Institutional portal - Municipality of Milan

On the tenth anniversary of his death, a rich program with the torchlight procession, the naming of the gardens and the totem in Viale Montello and a meeting at the Feltrinelli Foundation with Laura Boldrini, Enza Rando and Vanessa Scalera 

Milan, November 21 2019 - Sunday 24 November marks the tenth anniversary of the disappearance of Lea Garofalo, a witness of justice, killed by her partner and his associates in retaliation for her collaboration with the magistrates. 

Like every year, starting from that tragic night of November 24, 2009, in which the woman was kidnapped and then killed, the Milanese coordination of Libera, together with the Municipality of Milan, promotes a moment of remembrance of Lea and her courage.

“It is a duty for Milan to remember Lea Garofalo – declares the president of the city council, Lamberto Bertolé -. Her story is a story of rebellion and courage. The choice to break the codes of the 'Ndrangheta culture of silenced violence opened the way for other rebellious women. Today we want to be even closer to our daughter Denise who, with the same courage as her mother, continues her fight for freedom." 

“Lea – adds Lucilla Andreucci, coordinator of Libera Milano -, a woman capable of breaking the bonds of silence, of freeing herself from the chains of an 'Ndrangheta family, in the name of her freedom and that of Denise, her daughter. Lea's courage is a lesson she still lives by today. And that she calls us all not to waste it. More and more women and mothers are finding the strength to rebel against the codes of organized crime. Let's not leave them alone. Lea Garofalo asks us again, again and again not to leave them alone.”

Libera accompanied the young Denise in the judicial process which saw the guilt of her father and his accomplices recognized with a definitive sentence and organized the last farewell to Lea with the secular funeral celebrated in Piazza Beccaria, in the presence of thousands of citizens.

Every year a torchlight procession passes right along Viale Montello, where the garden in front of the house where Lea lived - a once degraded space, now recovered for social life and the usability of citizens - will be named after her and will host a totem of "Milan is memory ", as a daily testimony to its tragic history.

This year's program includes, in addition to the torchlight procession, which will start at 17.30pm from Viale Montello 3, a stop at the Monumental Cemetery, where Lea is buried; and subsequently a public meeting at the Feltrinelli Foundation. Will be present: Laura Boldrini, who as President of the Chamber of Deputies wanted to meet the young Denise and through that meeting send young people a message of hope and legality against all mafias; Enza Rando, vice president of Libera who, in her capacity as a lawyer, protected Denise's status as a civil party in the trial for the murder of her mother; Vanessa Scalera, the good actress who played Lea in the RAI film of the same name by Marco Tullio Giordana.

Thanks to the precious availability of the Lato B and Casa delle Donne associations, which have made their spaces available, it will also be possible to attend the meeting via streaming connection in their offices in viale Pasubio 14 and via Marsala 8.

The program in detail

- 16.30pm Aperitif organized by Giardini in Transito with Libera Terra products and mulled wine in the gardens of Viale Montello 

- 17.30pm Commemoration begins in the Gardens of Viale Montello 3. Speakers include Lucilla Andreucci, representative of Libera Milano; Lamberto Bertolè, president of the municipal council; David Gentili, president of the Anti-Mafia Commission of the Municipality of Milan; Nando dalla Chiesa, honorary president of Libera. This is followed by the inauguration of the totem dedicated to Lea Garofalo. 

- Approximately 18.00 pm Start of torchlight procession

- Approximately 18.15pm Brief moment of remembrance inside the Monumental Cemetery, curated by the Libera garrison dedicated to Lea Garofalo

- 18.45pm approximately Arrival at the Feltrinelli Foundation, public meeting with the Honorable Laura Boldrini, Libera's lawyer Enza Rando and the actress Vanessa Scalera. The harpist Sofia Zampicinini will accompany the evening

 - Approximately 18.45pm The meeting at the Feltrinelli Foundation will be live streamed in the offices of Lato B – L'altrolato di Milano (viale Pasubio 14) and the Casa delle Donne (via Marsala 8)

- H 20.15pm/20.30pm Conclusion of the commemoration.