A slow, almost compassionate rain accompanied the day of sorrow in Gioia Tauro, where the entire community stopped to say goodbye to the child who died when a wall collapsed.
The entire city gathered around the family of little Nico, the child who tragically passed away in recent days. A long procession, in silence, followed the white coffin which started from the municipal council chamber, where a continuous pilgrimage of citizens, friends and acquaintances took place for hours.
The shops lowered their shutters as a sign of mourning, while the crowd accompanied the child to the church of San Francesco da Paola, packed to the point that many could only follow the mass from external speakers. In front of the coffin, the father, destroyed by grief, sat next to his mother and family, supported by the discreet affection of the community.
During the homily, Bishop Giuseppe Alberti, with a voice broken by emotion, invited everyone not to let themselves be crushed by the tragedy: «It is a story bigger than us. We feel dazed. But let not the harshness of death kill love.”