Up on the first floor he has just left his 16 year old son Giuseppe. «I’m going to rest a bit and then come back to him. Not tonight, though. From the beginning he told me and my mother that there was no need.” At the entrance to the emergency room of the Niguarda hospital, Valentino Giolawhile talking to us, every now and then he greets with a nod other people who pass by, almost certainly relatives of the other children hospitalized here at the Niguarda Hospital in Milan after the Crans-Montana tragedy
How is Giuseppe?
«Fortunately he is better. The dressings went very well. Now he has almost his entire face uncovered and his left hand is regaining its full functionality. He had second degree burns, some of them quite large, but the doctors were very prompt, including the Swiss ones who treated him first.”
Can he walk or eat on his own?
«Yes, it is not connected to any machinery. He only has one drip a day of vitamins.”
What did he eat for lunch?
«Milanese risotto, cooked ham and salad. In the end, he ate a dessert that we brought him. He has lost a bit of weight, also because he was intubated for two days. All burnt kids like him have a very accelerated metabolism and therefore need to eat a lot. The body takes a lot of energy to rebuild itself and must be helped. For this reason they also receive very nutritious protein preparations.”
Giuseppe Giola, 16 years old, with his mother Odette and father Valentino
How’s your mood?
«It has ups and downs. He knew all the dead kids, they grew up together, in particular the two from Milan, Achille and Chiara. Achille had known him since nursery school. On the day of the funeral the psychologists thought it was right to tell him together with his mother. He didn’t expect it, he thought they somehow made it. It will take a long time to metabolise the grief he experienced and the fear he felt, but psychologists say he has the internal strength to do so. And then, as he himself confided to us, faith is helping him a lot to face these moments. Don Enrico Bonacina, spiritual father of the Gonzaga High School that Giuseppe attends, came to visit him on the second day of hospitalization and they talk often.”
And his friends?
«Visits are limited to one person per day, to avoid the risk of infections. So yesterday one of his school friends came to visit him. He has prepared a very voluminous album. It contains photos with his friends and many letters they wrote to him. I know how important this gift is to him.”
(Giuseppe’s father suddenly stops and is moved by the memory. Then he continues).
«Giuseppe has always played football and is an iron Milan fan. Recently he has been attending a volunteering course organized by a foundation supported by AC Milan. Twice a week he plays together with problem kids and in recent days he has received videos and messages from AC Milan players, as well as coach Massimiliano Allegri and champions of other sports such as Jannick Sinner and Charles Leclerc.”
What did he tell you about the night of the tragedy?
«Giuseppe was in the most remote corner of the underground floor, so he didn’t see what happened. Two of his friends came running to him and said: “There’s fire, let’s run away.” He then tried to reach the exit from the staircase, but in the confusion he fell, and was also trampled by the other boys who were trying to save themselves like him. He told me that at that moment he thought he couldn’t make it. But then he found the strength to find a hole and from there he jumped out and managed to call his mother. But in the meantime the flames had reached him too. We were having dinner nearby at the house of friends who later lost a child. When we got there, we saw smoke coming out of the place. We first saw a friend of his and then him. So we put him in the car and took him to the hospital. The ambulances hadn’t arrived yet and there were many kids in terrible conditions: we couldn’t wait.”
How do you evaluate the work of the Swiss investigators so far?
«I’m a lawyer and I don’t like to comment on the work of magistrates. We were very struck by the fact that the mayor and city council of Crans-Montana, after admitting mistakes, did not draw the logical conclusion, that is, to resign. We hope that all responsibilities will be ascertained, not only those of the two managers of the Constellation, but of those who were supposed to supervise. We went to Switzerland every year because we felt safe: our last thought was to find ourselves faced with a fire in a place.”
What is the thing that has hurt you the most these days?
«The criticisms from the Swiss media on how the Italian media are reporting the story. They say we’re blowing things out of proportion. I find these statements shameful: before criticizing others, they should examine their conscience.”
And what was the best moment?
«When they unwrapped his face and it seems like there are no scars. He wanted to see himself in the mirror and was moved. The treatment process will be at least a couple of years long, but in the tragedy he was one of the luckiest.”
What do you think of the controversy over the boys who, when the fire had already broken out, remained filming with their cell phones?
«I don’t know if the boys who filmed were in my son’s group and I don’t care. The fire certainly spread in just a few seconds and in those moments I believe it would have been difficult for anyone to react in the right way. It’s easy and annoying to point the finger at kids by calling them superficial. My son is certainly alive thanks to his two friends who ran to warn him and who are now in much worse shape than him.”
Pope Leo XIV, meeting the relatives of the victims, asked himself moved: “Why Lord, why?”.
«Those words really struck me in their simplicity: it’s the question we all ask ourselves and that Giuseppe also asks himself: why did it happen? Why did I save myself and my friends didn’t make it? With the prayer and love of all the people around us, I don’t know if we will be able to give ourselves a definitive answer, but I am sure that we will be able to overcome this difficult moment”
