Maybe you remember this movie.
In
The Terminal
, Tom Hanks plays Viktor Navorski, a man who finds himself stuck at JFK Airport in New York due to a coup in his country.
His character will live there for several months and experience a few adventures.
Arnaldo's story might remind you of this.
But this 83-year-old man did not live in an airport for administrative reasons, but because of economic insecurity.
The Italian retiree lived for eight months at Bologna airport because he was no longer able to pay his rent.
Over the months, the staff at Marconi airport, the seventh in Italy, became a new “family” for him, offering him a sleeping bag to avoid sleeping on the benches without protection, coffee and meals, tells the Italian daily
La Repubblica
.
An airport newsstand even gave him a newspaper to read every day.
This man's journey was so moving that the social services of the city of Bologna, who learned of his story in the press, decided to take him in.
A first accommodation solution was offered to him in one of the city's hotels, before finding a more permanent one.
The man has indeed just found a house.
From shadow to light
Originally from Sicily, Arnaldo, a former wine consultant, found himself unable to pay his rent with his low retirement pension a few months ago.
Despite help from local homeless services, the man ended up sleeping outside.
But as winter set in, he decided to move to the airport check-in area where he received great support from the staff.
Since then, the octogenarian has become the star of Italian television, which has widely relayed his story.
A media coverage that will have paid off.