Sometimes i dreams, no matter how hard we try, they don’t come true. Other times, however, knocking at the door all at the same time. In the latter case, “it’s better to jump in and experience them because, as the proverb teaches, the good train only passes once”. He is convinced of it Davide Salvan, the twenty-five year old new mayor of Villa Estensein the province of Padua, whose life changed in the space of a few days. Last week, in fact, not only that he became mayor of his country, 2100 souls at the gates of Este – he won with 77.81% of the votes against his 71 year old challenger Luigi Cusin – but he also successfully completed the second step to becoming a train driver. From Monday 17 June, therefore, he will divide his time between driving, in this phase alongside, the Regional train that leaves from Venice and his new office in the town hall. «A double dream that came true – says Salvan, yesterday, dealing with the bureaucracy of the settlement in the Municipality -. In fact, since I was a child I dreamed of driving trains. I have collected many of them. I liked having my parents accompany me to the station to see them arrive and leave. Getting up there was an immense joy.”
The road travelled
As often happens with children’s dreams, as they grow up, life takes other paths and forces them to be put aside. This is what Salvan had done: after graduating from high school scientific high school in fact it had followed degree in agriculture with the aim of working in the family business. Then the commitment to sport, like volleyball referee of the B series, and politics, just nineteen years old municipal councilor with responsibility for Civil Protection. During university studies, even a short experience as elementary teacher. Davide, however, never abandoned that dream that made his heart beat as a child. He therefore begins to work for Trenitalia, often throwing his melancholy eye and heart into the cockpit. A few months ago, the turning point. «Shortly before graduating with a master’s degree in animal science and technology I discovered that to become a train driver you no longer needed a technical diplomabut the competition was also open to high school graduates – says the new mayor -, So I took the first test on the eve of graduation and the second on the day of the electoral count. Nowfinally, the part I’ve always dreamed of, the one that involves drivingalongside, a train to conclude the last step”.
Double responsibility
«Driving a train and a country are two important responsibilities – the young administrator points out -, you have people’s lives in your hands, their future. But both tasks excite me and I will therefore try to do them as best I can. Thanks to the shifts I will, in fact, be able to organize myself with commitment as mayor. At 25 it’s certainly not easy to deal with, but fortunately I have an excellent team at my side, as well as the precious advice of the outgoing mayor Paolo Oppio.” Salvan, by a whisker, however, he is not the youngest mayor of the Veneto: «In Rovigo the mayor of Frassinelle, Marco Rossi, is 24 years old and beats me – he explains with a hint of healthy competition – but only for a few months. I tried to get in touch with him, I would really like to meet him.” Among the objectives that he plans to achieve as mayor: fight the depopulation of small towns and convince young people to stay at Villa Estense to help their homeland grow.
