I still remember the first time I met you at a Fede e Luce camp, one of the early ones at Gagliano Aterno. That year's theme was "The Little Prince." When I first saw you, it was the strangest thing—you appeared to me like an alien, a giant, but with a good heart. That year was fantastic. It was the first time I truly understood what Fede e Luce meant. Our bond started there. I knew you because you became my guardian angel. You were always catching me sneaking biscuits in the kitchen, asking me to pass you one, and then we'd slip away together. You were one of those people who change your life. My great fortune was growing up under your care and learning from you. Everything began there. At Gagliano Aterno. We kept in touch through the year, sending letters between Rome and Lecce. When we moved to Rome, the most beautiful thing was having you close by, hearing you call me my treasure. I'll miss those words. I'll miss your hugs—the way they made me feel protected like nothing else in the world. I'll miss your scolding, and all those times you praised me and encouraged me when no one else knew how.
I won't forget how many times you and Pietro Bigari put a smile on my face. I won't forget your strength of soul, the way you never backed down from anything. Believe me, that's the best gift you left me. Your stubbornness. Your will to fight even when hope seems thin. The smile and joy you gave us. Your gift for pushing us to do our best—those things will never be forgotten. If I'm stubborn, bold, and kind-hearted—exactly as you used to say: "beautiful, tough, and good"—that's partly because of you. Now I'm here in Germany writing you this letter, still with a thousand questions, a thousand that will probably find answers along the way. You promised me you wouldn't give up, and you didn't—not until the very end. Now I make a promise to you: I promise with all my heart to carry all your teachings inside me and to live my life the way you taught me. The pain is deep and large. I didn't just lose a friend or a captain. I lost MY captain. The one who was there more than almost anyone else in my darkest moments—often like a father when I needed one most—and who could understand with a single glance what was on my mind. That's rare. Our bond can never die in that way. I will make sure that one day my own children know the story of a good giant who was a Captain, a gladiator who was ready for anything to help others.
—Benny, 2015
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