To tell the story of Mauro Glorioso we must start from the tragic night that changed his life forever. It’s January 20, 2023a Friday evening which, for a university student, means one thing above all: going out with friends and treating yourself to a few hours of lightheartedness. Even more so in a city like Turin, where the university nightlife is always lively.
Mauro was not born in the Piedmontese capital. He arrived in Turin from Palermo, his hometown, to pursue a dream: to become a surgeon. The boy is a normal outsider: between a chat with the roommates and a trip to the library to prepare for exams Faculty of Medicine and Surgery of the University of Turinmanages to build a social life that makes him perceive the city of La Mole as a second home.
This brings us to the night between Friday 20 and Saturday 21 January 2023. Mauro is with some friends at the Murazzi in Turin, one of the symbolic places of nightlife along the Po, chosen by many university students to unwind after a week of studying.
That evening, in the area, there are also some kids wandering around without a specific destination. However, they do have one goal: look for something that can wake them up from the boredom of a Friday night. There are five of them, they are between 15 and 18 years old. It is what is often called the “age of stupidity”, the time of shenanigans. But there are mistakes that are part of growing up – like the first time you raise your elbow or sneak a cigarette – and gestures that, in an instant, can destroy someone else’s future.
The boys arrive at the parapet of Lungo Po Cadorna. There they notice an electric bike for rent (which weighs more than twenty kilos) and decide to throw it into the void, despite knowing that several people are passing below, along the river. The bike ends its parable on top of Maurowho doesn’t have time to understand or react: he is hit violently in the neck and back. In that instant his life changes forever. From here begins his ordeal, but also the path that will lead him to a surprising rebirth. The impact causes the fracture of the cervical vertebrae and a complete spinal cord injury. Mauro was urgently transported to the CTO in Turin, where he underwent immediate surgery. This will be followed by months in intensive care, before being transferred to the Spinal Unit.
The diagnosis is very harsh: Mauro he loses the use of his legs and has very limited functionality of his arms. To continue studying, he must learn to use eye pointers, voice-controlled software and assisted home automation systems. But Mauro is the living example of resilience. He doesn’t give up: his life has irremediably changed, but his dream is still intact.
November 6, 2025 is the redemption date: Mauro discusses the thesis and it is officially a doctor. During the proclamation, the Rector underlines that Mauro represents «the best response that civil society can give to barbarism».
Yesterday, March 3, 2026, this response received the most prestigious signature. Mauro Glorioso was received at the Quirinale by the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, who awarded him the honor of Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.
It is not just an honorific title, but the official recognition of an entire country to a young man who, faced with the most blind and absurd violence, responded with the strength of study, dignity and life. Since yesterday Mauro is not just a doctor, but a symbol of hope for the whole of Italy: the Knight who defeated the darkness of the Murazzi.
