The President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella arrived in Barbiana, in the municipality of Vicchio (Florence), to pay homage to Don Lorenzo Milani, on the occasion of the celebrations for the centenary of his birth that falls today. It is the first time that a President of the Republic visits Barbiana, while the visit of Pope Francis dates back to 2017.
Mattarella arrived by helicopter, landed near the school of Barbiana, welcomed by the president of the Tuscany Region Eugenio Giani, the mayor of Vicchio Filippo Carlà Campa, the mayor of the Metropolitan City of Florence Dario Nardella and the vice prefect Eugenio Pitaro. The program foresees that Mattarella reaches the cemetery of Barbiana to deposit a pillow of flowers on the tombstone of Don Milani, and then proceed to a brief visit of the Chapel where he is welcomed by the president of the National Committee for the centenary of the birth of Don Lorenzo Milani Rosy Bindi and by the president of the Don Milani Foundation Agostino Burberi. Accompanying him on the visit was Leandro Lombardi, president of the Don Lorenzo Milani Documentation Center and Barbiana School. The ceremony then moves to the School of Barbiana. Mattarella's visit to the church where Don Milani worked is also planned: to accompany him, among others, the president of the CEI Matteo Maria Zuppi and the archbishop of Florence Giuseppe Betori. Following a ceremony with the interventions, among others, of Zuppi, Bindi, and Yasmine Laktaoui, student of the Milanese school of Calenzano (Florence) and volunteer educator. Subsequently, Mattarella will leave Barbiana by helicopter and in the afternoon he will participate in an initiative at the courthouse in Florence.
And the 22nd edition of the March in Barbiana has started in Vicchio (Florence), an event that this year takes place in conjunction with the start of the celebrations of the centenary of the birth of Don Lorenzo Milani, and the presence in Barbiana of the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella. To open the march the interventions of the councilor of the Municipality of Vicchio Rebecca Bonanni, the coordinator of the Perugi Assisi-March of peace and fraternity Flavio Lotti, the president of the Institution Don Lorenzo Milani Leandro Lombardi, and Giovanni De Gara, the artist author of the installation "Eldorato", which with the gold-colored thermal blankets used for the reception of migrants covers the doors of the churches of Vicchio and Barbiana. This was followed by readings by the students of the Istituto comprensivo di Vicchio, authors of the booklet "Don Milani and the School of Barbiana... passionately attentive to the present and the future". Then the participants took their first steps to reach Lake Viola and from here Barbiana.