One Saint, one event, three protagonists, two cities. This is what happened from Friday to Sunday in Tuscany. The Saint is Catherine of Siena, patroness of the city of the palio, proclaimed co-patron of Italy together with Saint Francis of Assisi by Pope Pius XII, nominated Doctor of the Church by Pope Paul VI and finally proclaimed co-patron of Europe by Pope John Paul II together with Saint Benedict of Norcia. A post-mortem CV that will make your wrists tremble, but the “vitae” one isn’t bad either. The event is the one that is repeated every year in Siena: the celebrations for the Patron Saint. They last about a week and always end on the Saturday and Sunday following the holiday which falls on April 29th. What happened last weekend. The two cities are: Siena, precisely, and Teramo.
What does Teramo have to do with it? What does our city have to do with all this? Maybe it’s because the word “Event” is misused even when it comes to having an aperitif in the square, the opening of a fast food restaurant or a concert that can range from U2 (we’re joking) to Vittorio the Phenomenon. Event in Teramo is “Filipponeide”, that is to say everything that the King Midas of events touches with his own hand. Perhaps it is because this time it has nothing to do with the fact that almost nothing has been learned about a true and historical “Event”. It would be right, now, to talk about the three local protagonists of the story, because there are also others from various “districts”.
They are in order: the Prefect of Teramo Fabrizio Stelo, the Bishop of Teramo Lorenzo Leuzzi and the Mayor of Teramo Gianguido D’Alberto. Let’s get to the facts. In Siena, among the many celebrations there is one in particular. In front of the image of the Saint there is an oil lamp which is kept constantly lit. The oil that powers this lamp has always been donated by a municipality located in the archdiocese of Siena which delivers it to the city of Siena on the last day of the celebrations. Here the first protagonist enters the scene: Prefect Stelo, a Sienese who knows the traditions very well, who calls Bishop Leuzzi and asks him to call the archbishop of Siena, Cardinal Augusto Paolo Lojudice, to find out if the oil can be donated from the city of Teramo. Leuzzi, who doesn’t even sleep at night, doesn’t let himself be told twice, especially since the cardinal has also been friends with him for some time. Incredible but true, the answer is yes, it can be done. At this point, Mayor Gianguido D’Alberto, once defilipponized, comes into play and understands the significance of the affair.
All done: Teramo will be the first non-Sienese municipality in history to donate the oil for the votive lamp. The “Leuzzian” organizing machine sets in motion. In Siena, between Friday and Saturday, over 300 people from Teramo arrived with buses and cars and the “Nisea” choir directed by maestro Claudia Morelli and accompanied by President Francesca Persia, who enchanted the Sanctuary of the House of S. Caterina with a concert on Friday evening packed. Teramo, therefore, was immediately the protagonist but on Saturday and Sunday it had even more. The city’s banner was carried in procession on both days with the Mayor, Prefect, Bishop and the provincial commander of the Guardia di Finanza, Colonel Fabrizio Chirico, in tow, escorted by the flag-wavers and drummers of the 17 districts accompanied by the civil, religious and military authorities , as well as a large crowd.
Bishop Leuzzi also had the honor of presiding over the concelebration on Saturday evening, the solemn one, with Cardinal Lojudice and Cardinal Lazzaro You Heung-sik, director of the clergy department, alongside him, practically the cardinal who commands all the priests in the world . At the end of the day, in Piazza del Campo, both Leuzzi and Mayor D’Alberto himself had great space with their speeches. Sunday morning was the day of the delivery of the amphora with oil, which took place in the house of Santa Caterina with the Mayor and the Bishop who delivered the jar specially made in Castelli and bearing the coats of arms of the city and the Curia. Other interventions, that of Mayor D’Alberto, particularly appreciated by all, another procession through the historic center and another mass presided over this time by Cardinal Lazzaro. The bitter reflection that must be made is: the city of Teramo, protagonist in Siena, knew little or nothing about all this.
Apart from the 300 people who went up to Tuscany, no one said anything. And to think that there were three Tuscan television stations live for an event that is put on the same level as the prize. Someone underestimated the event or guiltily ignored it. Those who had the chance and the desire to be there were able to experience first-hand the importance of what was happening. Those who weren’t there or didn’t know missed a lot, actually a lot. Teramo, for once, was the protagonist of history, because being the first in something that has over a hundred years of tradition is perhaps a slightly bigger event than a drink in the square.
Alfredo Giovannozzi
