It is the unshakable, mandatory and indispensable appointment on Sunday morning – for thousands and thousands of Samnite readers and beyond – the one with a writing by Giuseppe De Lorenzo for the Gazzetta di Benevento, the online newspaper directed by Alfredo Pietronigro.
A custom that has been carried on for some years and which Edizioni Realtà Sannita have collected and published in two valuable volumes entitled “People of Benevento” and the subtitle “From the drawer of a reporter’s memory”.
The long-awaited presentation will be held on Saturday 11 May, starting at 6.00 pm, at the “Vittorio Emmanuele” Municipal Theater in Benevento as part of the IL MAGGIO DEI LIBRI 2024 exhibition with the Patrocity from the Municipality of Benevento.
Introduced by the greetings of the publisher Maria Gabriella Fuccio and the Councilor for Culture of the Municipality of Benevento, Antonella Tartaglia Polcini, speakers will be Mario Pedicini, journalist and essayist; Francesco Morante, president of the Archeoclub of Benevento; Roberto Costanzo, president of the Mario Vetrone Foundation and dean of Samnite journalists. The director of the Gazzetta di Benevento newspaper, Alfredo Pietronigro, who also edited the preface of “Gente di Benevento”, will moderate.
The author will conclude.
Giuseppe De Lorenzo, we remember, is not only a well-known and esteemed doctor from Benevento, but he is also a talented journalist and author of various works published at different times by various publishing houses.
Being a doctor, but at the same time having the passion of a reporter, led him to meet, frequent and interface with a large number of people and characters from Benevento and Sannio.
Many, now swallowed up by the oblivion of time, are however brought to life by the pen of Giuseppe De Lorenzo such as, for example: Cenza ‘a giurnalara, Peppe ‘o catch ‘fuck it And Vincenzo Picciuolo known as Chiconeand again Brother Agnello, Totonno ‘o cecato And Ciciariellojust to name a few.
But in “Gente di Benevento” there is also space for ancient, now dormant traditions, such as the famous “map of Santa Lucia”, or the street lottery.
And even the first and candid love of a child Giuseppe for “his” little Elvira is outlined with the tip of the brush.
The memory of Don Emilio Matarazzo is sublime and touching, as is that of Annio Majatico, defined by the author as “best friend and extraordinary colleague”.
This and much, much more is contained in the first two volumes of what promises to be the beginning of a real series of books, in fact the stories of “Gente di Benevento” (first and second volume) stop at the date of 31 December 2019 – obviously regarding publication in the Gazzetta – but there is already abundant material for the next editorial works.
For Giuseppe De Lorenzo: “Gente di Benevento is the fruit of memories and experiences that I have collected, step by step, during my everyday life. Ultimately, testimonies of those who loved Benevento. It is the hope that characters, singular episodes, unpublished facts will not be swallowed up by the oblivion of time, but passed down to future generations”.
“Without people like De Lorenzo – asserts the director Alfredo Pietronigro – many facts and characters of our city would remain definitively confined in the silence of eternity and instead they are documentary sources that are needed by scholars and by those who are preparing or will prepare to analyze historical periods or behaviors of sectors of city life”.
A gem: the title “Gente di Benevento” was chosen by the late director and publisher of Realtà Sannita, Giovanni Fuccio, and Doctor De Lorenzo immediately and enthusiastically approved the choice.
ANNAMARIA GANGALE
