The uniforms that gathered yesterday in Faenza, at the PalaCattani, for the ceremony organized by the Region one year after the flood of 16 May 2023 cover the entire spectrum of the rainbow. The khaki-coloured outfits of the Army, the bright white of the Navy and of the Port Authorities, the blue of the Air Force, the yellow-blue of the Civil Protection, the orange of the forest surveillance, the red and white of the Red Cross, up to the darker uniforms of the Carabinieri, Police, Guardia di Finanza, Fire Brigade , one next to the other, mixed together, as in the fateful hours in which they intervened to save the Romagna people clinging to the roofs of their submerged houses. A rainbow of colors similar to the one that stands out on the dress of the regional vice-president Irene Priolo, for many almost unrecognizable without the inseparable Civil Protection jacket: “I hope I don’t get emotional”, begins the councilor, while her voice is already trembling. “One year after the flood it was impossible not to thank the Civil Protection system, all 14 thousand people who came to help us.” The men of the institutions who take turns on stage, while the Resto del Carlino journalist Marco Bilancioni passes the microphone to them from time to time, shed their institutional roles for a moment to reveal themselves as men who, like all men, struggle with fragility and insecurities. “When there were still 400 missing, on the night between 16 and 17 May, I locked myself in the office for two minutes and burst into tears”, reveals the prefect of Ravenna Castrese De Rosa. That night the mayors were barricaded in the municipalities, illuminating themselves with telephone flashlights while they organized relief efforts in cities that remained in darkness. “Twelve months ago there were displaced people here, today there are people demanding respect for the promises made”, comments the mayor of Faenza Massimo Isola. The president of the province Michele de Pascale is even more direct: “This land shouts out a big thank you, which however strong it may be, cannot hide the pain of our fellow citizens”. In the room, in addition to the volunteers who arrived from almost all Italian regions, there are also delegations who arrived thirteen months ago from San Marino, France, Belgium, Slovenia and Slovakia. For them – even before the Mameli Hymn and the minute’s silence for the seventeen victims of the flood – the European Anthem plays. “Gratitude, contrary to what Aristotle said – comments the mayor of Cesena Enzo Lattuca – is a feeling that does not age”. Closing the speeches are Vice President Priolo and President Stefano Bonaccini, about to leave Emilia-Romagna for a seat in the European Parliament. In the aftermath of the elections, Bonaccini seems to want to remove a few pebbles from his shoes: “I am confident that from now on no one will speculate on the flood. Someone, a year ago, advised me not to go to the flooded areas immediately, because we would get booed I replied ‘if there are whistles we will take them’. But we had to look our fellow citizens in the eyes. Today those people, when they meet us, hug us.” Then Bonaccini recalls the promise of reimbursements for 100% of the damage suffered by the government to the flood victims: at that figure the president makes it clear that he has stamped himself: “I am at your side. I will always be there for you”.
