by Francesco Benucci – The concept of “correspondence” is one of those that is most embedded in our human beings, because it implies a mutual relationship, a flow of thoughts, analogies, messages, a whole in which the aspects that unite us and not those who divide us.
AND Adelio Innocenti, born in 1941, is certainly among those who have woven this thread of ties throughout their lives, with patience, curiosity and will. So much so that, even after his death last December, the thread of his life continues to stand out in the memory of those who knew him, family members first and foremost; and it is not just a ball of affection and knowledge: all the objects collected over time also contribute to establishing an almost unique correspondence, the material legacy (and not only) of an intelligent, passionate, cultured but simple man, profound and never superficial.
It all starts, at a young age, from the simple yet fundamental stimulus of curiosity which, combined with an inclination towards furniture, coins, books, postcards, led him to carry out his first research and put together the first pieces of knowledge, this term last used not by chance given that each protagonist of his collection did not respond to a mania for accumulation but to a desire to experience its history and characteristics, often making it an incentive for further purchases.
Thus, as the years passed, documents, objects and various antiquities were added to the aforementioned primary passions, all often centered on Stia and its surroundings but sometimes reaching out towards other “shores”, as evidenced, just to cite a few examples, by the Camaldoli jugs or very ancient manuscripts dating back to past centuries: just think that, when the friars in Poppi promoted the “Rilliana exhibition” or on the occasion of other similar events, ours collaborated by making available what he owned in his antiquarian collection. Still on the subject of correspondence, nourishing the collection meant, at the same time, maintaining and intensifying contacts with friends, acquaintances, antique dealers: being a regular visitor to the themed markets between Florence and Arezzo, invariably participating in the “Il chiodofisso” event, entertaining a relationship of friendship and esteem with the editorial team of “CASENTINO2000”, giving value to objects that in themselves did not have it or were not, at the time, considered such but acquired it in the frame, in the context he created, Adelio managed to meeting up, sharing, forming human relationships for which a book or a postcard was the ideal medium.
He liked being with people and every research, every new aspect of the collection conveyed the transmission of a memory, a mutual purpose of knowledge, an engaging empathy. On the other hand, the fact that his collecting was not an end in itself is revealed by several factors, such as his ability to read and translate Latin as a self-taught person, in accordance with his countless readings in the language cited, or even the publication of volume Stay. Unpublished images and vanished visions (Edizioni Fruska), a collection of postcards, photographs, documents, containing part of the vast material collected, with the aim not so much of presenting itself as a simple nostalgic operation, but rather with the aim of bringing together and passing on the culture of our territory.
And this love for reading, connected to the pleasure of touching history firsthand, could only characterize his life, leading him to scatter everywhere the various reading glasses he owned, inseparable companions of paper adventures, or encouraging him, as the great worker he was (first baker and then pastry chef), to often channel part of the proceeds from these jobs into a passion that has lasted over the years, with perseverance, and supported unconditionally by family members.
Precisely those family members who, together with friends and acquaintances, will continue to retain a more vivid memory than ever, transmitted by an antiquarian legacy that communicates emotions, strengthens bonds and creates special correspondences.
