They were five students of the “Ricci” elementary school to lay the laurel wreath, in memory of all the victims offlood in Versiliaat the foot of the white marble plaque that commemorates little Alessio, torn from life by the fury of the water at just 8 years old but who continues to live in every sound of the bell at the Pollino primary school, named after him.
“On this terrible and cruel day – said the deputy mayor and councilor for public education of Pietrasanta, Francesca Bresciani – we extend our deep and sincere affection to Alessio’s family and to all those who, on 19 June 1996, left orphans of their loved ones, violently torn away by the waves of mud that engulfed places and people. But it is also a day in which our community remembers the strength of which it was capable, to react and begin a process of reconstruction also of providing security for the territory. So that no one will ever have to experience that sense of painful helplessness that we experienced, firsthand, 28 years ago.”
“What happened 28 years ago – continued the vice president of the Province of Lucca, Nicola Conti – it was an event counted, at a regional level, as the second most intense and disastrous after the flood in Florence. Since then the “Versilia model” as a civil protection organization has set a precedent but equally important is the strength of memory that we must cultivate with ever greater force, with each passing year. To remind young people and children that those deaths were not in vain and to demonstrate to them, in practice, that we must learn even from enormous tragedies like this.”
The municipal councilor of Stazzema, Tiziano Baldi Galleni, also brought his memories of Alessio and mother Valeria and of the places overwhelmed by the flood; The ceremony was attended by municipal councilors of Pietrasanta, a delegation from the municipal police force, associations (Green Cross and Flood Committee of 19 June ’96) active in the civil protection sector and a representation of the school community.
