly lost “the friend of a lifetime”, as she defines it Vera Slepoj. And he doesn’t give up.
Who was Vera Slepoj for you?
«With her, an important part of my personal history has gone – says Minister Casellati -. It was family. Always together for all important holidays, birthdays, Christmas. Never failed to celebrate a Christmas together, just like you do as a family. The same for birthdays, even if Vera never revealed her age, not even to me, a small quirk.”
What memory comes to mind at this moment?
«The continuous and constant discussion that we had, on everything, for many, many years. And our beautiful project: we wanted to write a book together, together, about our respective stories, both professional and human, stories intertwined in a single story. And we wrote this book a thousand times with words, we built it, thought about it, filled it with content every time we met, all that was left was to write it, but now…”.
What connected you?
«A great friendship, we talked about everything. Vera has always had an unsettling optimism and then physically she was very well, who could have imagined… Thursday evening she was having dinner with my daughter Ludovica, she laughed and joked throughout the evening, Ludovica was the last person who he saw, nothing could make us think of the tragedy that happened. I can’t believe it, it seems impossible. I can still hear her coming through that door, with her beloved and inseparable dog in her bag.”
How did you meet?
«At the beginning we met for work, she was a psychologist, I was a lawyer, but then a great friendship was born. We also had in common a passion for writing. This book that we wanted to write was also a game between us, I always scolded her because she was busy with so many commitments and she put it off and then maybe in the meantime she would publish her own book, but we thought we had a lot of time ahead of her.”
What kind of friend was she?
«A woman of great generosity. She took care of people even outside the professional sphere, she was always available to help. She loved to work hard for friends she loved, she liked to gather her loved ones around her to celebrate, not just birthdays. When we saw each other, even she and I alone, she specially ordered the tortellini from Valeggio, which we both liked so much, a special treat. We liked to laugh and joke, like you do between friends, a strong, solid bond. There was so much intimacy between us, this made our friendship so solid and long-lasting. We talked freely, even about the trips that she loved, she took many trips with my daughter Ludovica, unfortunately I never had the time.”
An episode that surprised you?
«She also traveled a lot to see her patients, she ended up in Basilicata and fell in love with that land, so she bought a house by the sea. And in Basilicata she was full of friends, her great ability to give led her to always be surrounded by people who loved her. She knew how to listen, understand and read the soul. She will be missed by many people.”
Is there a phrase of his that comes to mind?
«He always told me to put mean things, low blows, unpleasant situations behind me and not to get involved. He helped me face even difficult moments and disappointments, always with great positivity, he tried to find the best side of everything. She was a cornerstone of my life.”
Vera Slepoj has dedicated herself totally to the profession, to building cultural projects. Were her family her friends?
«Yes, too. Friends, friends and her animals, always with her.”
Have you ever talked about death?
“Never. Death was very far from her horizons, Vera was life.”
