"Volunteering helps the soul. And my book tells the story of a child who has known pain drawing the courage to build good things".
This is how Mattia Villardita tells his story in the book "Spiderman and I, the exceptional normality of a super hero", presented in the press room of Montecitorio introduced by the deputy of Noi Moderati Ilaria Cavo and with the minister for the family, the birth rate and the Equal Opportunities Eugenia Maria Roccella.
"This is a story that was born in Liguria - said Ilaria Cavo - from the heart of a person who managed, thanks to a brilliant intuition, to do good to those who need it most and are most defenceless, children. bringing this example before everyone's eyes is something that can help to broaden interest in others, especially in a time of greatest need such as in sickness".
"We are proud and grateful to Mattia - said the governor of Liguria Giovanni Toti in a message - for the support and help given to all the institutional initiatives, from that for the children of Gaslini to the plasma donation campaigns obtaining extraordinary results".
"There has often been talk of the Italian exception - said Minister Roccella - because in this country the family 'holds', and volunteering derives from the family; and this for me is not the exception but an asset that must be accompanied. Like Mattia's extraordinary operation who first of all wonders how he can help the other kids.Solidarity, staying close must be collected by politics".
Mattia Villardita as a child was in the hospital in Savona, then in Genoa and finally in Pavia.
"At the age of 7 I was hoping that my favorite superhero would come and visit me, to give me comfort and to overcome pain and fear; I abandoned the wards at 22, after a long journey that led me to be a boy who has drawn from pain strength and courage to build beautiful things".
Hence the idea that led Mattia to wear the clothes of Spiderman, that colorful costume that brings joy and light-heartedness to children - he sees 1500 a year.
After the press conference - which was attended by the head of pediatrics of the San Paolo hospital in Savona, Alberto Gaiero, Marika Pane, director of the NeMO clinical center of the Gemelli in Rome and the Sicilian influencer Nadia Lauricella,