The educational project at “Dante Alighieri” school of Olgiate Olona
In order to provide continuity and sightedness to the memory of June 26, 1959, an educational project has been started in 2010 thanks to the intuition of Alberto Colombo supported by Beato Contardo Ferrini Institute and by the Municipality of Olgiate Olona. The project is addressed to the students in the eighth-grade of Dante Alighieri school and consists of: a multimedia conversation in the classroom about the historical fact and the commemorative events, dialog with the students, screening of the video of song Olgiate Olona, 26 Giugno 1959 composed by Nicola Puddu; production of a work written in Italian language follows. The works in poetry and prose are received anonymous; then they are selected and judged by a jury outside the school; the most deserving works - those which best reflect the historical fact and the commemorative events - are rewarded during the commemoration of June the 26. Because of their exceptional nature, some works received a Special award offered personally by Alberto Colombo with the authorization of Olgiate Olona mayor.
school year:
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Commemoration of June 26, 2014 - Michela Mariani, first classified
Commemoration of June 26, 2014 - Andrea Martucci, second classified
Commemoration of June 26, 2014 - Simone De Pretto, third classified
Works awarded school year 2013-2014
The educational project in memory of the plane crash was addressed to all the students in eighth grade of Dante Alighieri school. The following are the translations of the works rewarded during the commemoration of June 26, 2014.
First classified, the poem Non facciamo tacere la memoria! by MICHELA MARIANI:
Non facciamo tacere la memoria!
(don’t let the memory be silent!)
I did not see that cloud of smoke
crashing down from the sky,
I did not hear that roar
vibrating in my heart,
I did not taste the bitter flavor
of death.
I have not touched
the fragments of desolation...
But I saw the colors
of mourning,
I heard the voices
of memory.
Every sense keeps the memory alive,
every word keeps the story alive.
Never let the memory be silent!
Non facciamo tacere la memoria! and its author deserve another applause since this work received the highest overall score by the jury until today, it is the most voted among the fifty deserving works rewarded from 2010 to 2014.
Second classified, the poem Anche io ho imparato a volare by ANDREA MARTUCCI:
Anche io ho imparato a volare
(I too have learned to fly)
You always liked to fly
you flew with your imagination when you were a child,
you were a princess,
you had grown and you flew
with wonderful projects
about your future.
Sure...
Your future broke
in flight,
while certainly your imagination was higher than
the clouds,
the fire,
the smoke,
even higher than my cry of pain.
Between the earth and the sky;
that’s where your dream finished
and my nightmare has come from...
that’s where the world has stopped.
I too have learned to fly
to you,
with my thoughts,
my memories,
my love that has no boundaries,
that has no limits but your image
of carefree child,
who smiles at me and hugs me.
Wait for me there!
Your daddy.
Third classified, the poem Settanta vite by SIMONE DE PRETTO:
Settanta vite
(seventy lives)
Seventy broken lives,
Seventy lives grabbed from
their own plans,
immortal plans,
who will continue to live in the memory.
Red of the fire,
gray of the smoke,
white eyes of the victims,
black burned bodies...
Those broken lives
will go beyond these colors,
they will go upwards,
in the blue sky.
Commemoration of June 26, 2014 - Group photo of the students of junior high school rewarded during the commemoration (photo Silvia Elzi)
Commemoration of June 26, 2014 - Olgiate Olona mayor Giovanni Montano giving Payel Sarker the Special award 2014
Special award 2014
Before the notification of the names of students authors of ten finalist works, the Municipality of Olgiate Olona authorized Alberto Colombo to give the Special award in a personal capacity to the work Cara mamma sono dentro di te... with the following motivation: «This is the very first one among the eighth grade students who participated in the educational project inspired by the June 26, 1959 so far, who identified himself with the smallest and most defenseless of the seventy immortal lives, the unborn child, and who gave him the soul and the voice through a dialogue with his mother summarized in ten sentences with a poignant and synthetic content: little over one hundred words».
Determined thereafter that the work Cara mamma sono dentro di te... was the one of Payel Sarker, the mayor Giovanni Montano handed over the Special award to this student on June 26, 2014: an elegant pen with the date of June 26, 2014 engraved on it accompanied by an auspicious message.
Cara mamma sono dentro di te...
(dear mum I’m inside you...)
Dear mum, I’m inside you, next to your hearth, I’m part of your breath.
Mum, you have given me so much love and affection in these months.
Even now with your hands caressing me I feel your protection.
I can’t see you, but I know that your face is serene.
And a smile is on your lips, like a light of hope in this place where everyone shouts, complains and cries...
I don’t know what it’s happening, but I feel safe next to you, I will follow you wherever you will go.
What a strange silence, what a peace!
Mum now I can see you, and I see many other people happy and shining around us.
«Where are we mum? ».
«We are in heaven, my little child ».
Documents and articles related to the educational project 2013-2014
June 19, 2014 - Article published in VareseNews.it
Nella fantasia degli alunni il ricordo del disastro aereo del ’59
June 10, 2014 - Article published in L'Inform@zione online
June 6, 2014 - Article published in La settimana
Premio letterario: ecco i 10 finalisti
June 5, 2014 - Press release of Municipality of Olgiate Olona
April 2014 - Article published in Il ficcanaso, newspaper of “Dante Alighieri” secondary school of Olgiate Olona