The petition launched in mid-September by the President of the National Association of Christian Partisans, Maria Pia Garavaglia, has already collected 15 thousand signatures on change.org, for the naming of the Eur Congress Palace after Alcide De Gasperi, whose 70th anniversary this year marks the death. “The Trentino statesman, considered the main architect of the moral and material reconstruction of a country that was destroyed in 1945 by war and dictatorship, is universally appreciated as one of the Fathers of Community Europe”, states Garavaglia who illustrates the initiative thus: “On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of his death, this act of public gratitude would give due honor not only to the person, respectable for moral integrity and political rigour, but also to what he represented in the democratic story of second Italian twentieth century”.
In the Montecitorio press room there are numerous former Christian Democrats taking part in a meeting that aims to take stock of the initiative and relaunch it to involve and commit the parliamentary groups in a transversal way: Silvia Costa, Pierluigi Castagnetti, Bruno Tabacci, Angelo Sanza, Luciano Ciocchetti , Beppe Sangiorgi. PD deputy Simona Bonafè also intervenes.
Maria Pia Garavaglia recalls the links between the Trentino De Gasperi and Rome and underlines the fact that the Palazzo dei Congressi is by definition a place of discussion and dialogue, characteristic traits of the statesman buried in Rome, at the entrance to the Basilica of San Paolo Fuori le walls.
For Silvia Costavice president of the National Association of Christian Partisans, today the figure of Alcide De Gasperi can teach us the ethics of responsibility towards the common good, the culture of the limits of politics and the courage to innovate (which he brought into his projects regarding the common defense European). The judgment of Pierluigi Castagnetti: “De Gasperi was the greatest statesman of the Republic and today this connotation of his is recognized by all political parties: he is truly the father of the Fatherland”.
The decision on naming it after De Gasperi involves the mayor of Rome Roberto Gualtieri and the Minister of Economy Giorgetti, as the MEF is the majority shareholder of Eur spa. A request was addressed to the President of the Eur Enrico Gasbarra by the “Friends of Piazza Nicosia”, the historic Roman headquarters of the DC, receiving positive attention and was also signed by the two Foundations named after De Gasperi (Trentina and Rome). At the Rome City Council, two motions signed by Francesco Carpano (FI) and Yuri Trombetti (PD) were unanimously approved, while the interpellations of Luciano Ciocchetti (FDI) were presented to Giorgetti in the Chamber and in the Senate by Senator Alessandro Alfieri ( PD), both signed across the board by parliamentarians from different political groups.
