What a coincidence that binds two greats of our Abruzzo: on 20 November 1952 Benedetto Croce died exactly 20 years later, on 20 November 1972, Ennio Flaiano died. For both today commemorations and memories throughout Italy
The municipal administration of Fiumicino paid homage this morning to the writer, screenwriter and brilliant humorist, Ennio Flaiano, on the fiftieth anniversary of his death, at his grave in the Maccarese cemetery. The Minister of Culture, Gennaro Sangiuliano, speaks of Benedetto Croce as “one of the greatest Italian thinkers of all time” in a commentary published today in the Corriere della Sera on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the philosopher’s death. The minister in Pescara on Friday afternoon to celebrate Flaiano’s timeless genius.
“Benedetto Croce, whose seventieth anniversary of death is celebrated today, was one of the greatest Italian thinkers of all time: his cultural and moral magisterium remains unmatched to this day”. So the
Minister of Culture, Gennaro Sangiuliano. “From his home-studio in Naples he worked incessantly and always kept the flame of freedom alive: in his studies, in civil and political life, in the moral teaching he offered to the many young people who were formed on his works. The task that successfully set itself – continues Sangiuliano – was then that of providing the “new Italy” with a complete and organic thought, rooted in tradition but concretely open to the problems of the present: in open and friendly collaboration with those of other countries, but proud of its specificity and dignity”.
“Croce rediscovered in the teaching of Vico and Machiavelli the most typical cipher of our culture, namely historical sense and political realism. Thus he wanted to put national culture back in the wake of the European one, in conformity with the patriotic ideal of the Risorgimento of which he felt he was the son. His voice resounded loud and deep at the time of totalitarianisms, which he strenuously fought both in the version they had adopted in Italy and in those that were typical of the other Eastern and Western European countries. He spoke of the Anti-Christ within us, but always trusted in moral redemption and the return of civilization. Source
inexhaustible of profound and always current teachings, he indicated to Italian culture and civil life a route that should never be lost: to do one’s duty, each in his own field, and always renew the flame of spirituality. With Goethe, whom he felt particularly close to himself, he loved to repeat: “Viva chi vita crea!”. “Today more than ever – concludes Sangiuliano – Croce calls us back
to the commitment and dedication of the Work, as he said. As well as the eternal values of the autonomy of Culture and Freedom”.
In Fiumicino, on the other hand, for Flaiano, the deputy mayor Ezio Di Genesio Pagliuca placed a wreath of flowers adorned with a tricolor band. Among others, the city councilor Fabio Zorzi and Mariano Micco, one of the “historic” cockle fishermen of the Fregene Fishermen’s Village, were present, awarded by the city of Pescara, the birthplace of Ennio Flaiano, for his long-standing dedication , in tending the screenwriter’s grave. as well as Largo Flaiano, also in Fregene. The writer from Pescara, like Federico Fellini, had in fact chosen Fregene as a place to live and work, where, among other things, he wrote the screenplays for films such as La Strada, La dolce vita, I Vitelloni, Giulietta degli Spiriti, 8 and a half. Their historic professional and human partnership increasingly matured in the locality. His wife Rosa and daughter Luisa also rest with Flaiano in the Maccarese cemetery.
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