The history books are clear: that of 1955 was called the Messina conference and the document that came out was the Messina declaration. This is the staple, then there is the case of these days, born around the name chosen for the celebrations of the 70th anniversary. And here opens another chapter, made of maneuvers, strategies, reconstructions and inevitable controversies. We start from the name, to which Taormina was added, making that event the Messina and Taormina conference. Then we go to Genesis: the event was promoted by the Region and, from an operational point of view, it was decided to place it inside the setting of Taobuk, a cultural event now in its fifteenth edition and which, like the explicit name, takes place in full in Taormina. These are the premises, to which to add the logistical aspect: as well as in 1955, only the Taorminese accommodation would have allowed to host the thick and numerous delegations of the various participating European countries.
That’s all? Obviously not. Because at the base there is also a precise request, claimed by Cateno De Luca, mayor of Taormina and former mayor of Messina, although in a first phase by environments close to him had been denied his “Zampino”. On the other hand, there is all right and De Luca himself, we asked us, does nothing to hide it: «I had spoken to the President of the Schifani Region of this event – he explains -, who then chose to entrust the organization to Taobuk. The denomination? Out of respect for the story I expressly asked that Taormina was also there. It is not a historical revision, but it is a truthful reconstruction of history. Then that the formal act belongs to Messina there is no doubt ».
