The handover ceremony, which took place at the Don Bosco Institute in Vallecrosia on 29 February, was the concluding moment of an awareness-raising process on the culture of legality carried out by the Prefecture together with the National Agency for Assets Seized and Confiscated from Organised Crime, the municipalities of Bordighera and Vallecrosia and the local volunteer network led by the "Libera" and "Spes" associations, Caritas and the Don Bosco Institute in Vallecrosia. The re-appropriation and reallocation of these places will allow the creation of spaces which will be managed by associations committed to social issues and for young people.
On the occasion there were addresses by the prefect of the Province of Imperia, Valerio Massimo Romeo, Senator Gianni Berrino, the Director of the Milan branch of the National Agency for Assets Seized and Confiscated from Organised Crime, Simona Enrica Ronchi, the Mayor of Bordighera, Vittorio Ingenito, the Mayor of Vallecrosia, Armando Biasi, the representatives of the associations, Maura Orengo, provincial representative of Libera, and Matteo Lupi, president of Spes, in the presence of civil, military and religious, local, provincial, regional and national authorities.
The bishop of the diocese of Ventimiglia-Sanremo, Bishop Antonio Suetta, began the ceremony with a reflection, a prayer and a blessing. Messages were then read to the Prefect by Matteo Piantedosi, Minister of the Interior, and Francesco Lollobrigida, Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forests. "The reuse for social purposes of the assets stolen by criminal syndicates takes on a significant even symbolic meaning because only with the return to the community of what has been the fruit of illicit profits can the work of combating the mafias really be said to have been completed" wrote Minister Matteo Piantedosi.
"The restitution of land confiscated from crime to citizens and the world of agriculture can help counteract the economic and social desertification of some areas of our nation" stressed Minister Francesco Lollobrigida.
In his address, Senator Berrino stressed: "It was tough but beautiful work. To get to today there has been hard work, the same that is required of our young people, communities, for the future, to show all of us that good always wins and that commitment, combined with effort and perseverance, is the only way to a better future than what we have today."
"Today's ceremony represents a particularly significant moment because it is the conclusion of an immense work done by law enforcement and the courts to take back assets from organised crime. Legality always wins" said Dr. Simona Enrica Ronchi.
After addresses from the other guests present, FrStefano Aspettati, Superior of the Salesian Central Italy Circumscription (ICC), also spoke, noting that "When the term legality did not yet exist, Don Bosco spoke to his boys and told them to become good Christians, honest citizens and inhabitants of heaven. The land of honest citizens puts us in communion with everyone."
The event, which ended with a fine buffet, was looked after by the students of the CNOS FAP Salesian Vocational Training Centre who, on such an important occasion, were also key players in a most valuable day for the community.
