The now worn woods of the boats wrecked in the sea of Lampedusa have become a crucifix, a symbol of an immense tragedy and the resurrection for those who lost their lives. He made it Franco Vacca, 61 years old, a skilled craftsman from Bitonto, in the province of Bariwith his genius and his sensitivity of mind that always looks to others. From the deep of the heart and from a hard work but at the same time the “cross of the Mare Nostrum” was born Carthusian who depicts and tells the suffering, the anguish, the torment, the torments and the worries of migrants who face the long journey of despair to look for a new landing, which sometimes sinked into the icy waters before reaching the goal.
A real work of art 4 meters long and 3 wide with a weight of over a quintal, emblem of the memory of many disasters that have seen innocent people sink into darkness, especially women and children. “I wanted to express not only my moved memory, but also the collective reminiscence of an endless drama that belongs to us and that concerns the whole world,” says Franco Vacca, employee of a post office. “The uniqueness of this creation is that in the center of the cross there is the effigy of Christ, a sort of symbiosis not only religious between the tribulations and sufferings of Our Lord and those of the castaways”
It all began 6 years ago, when some members of theArciconfraternity of Santa Maria del Suffragio, including the prior emeritus Andrea Vacca, they thought about the creation of a cross that kept alive the memory of the victims of the coveted boats, also to follow the message launched by Pope Francis during his visit to Bari of 7 July 2018.
In the first days of January 2020, some confreres went to Lampedusa to recover the wrecks of the wrecks, so that they can then organize their transport to Bitonto. The operation was made possible thanks to a special authorization from the Agrigento Prosecutor’s Office and the Customs Office.
The initial project of the Archconfraternity was to build a structure capable of containing the two splinters of the Cross of Jesus, the relic of the “Holy Wood” which for over three hundred years has been brought into procession on Friday of passion. Unfortunately, Covid blocked the company. Franco Vacca, That for a decade he prepared the “Holy Wood”, he decided to start his creation anyway. Armed with a hammer and chisel, in the closed of a deposit transformed into a shop, he began with his strong and laborious hands to work intensely during the clippings.
“I had torn wooden boards, frayed ropes, rusty nails and a mooring ring,” says the whimsical artist, skilled in giving shape to wonderful artifacts and colorful mosaics.
«I deliberately chose pieces with particular and very significant colors. Blue and blue represent the sea with its risks and dangers, red is the raw image of the tragedy and of those who overwhelmed by the waves go to death, While green is a sign of hope so that such mournful events never happen again. Our feelings must be marked by solidarity and welcome ».
There is another important detail, the result of the event of the Bitonino craftsman. «The mooring ring usually serves for docking at the port. Unfortunately, this is not the case for the boats that sink. It came spontaneous to me to insert the ring instead of the spear that pierces the cost of Jesus, leaving his seal of pain from which blood flows. The ropes symbolize the desperate attempt by the castaways to cling before being swallowed by the Mediterranean waves. I wanted to dedicate this artistic production of mine to Pope Francis very sensitive to the troubled and sad story of migrants who called “humanitarian catastrophe” ».
There “Cross of the Mare Nostrum”, With its immense spiritual and social value, it will be donated to the community by the Archconfraternity of Santa Maria del Suffragio led by the Priore Giuseppe Vaccain an ideal embrace with Lampedusa and in the indissoluble union with the door of Europe.
On Sunday 14 September, for the feast of the exaltation of the Holy Croce, the masterpiece of the master Franco Vacca installed on a wall of the episcope of the Cathedral of Bitonto and visible for the first time, will receive the blessing of the parish priest Don Marino Cutrone, spiritual assistant of the confraternities of the historic center.
The crucifix, with its unmistakable colors and its strong visual impact, will be a warning and a testimony for humanity in memory of the sacrifice of many lives lost in the perilous sea.
