With a beautiful ceremony held yesterday morning, a plaque was unveiled in honor of a great sportsman, Spartaco Pucci. The recognition, approved by the municipal administration, contains in the words written on the plaque a life dedicated to the practice and diffusion of sporting activities in an Italy just emerging from the Second World War: “To Spartaco Pucci, among the pioneers of Civitavecchia sport”.
Also significant is the place where the plaque was placed, that is, in the part of the marina in front of the Largo Galli swimming pool which Spartaco himself in 1949 with 12 other founding members designed and financed out of his own pocket.
“In a Civitavecchia that was bombed and destroyed by the war – comments his son, Stefano Pucci – it was an “adventure” to talk about sport; people didn’t even have shoes and were struggling just to eat. At that time, in our city, there were only two sports; football and boxing. My father is one of those pioneers who planted the seeds of that sporting mentality which, in the following decades, brought glory to our small city, on all the stadiums, arenas and swimming pools in the world.”
The ceremony was attended by the President of the City Council Giancarlo Frascarelli, who unveiled the plaque, and by the current President of Meiji Kan karate Stefano Pucci; the athletes of the Via Terme di Traiano club were present with many parents and friends who intervened as a sign of respect.
Spartaco Pucci was a good amateur boxer between 1944 and 1947, he was the Italian correspondent for the famous American magazine Boxe Ring. Player, captain, striker and coach of Civitavecchia water polo when it was still played at pyrgo and was called marine rugby; in 1950 he founded SNC Civitavecchia where he played from 1948 to 1957. He was, in the 60s and 70s, one of the best Serie A and international water polo referees; he was a founding member of Meiji Kan Karate in 1977 of which he was President for 30 years until his death. In 1999, CONI awarded him the star of honor for sporting merit.
