Institutional portal - Municipality of Milan

Milan, 7 December 2022 - Below is the text of the speech by the Mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala, on the occasion of the delivery ceremony of the Civic Merit of the Municipality of Milan.

Dear Milanese, 
today is the day of Milan, our city, which gives us joys, satisfactions, worries, a city that ultimately asks to be lived with intensity by its citizens. The Milan that always takes a step forward and responds immediately to every new challenge of the present, because attention to the future is an inexhaustible source of energy for this city.   
We can and must be proud of this Milan, our Milan. The tenacity, generosity and drive for change of this city are a source of pride for all Milanese people, beyond their own political, cultural, social, ethnic and religious affiliations.  
Our plurality strengthens the bonds of the community, because the sense of belonging to our city animates our daily commitment and allows us to withstand the arrival of emergencies, which are increasingly frequent in recent times.  
There is no urgency that is not managed in Milan without the Ambrosian ability to experience hardships and unexpected events as opportunities for change and planning for improvement. 
The Ambrosian spirit multiplies creativity, innovation and the ability to do business, volunteering, research and culture. If Milan is a national and international point of reference in these dimensions, as the presence in the city today of President Mattarella, the President of the European Commission Von der Leyen and Prime Minister Meloni reminds us, we owe it first and foremost to the people who give energy and vitality to the city, to the Milanese, to the Italians, to the citizens of Europe and every continent who choose to grow in this community. Today, the Ambrogini's day, is theirs, our day. 
Today's civic merits contain a piece of Milanese history and current affairs, highlighting the actions, gestures and ideas that make our city progress. Each merit describes what we are, what we know how to do and what we want to achieve to improve our life together. 
Reference objectives for the people to whom we award the Gold Medal of Memory, starting from the Great one awarded to Don Luigi Giussani. A revolutionary personality, whom we honor on the hundredth anniversary of his birth. His lesson has inspired tens of thousands of our fellow citizens to spend themselves for others in an altruistic and generous way, through their daily works, in work and in volunteering.  
The same dedication towards our community guided the women and men to whom we recognize the Gold Medal in memory, Carmen De Min, point of reference for the mothers of Leoncavallo, Manlio Armellini, the historic manager who accompanied the affirmation of the Salone del Mobile, Cesare Cadeo, unforgettable TV host and local administrator, Valentino De Chiara, who introduced the passion for Frisbee.   
In Milan, ideas, projects and actions strengthen the sense of belonging to our community. A common Ambrosian feeling that unites men of institutions such as the prefect Francesco Paolo Tronca, innovators, from the entrepreneurial consultancy of Alfredo Ambrosetti to the fashion of Martino Midali to the hospitality of Enrico Lizzi, men and women of science and care for others, Gianvincenzo Zuccotti , Marisa Cantarelli and Cesare Sirtori, points of reference in Volunteering such as Alessandra Berlenghi, artists who have lit the hearts of all of us, Diego Abatantuono and Mauro Pagani, the civil commitment of Alberto Jannuzzelli, Marco Cappato and Antonella Ferrari, the cultural vivacity given to us by Francesca Parvizyar and Michela Proietti. 
With the Gold Medals awarded today we pay tribute to the ability of individual Milanese and the entire city to converge on common objectives, which make each and every one grow. This is the meaning and value that Milan entrusts to Civic Merit. Women, men, associations who have done their best to realize their vocation, their dream, their generous desire to be useful to others, such as the associations, projects, foundations, economic, cultural and academic activities they receive the 20 Certificates of 2022.  
Milan today, together with those who receive the Ambrogino today, reaffirms its dedication to the common good, its commitment to action innervated by freedom, democracy, justice, generosity, solidarity and equity. 
Despite the emergencies, crises and curvatures that loom on the horizon, Milan continues to produce hope because our fundamental values ​​shape change towards a future of greater opportunities for all.  
Milan continues to involve, to push the history of the country forward, keeping its promise of faith in the future. Milan continues to open up to the world, to seek new solutions, to network its best realities to generate development that is as sustainable and inclusive as possible.  
For all this, Milan says thanks to those like you who are awarded the Ambrogino today. And renew together with you and all the people of Milan the pact for progress and innovation in every area of ​​our lives. A commitment aimed at ourselves, and at the many who in Europe and around the world look to the city of Ambrogio with hope and trust.