PISTOIA. After an absence that lasted too long, for an event that was born political, but also became a phenomenon of custom and a recreational moment that goes beyond its own militancy, the Unity celebrations return to Pistoia.
The one in Pontelungo, which had been off the radar for years, broke the ice. Four days of music and cultural events, as well as dinners spent in joy, with the visit of the regional secretary of the party Emiliano Fossi to seal the importance of this restart. From Thursday to next Saturday, and then again from Thursday 11th to Saturday 13th July, the Torbecchia militants will be partying followed, from Wednesday 11th to Saturday 14th September, by those from Ponte alle Tavole. In these days, other parties could be announced to the joy of the many PD militants who, for too long, have been without them.
The glories of the oceanic gatherings of the past are still far away, when the smell of barbecues permeated the air and the dancing evenings began and ended to the sound of “Red Flag”. Something, however, is moving on the left and the revival of party parties is a tangible symptom of the slow recovery of the Pistoia Democratic Party. After having gradually “processed the mourning” of the loss of the Municipality, the Pistoia dems are trying to build the foundations for the recovery, as says Alvaro Alberti, former municipal councilor in Pistoia and deus ex machina of the very successful Festa dell’Unità in Pontelungo. The times in which Alberti himself managed to bring the best-known names on the Italian artistic scene to the Unità celebrations in Pistoia are still long gone. Singers of the caliber of Lucio Dalla and Teresa De Sio, just to name a couple, stopped in Pistoia, in show-events that remained memorable. Today, in a completely changed historical era, these results really seem light years away. The Democratic Party therefore starts celebrating again from the suburbs, keeping itself ready to take the great leap forward again, as Alvaro Alberti says again: «These parties represent the party’s desire to resume a connection with its people. In the air you can sense that the wind is changing and the success of our party is a clear and eloquent symptom. We in Pontelungo have never let our guard down and, even if the Unity celebration had been temporarily suspended, the club has maintained great vitality over time, encouraging youth aggregation in the neighborhood and promoting a whole series of cultural and recreational initiatives which, when the party resumed, proved extremely useful. Around ten sporting and social associations have their headquarters within the club and contribute to maintaining the vital and proactive environment, ultimately constituting a real added value.”
For Alvaro Alberti, the Arci clubs or people’s houses, if you prefer, are and remain authentic centers of aggregation and debate: “I always remember when, many years ago, I started attending the Pontelungo club. I was young and had a “basket” of hair like Lucio Battisti. Fulvio Mochi, an old comrade who was very authoritative but not very inclined to express his feelings, called me to him and said “I like you”. Since then, despite my many political and work commitments, I have never left the club and, indeed, I invite young people to attend them more and more assiduously, because the clubs are not only healthy places of aggregation but also gyms of democracy”.
If therefore the Unità festivals are flourishing more easily where the clubs have maintained their vitality over the years, their success can be seen as a symptom of the slow but constant recovery of the Pistoia left: «We are happy that Pontelungo was the first summer event of the Unità festivals. It is a bit as if a positive energy is radiating from Pontelungo that is giving energy to the many comrades who are, with enthusiasm, taking back control of the organization of these events. Today the conditions have changed compared to the past, given that there are no longer the many volunteers of the past. However, the enthusiasm is the same and the desire to socialize of the younger ones that we cannot ignore».
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