Ivory objects and elephant tusks: at the Forestale the collection of the missionary who loved Sardinia

A donation of approximately 300 ivory art objects of exceptional cultural and commercial value, made with African savannah elephant tusks: necklaces, bracelets, pendants, handmade figurines. It is the collection of Don Piero Galvani, gathered during the years of his missionary activity in Africa, inherited by the Forestry Corps by will of his heirs. The religious man from Emilia died in 2015 in Sedilo, where he was on vacation with his grandchildren. And it was Claudia and Roberto Riccio, who had received the collection as per their will, who wanted to donate it to the Forestry Corps of Sardinia.

The decision by Galvani's family comes with the aim of making known and public the activity of the missionary, who particularly loved Sardinia . The objects were delivered by the heirs individually weighed and catalogued. The collection will be hosted in the offices of the General Directorate of the Forestry Corps and will be available to anyone who wishes to view it.

Don Piero Galvani, born in the province of Parma in 1930, was ordained a priest in 1956. He has always carried out his mission as provincial parish priest for the community of Podenzano, near Piacenza. For almost 60 years, he enriched his priestly life by alternating long-distance financial subsidies with direct aid in favor of humanitarian missions around the world , from central Africa in today's Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) to the Solomon Islands in Australia, passing through India and Mexico. He collaborated with the Podenzano missionary Father Romano Segalini in the construction of hospitals, schools, and homes for volunteers, risking his life in contexts ravaged by civil wars and communicating with the rest of the world through makeshift radio bridges, which he himself built thanks to his skills as an electrician.

In 2014, at the age of 81, Don Piero served the neediest in the Pacific Ocean, in the Australian Solomon Islands. His last humanitarian mission lasted about a year, then he returned to Italy .

(Online Union)