He left on tiptoe. Without disturbing anyone. With a watchful, attentive gaze and a ready wit until his final months, Rosario Dei said goodbye to everyone at dawn today. At the ripe old age of 96. He leaves behind a wife and two children.

Municipal secretary in Lanusei for fifteen years, from 1975 to 1990, and a long-time employee of the same profession in other towns in his native Ogliastra, he was a symbol of public administration.

Fair and scrupulous, he guided several mayors and helped them avoid the pitfalls of an obsessive, at times exasperating, bureaucracy. He witnessed a succession of mayors from opposing factions, and recorded vitriolic voting declarations in heated city council meetings. He always held the course. A man of the law, he knew how to combine jurisprudence and common sense. Not a cold fusion, but a mix fueled by an innate wit and a never-vulgar sarcasm. His ability to smile was a match for that of his brother Tonio, the unforgettable playwright who knew how to translate the vices and virtues of the Ogliastra people into irresistible stage fictions.

Now that the stars are giving him a smile, Rosario Dei will know how to reciprocate in kind. And he'll dispense some cooking tips to the angels. Anyone who's tasted the fish soup he prepares at his country house in Sèssula will swear they've never tasted anything as good.

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