How could I forget April 6th? That Saturday was special because I went to the editorial office on Viale di Valle Aurelia to celebrate forty years of an extraordinary magazine. I call it extraordinary because Ombre e Luci gives voice to people who are often unheard—and to their families as well. It was born from a desire to share the emotions that arise when one family meets another. To share the struggles of one family so they become everyone's struggle, so we can solve them together.
But let me return to that day for a moment. It was special for me because, having just launched a blog thanks to the editorial team, my dream became real. And I realized something: even though I write small pieces drawn from my own life and daily experience, I know that someone is reading them. Someone understands.
Like dear Nora from Milan. With her, I had the chance to exchange ideas that I hope to act on as soon as possible. Every idea takes time, of course. You have to put an idea on the table, work it through carefully, before it becomes real. Just like the blog dream that became real thanks to Matteo and Emanuele's help. My work in the editorial office started as a community reporter—gathering the experiences and emotions from our gatherings. But I felt something was missing. So I started thinking about a blog of my own. After COVID, I'd lost hope. Yet Ombre e Luci made the blog possible. It's one of many dreams I've had sitting in a drawer, and it actually came true.
Ombre e Luci is a very special magazine: one that gives voice to extraordinary people and their families. I still struggle to find words—there's so much emotion when I speak about this magazine, perhaps because I feel blessed to be part of an editorial team that has reached forty years by traveling so far along the way. Before me, so many important people brought this magazine to life. What can I say to you? I thank you, my dear readers, because every time you give me the strength to keep going—to keep telling the story of the world around us, with all our struggles and all our disabilities. Now, though, I'd rather let the video tell the story of Ombre e Luci.