Stefano Fresi is an honorary citizen of Luogosanto. The actor, born in Rome but deeply attached to his Gallura roots, received the award during a special session of the City Council. A few hours later, the celebration moved to Piazza Incoronazione, where "Luogosanto in Festa" brought together the Gallura communities in a wide variety of talks, music, dance, costumes, and folklore.
"I am officially a citizen of Luogosanto, and this knowledge excites me greatly," Fresi declared. "It's no longer an idea, a story, it's reality. Luogosanto has always been 'home' to me, that place you want to return to when you're elsewhere. It's Ulysses' Ithaca, the place where you know you'll find warmth in the winter, coolness in the summer, your favorite food, the ideal climate, the best people you want to be around are there at home. And it's always been that way for me here in Luogosanto."
His father was originally from Luogosanto, where his grandparents lived, and the actor spent long periods of his childhood here. A relationship that has never been broken, even after the many accolades he has received in film: "I saw the enormous joy this place has always given me. I gave birth to a son and I said, 'Why not let my son have the same joy I had ?'" My cousin and I thought about my grandfather's abandoned land and decided to work it. He is a specialized agronomist, so we revived his grandfather's vineyard. This morning I grafted the vines, and in the spring we will see the new part of the vineyard sprout. We have embarked on an adventure that is an act of love to tell the story of a place. We make a wine that is typically Gallura: it was my grandfather's wine. This new adventure will lead me to come to Sardinia much more often because, between checking the tractor that is not working, grafting, and buying the vines, I will be coming at least twenty times a year. And now, when I come, I will do so as a citizen of Luogosanto." And he greeted those present, speaking in perfect Gallurese, a language he has been studying for years and which he speaks regularly when he returns to Sardinia.
"Stefano doesn't enter these doors as a stranger. Stefano is returning home," said Mayor Agostino Pirredda. "Today we haven't granted him a sense of belonging that didn't exist before. We've simply formally recognized a feeling that Stefano has always felt, and that Luogosanto has long felt. We've known each other since we were kids, and our families have always been close, but today I'm speaking to him as mayor of the community I have the honor of representing. We thank him for preserving his roots, for sharing them with pride, and for never ceasing to consider Luogosanto part of his history and his life. Today we formally hand him our citizenship, but for us, Luogosanto was already one."
The honorary citizenship comes during the Manna Festival of Gaddura, when Luogosanto prepares to welcome Gallura, pilgrims, and visitors, and, this year, to celebrate the seven-year opening of the Holy Door. "I find it wonderful to think that precisely in this context," commented Agostino Pirredda, "Luogosanto has also opened its institutional doors to welcome a new honorary citizen."
(Unioneonline/D)
