Dear Editors of Ombre e Luci, I finally made it! I saw, with joy and emotion, the new home of Fede e Luce and our little magazine! Twelve years ago, Mariangela asked me to help with Ombre e Luci, and for some years I shared with her a fundamental journey through life—and the daily walk from home to the old office on via Bessarione, for as long as she could manage. Then four years ago, I said goodbye to you one day, saying I'd be back as soon as I could. But it didn't work out that way.
Before I came, I was ready for emotions and regrets, yes—but I was also full of curiosity. That morning I went to pick up Marco C., who wanted to visit as badly as I did. Following Cristina's detailed directions and (thanks to) Waze, I managed not to get lost in a neighborhood I barely knew. We entered a large condominium garden with many pathways and several buildings, and there on the right was the beautiful new office with direct, level access. One long horizontal room running the width of the entrance, the space is bright and welcoming, with soft-colored walls—pale blue and white dominating, red armchairs and chairs, and high above the words FEDE E LUCE and OMBRE E LUCI. The red sitting area just inside the door is very pleasant. On the right side is the editorial office with our table—the one we've worked around together so many times. On the left, there's even a small kitchen corner (what luxury! thinking of the days when our "kitchen" was just a tea kettle!) and then a very functional bathroom (we'll forgive the yellow color…)
Marco was enchanted by you and the welcome. The atmosphere that had taken shape in such a short time made him feel almost at home, finding the place both new and familiar. I ran into him at Casetta a few days after our visit, and he was still talking about it happily and enthusiastically—and then he asked me: when can we go back?
For me it was a great joy to return to the office and find a space so beautiful and welcoming, warm, bright, and spacious—a place that seems to wrap you in an embrace. I have to admit that I felt real nostalgia for the old office on via Bessarione. In my mind I saw the faces again, the smiles; I heard the words we spoke together around that austere table with its green surface. But as I looked around, I found the same photographs on the walls, the shelves with magazines, the filing cabinets, all those small objects and things I knew so well. Above the door, the mosaic of Fede e Luce's boat—a gift from the international council, made by the workshop at L'Arche in Trosly—and I understood that my memories too were there, woven among all those old and new things, building this history that moves forward and grows.
By a fortunate and wonderful coincidence, that morning there was a meeting with Cristina and Matteo, and also Angela Gattulli and Rita Cortese. I was truly happy to see Rita after so long. I found myself thinking back again, seeing her at work in her particularly cold room with its crumbling walls. What a Rita!
Matteo made tea, as we used to do, and we had a slice of tart. He brought out the usual cups, each one different from the others—and I found "my" cup, the one that had been Mariangela's! Between remembering how things were, chatting, and taking a photo, I too, like Marco, felt at home. Because for me Fede e Luce is family, it's the joy of living, it's caring for one another, laughing, singing, and eating together! I understood that the walls have changed, and yes, a piece of our hearts has certainly stayed behind on via Bessarione along with other things yet to be moved, but the Heart of Fede e Luce—that has now moved to Valle Aurelia. Because the heart of Fede e Luce is all of us who are part of it. It beats thanks to the young people who give it warmth and vital strength, and thanks to all those people who keep it alive with their commitment, their time, their love—and thanks too to those who worked so hard to find and create a new home that is beautiful and bright, simple and welcoming, just as Fede e Luce itself is.
Best wishes, dear friends, and thank you!