Siena, 16 June 2024 – Diego, 23 years. Agent. First it was at Road in Verona but now he works at the Service Unit of the Siena police headquarters. Marco, 60 years old of which almost 40 are in uniform, inspector. Since 2002 point of reference of permanent police station in Scotte after starting at the Volanti in Turin and then in our city.
Son and father, different but united by values - helping others, they say in unison – and by the desire to provide a service to citizens. “It’s not rhetoric, this job is in our blood”, they put their hands forward. Next to each other, as happened (first and only time) during a playoff match Costone-Mens Sana. It’s a surprise that father and son find themselves working together in the police force, as do the Palio jockeys in Piazza.
«The effect? Happy and proud. Very sad considering that I have been retired since August 1st. There are those who willingly leave, I would have stayed. And not just to help Diego with the experience gained. However, there is always the telephone”, smiles Dionisi senior looking at his son. “When I was in Verona sometimes I even woke him up at night. I’m sorry I only spent 8 months with him here in Siena”, echoes Diego.
Marco taught him to “always do his best in his work, which certainly didn’t come by chance. I wanted to help others and be close to people, being useful to others. He infected me with these values”, admits the young policeman. Who dreams of going to the Volanti. “There is nothing more beautiful than doing it in the city where you grew up”, adds Diego, a Sarrocchi graduate and a great passion for swimming at a competitive level. “Continuous training every day, races at the weekend. I miss it a little bit… now just the gym”, explains the agent. Who on the other hand started studying Law, he is in his third year. “Being able to work and stay on top of books isn’t easy, I admit that”, admits the inspector without batting an eyelid.
Helping others doing one’s job with a human approach was Dionisi’s ‘bar’ in the permanent position, without looking at timetables. “Maybe you can’t bring a person’s child back to life, but being close to them and resolving their doubts can be a comfort. And it also makes those who wear the uniform feel good. Sometimes it doesn’t take much to make a person happy”, he reveals, leaving for a moment glimpse the door of the heart. Which has also been beating for the Misericordia for 22 years now. “I will continue to drive the ambulance, maybe I will do a few more shifts now that I am retired”, she announces. “I am an emergency volunteer, sometimes it happened to be with my father in the Misericordia”, adds his son Diego. Here too, therefore, one next to the other albeit with a different ‘uniform’.
«If there is always respect for the police? On the part of the majority of citizens, yes, but it is clear that a mutual approach is needed in the name of correctness, this is the ABC”, observes Dionisi senior, returning to the job he is truly leaving with a heavy heart. “A moment in which I had afraid during the service? No, that didn’t happen. But it’s clear that in some moments strong attention was necessary”, admits Diego. He’s thinking of a special gift for when father Marco retires. The inspector looks at him, already yes moves.
