By Aureliano Lalli-Persiani
I
t is now (1996) almost a year since Virgilio Porreca died. His death opened a deep wound not only amongst his friends but also for all those who have chosen Torricella as an irreplaceable fixed point of reference. This is because Virgilio was an integral part of Torricella and it is painful to think that our village has been left an orphan by the loss of one of the men who had represented it in a most friendly fashion. Now that he is no longer alive, there is an almost palpable feeling of a gaping hole which will be difficult to fill. We feel the lack of his constant willingness to be helpful, the strength of his vitality, his joy of life, his "perpetual motion".Farewell Virgilio, dear friend, accomplice in so many of the adventures of daily life, of so many small, simple yet profound stories that reflect our manner of feeling, of thinking, of being, our dimensions as people who have known how to maintain the straightforwardness of their own origins, remaining bound to their land and its values.
Farewell Virgilio, we shall always be together because you are a part of that special race of men who continue to live on in everyone’s hearts, beyond and despite death.
© Amici di Torricella
Translation courtesy of Dr. Marion Apley Porreca