Stintino, Antonio Melis is the new prior of the Confraternity of the Blessed Virgin
Melis, a retired Carabinieri officer, has always served on the island of Asinara
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Antonio Melis , 57 years old, is the new prior of the Confraternity of the Blessed Virgin of Defense of Stintino . He was elected, with 137 votes out of 148 voters, by the Stintino community that met on Sunday at the association's headquarters to elect the new obriere.
Melis is the prior number 132 , a retired carabinieri corporal who has always served on the island of Asinara. He lives in Stintino with his family, with his Stintino wife Giovanna and his two daughters Chiara and Martina. For a year, he will be the one to carry the main flag which has the effigy of the Virgin in its centre .
The formal exchange of the flag , received by the outgoing prior Giuseppe Antonio Denegri, took place in the parish church at the end of the procession to the sea - postponed last Sunday due to bad weather - and then of the procession through the streets of the town. It was Antonio Diana, the new president of the Confraternity, who spoke before the procession, thanking the outgoing and incoming priors. But first he wanted to thank those who preceded him in office . "A special thanks goes to Giuseppe Benenati," he said, "to him who led the Confraternity for 25 years, leading it towards a process of renewal that culminated with the recognition of the non-profit association by the Region. But also to him goes a thank you for being able to start a study, even a historical one, which then allowed the construction of the Confraternity house."
During the sea procession, in the harbour there were many boats that followed the committee boat - Ausonia - with the statue of the Madonna on board. It was then the mayor Rita Vallebella and the parish priest Don Daniele Contieri who threw the wreath of flowers into the sea in memory of the fallen. The evening ended in Piazza dei 45 with a musical tribute to Fabrizio De André and Rino Gaetano, starting at 9:30 pm. Playing and singing on the stage, in the evening organized in collaboration with the cultural association "Sa Perbeke" were Alessandro Azara and Crêuza de Mä . Sunday therefore closed the celebrations of the Stintinese September, dedicated to the patron saint of the town.
