Ask the numbers

The stories of coronavirus victims, people like us.

The numbers are cold, they run fast. As long as they remain anonymous, they reassure. Numbers do not have a soul, but it is only appearance. Because it is enough to listen, take a step further, choose empathy to realize that every issue concerns us.

Ask Giorgio. He was 71 years old and very deep blue eyes. A life in Monferrato spent at the service of others. Traffic policeman for decades, then retirement, asbestos that had attached to his lungs. He lost the battle against the coronavirus from the start. "A very special person," remember friends.

Ask Vittorio, 94 years old. Architect, writer, journalist. The world redesigned with a flicker and a pencil. "A master of international architecture is leaving in these gloomy hours," Stefano Boeri will say of him.

Ask Don Luigi, born in 1933, simply a priest in his parish of Campitello, in Val di Fassa. On March 3 he had celebrated the last mass, then the breath that becomes breathless. The end in the intensive care unit of Rovereto.

Ask Diego, 46, married to a 7-year-old son. As operator of 118 in Bergamo, he gave his life to save lives. A colleague says: "He was a trained worker, a rescuer who has always used personal protective equipment, was not elderly and had no other diseases".

Ask it to Ivo, 62, psycho-pedagogist and therapist specialized in the fight against Alzheimer's. He had invented doll therapy, the idea of ​​using dolls to reassure the sick. Situation precipitated in just three days at the Maggiore hospital in Parma.

Ask Sister Maria, 89, former superior of the missionary Sisters of charity of Don Orione. He shared the disease with his sisters in the Tortona mother house. She was the most serious. Useless treatment. "An enterprising, joyful, active woman - says those who knew her - her figure will remain forever in our hearts".

Ask Paris, 81 years old. Campano of origin, but Piedmontese by adoption. He had been commissioner in Cuneo from 2003 to 2006. «Dear Paris, the thing that saddens me most of all is that it will not be possible to greet you one last time - writes his successor Giuseppe Pagano - Working with you was a privilege and an honor ».

Ask Luca, 62, genius and creativity sown in the world of opera. Former manager of the cast of La Scala, then agent of many artists. His death was a shock to the whole world of culture.

Ask Roberto and Chiara for it. He family doctor, 62 years old, infected at the Busto Arsizio outpatient clinic. She, 57 years old, anesthesiologist in Portogruaro. They fought hard, but nothing.

Ask the love that has united Luigi and Severa for over 60 years. They lived in Fiobbio di Albino, in the province of Bergamo. 86 years old, 82 years old: life always together. The first symptoms arrive, the high fever for days. Finally, the hospitalization, the last hug to the children, never seen again. The first to leave was Luigi, then Severa after a few hours. "Hello dad and mom - wrote his son on Facebook - this nasty virus took you both away on the same day, will you continue to quarrel up there too? I think so, but as always everything will end in a hug ».

Ask the numbers ...

See the focus Reflections in Time of Covid 19