More than a day of memory, “telling linen” has turned into an inheritance that the national scientific community engaged in the defense of soil and in the mitigation of natural risks has decided to take charge. Acume, irony, genius in Pasquale Versace’s futuristic vision seem to have traced a director who have not only recognized scientists from all over Italy but, in a certain sense, they committed themselves to carrying on.
The Aula Magna of Unical has hosted many testimonies of those who have known him since the beginning of his scientific journey: the professors of Unical Giuseppe Frega and Massimo Veltri, Renzo Rosso (Polytechnic of Milan), Mauro Fiorentino (University of Basilicata) and Pierluigi Claps (Polytechnic of Turin). Or those who met him in the many initiatives that he tried to transform from theory in practice such as Luca Ferraris (University of Genoa, Cima Foundation), Alberto Montanari (University of Bologna), Gabriele Scarascia Mugnozza (La Sapienza), Andrea Prota (University of Naples)
Everyone has traced a complex but brilliant personality capable of having a focus always centered on system issues, at teamwork and above all on not granting discounts when people’s security was at stake.
“What leaves us Professor Versace is an important legacy – says Giovanna Capparelli Director of Camilab – we managed to revive above all the scientific memory that the professor has left us with interesting ideas that came from many great interpreters of this discipline both nationally and internationally. Our intent, also knowing the Sarcasm of Versace, was precisely this: not a memory of a life but the recognition of a life but the recognition of a life but the recognition of passed to understand how to be able to prevent to avoid disasters “.
From the Civil Protection to the great risks, from the simple analytical intuition to the study aimed at solving decidedly more complex problems. Versace has always had a direct approach that led him to identify the best direct method to solve a problem.
“A great inheritance and above all a great fortune to have been able to work with him on the occasion of the last landslide of Ischia-says the honorable Giovanni Legnigi extraordinary commissioner for the post-social reconstruction and for the Emergency of Ischia-I was able to appreciate the scientific, professional and human qualities. This ability to govern and decline scientific acquisitions with operational decisions to be taken. It is a rare dowry that had the Professor Versace”. Versace’s vision led him to guess what would later happen in reality. A dowry that Legnini is not difficult to recognize. “He managed to predict many things in time that have unfortunately become tightening topicality. I refer to the multi -off model, I refer to technical methods of approach, including planning, to the numerous hydrogeological instability situations that we found ourselves faced”.
From great risks to civil protection, also in this case the intuition of Versace has led to the construction of a system that today manages to govern throughout the national territory emergencies of all kinds. Domenico Costarella (Civil Protection Calabria), Gianluca Loffredo (Commissioner for the reconstruction of Ischia, earthquake of Central Italy), Domenico Pianese (University of Naples) agreed this.
“He was a partner of the Civil Protection System for at least 40 years accompanying the Prociv throughout his phase of relationship with the scientific community – says the engineer Paola Pagliara Director of the forecast and prevention of the risks of Civil Protection – his is a legacy based on the needs of securing citizens and making them aware of what are the risks deriving from floods and what to do to avoid greater damage”.
Spigolic but brilliant character, ironic but at the same time determined. Versace was unable to live with the “defeat” but needed to “win” to avoid disasters and catastrophes.
“Until the last he has maintained an approach almost as a young researcher and not as an emeritus professor – continues Pagliara – on this curiosity he built all his work. And the scientific community recognized it”.
