Institutional portal - Municipality of Milan

Grandi: "Titling that celebrates the importance of man and memory as well as respect for the fundamental element of life, water"

Milan, 11 April 2022 – The new Casa dell'Acqua in via Santa Sofia 9/1 near the city university was named in memory of Primo Levi, one of the most important figures in European and international cultural and literary history. The naming ceremony, which takes place on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the writer's death, took place this morning in the presence of Elio Franzini, Rector of the State University of Milan, Elena Grandi, Councilor for the Environment and Greenery of the Municipality of Milan, Mattia Abdu Ismahil, President of Municipality 1 and Simone Dragone, President of MM spa.

“A dedication - comments councilor Grandi - which, in the current particular and dramatic historical moment, takes on even more high symbolic value, with a double meaning: inviting everyone, especially the new generations that are being formed here, to keep alive the memory of the moral abyss of the Nazi-fascist concentration camps where water, an indispensable element for our life, was denied to prisoners; and remind all of us to have a sense of responsibility towards the environment, its care and the protection of water, a precious and irreplaceable heritage. In this regard we like to remember these words of Primo Levi: We rebellious offshoot/Of much ingenuity and little sense,/We will destroy and corrupt/More and more quickly”.

The naming ceremony also saw the presence of Stefano Bocchi, Sustainability Delegate of the State University, Manuela Gilberti, Water Projects Representative of the State University, Daniela Dana Tedeschi, President of the Milan Sons of the Shoah Association and Luigi Lay, Vice-Director and Manager of the Third Mission Chemistry Department.

The 53 water houses present in the area provide free fresh water, still or sparkling, to all citizens, who can use the service via health card up to a limit of 6 liters per day per user, allowing the use of bottles to be significantly reduced of plastic.

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