NEWS A Bonfire for Freedom in Turin
By Ada Treves
The second appointment with the “Bonfire of liberties: a commitment to rights”, jointly organized by the Waldensian Church and the Jewish Community of Turin on the occasion of the 170th anniversary of the Patent letters with which Carlo Alberto granted civil rights, first to the Waldenses and then to the Jews, is the confirmation of a commitment already taken last year.
The City of Turin has for the second time hosted the meaningful appointment in the central Piazza Castello. The anniversary celebrates many different events and it was remembered by a bonfire which brought together many symbols, and came to shed light and bring warmth in a time when even the gesture of gathering around a fire has a great reach. It marked 170 years from the Albertine Statute, celebrated every year in the Waldensian valley lit up with fires. The tradition is now shared with the Jewish community in the city center. It marked also eighty years from 1938, when racial laws were promulgated by the fascist regime, and seventy years from the promulgation of the Italian Constitution.
As mentioned in Piazza Castello, 2018 is therefore a year full of memory: remembering is essential in a period when consciences appear to be hibernating. Legislation’s language has passed from mentioning ‘denied’ cults, to ‘tolerated’ ones, to those ‘admitted’ and then to those of the Constitution, but for twenty years now law proposals focused on religious freedoms have been waiting to be approved in the Parliament.
The speeches of the authorities – interspersed with the voices of the Semanto choir and the Svoboda music group – have reiterated again and again the importance of these anniversaries at a time when it is more than ever necessary to reflect on today difficulties. The words of Maria Bonafede and Paolo Ribet, Waldensian pastors, followed by those of Patrizia Mathieu, also for the Waldensian community and by Dario Disegni, president of the Jewish community, have reiterated how strong and important the sharing of experiences, stories, and also of intent and commitment between two communities are.
The Mayor Chiara Appendino also highlighted her commitment and that of the City to defend the rights of everyone, before the words by Marco Giusta and Nino Boeti, who brought a message from governor Sergio Chiamparino. Valentino Castellani, for the Interfedi Committee of Turin, and Francesco Mosetto and Filippo Tedeschi, young representants of the two communities gave a speech, also. And despite the heavy rainfall and the concerns of those present who had seen a difficult first ignition, last year, and moreover despite the gloomy times and the cold Fascist wind that seems to be returning in Europe, the fire of freedom, in Turin, has managed to shine with force, and to bring the light and the warmth of rights, and of freedom.