The head of state Sergio Mattarella celebrates the Republic Day in Codogno, the first Italian town to have been hit by the Coronavirus pandemic. Mattarella too, therefore, puts an end to his institutional isolation and leaves Rome for the first time after the long period of quarantine.
The visit to Codogno is a gesture of closeness and solidarity towards the whole community of the municipality of Lodi, the first 'red zone' of the country. Before moving to Codogno, Mattarella will be at the Altare della Patria for a sober ceremony during which he will lay a laurel wreath at the The Unknown Soldier. Again for security reasons, the traditional parade of the Armed Forces at the Imperial Forums is canceled.
Mattarella in Codogno, the first Italian city hit by the pandemic
Codogno is the symbolic place of the pandemic which has claimed tens of thousands of victims in our country since last February. The municipality of Lodi and all of Lombardy have paid a very high price with over 16 thousand people who have died, infected by the COVID-19. The presence of Mattarella in the town hit in the heart by the powerful and lethal virus that has brought the world to its knees, wants to strengthen the values of republican Italy.
Of a country that, in recent months, has had to close ranks to defend itself from an invisible enemy who has left dead and wounded on the field. The president's visit is a dutiful tribute to the memory of those who lost their lives for Covid but it is also an invitation to hope. An encouragement to start over, precisely from the region that records the heaviest toll of the unexpected and devastating pandemic: the 'plague of the third millennium'.
A visit that is a symbolic choice
Codogno's choice has a clear symbolic value, easily understandable for the whole country. Never before has Lombardy, one of the richest and most avant-garde Italian regions, been in great difficulty due to the economic crisis generated by the pandemic.
For the governor of the region, Attilio Fontana, "the presence of Mattarella is a particularly important sign of attention to our land and to all Lombards". The mayor of Codogno, Francesco Passerini, announced that the town of Lodi is preparing in the best possible way to welcome the head of state. A visit as unexpected as it is welcome.
