A life marked by respect for the rules, that of Maria Grazia Arena who – among the very first in her competition – became a magistrate in 1981. Today she is deputy mayor (first woman to hold this role in the history of the Municipality of Reggio) alongside the mayor Francesco Cannizzaro. A step back is necessary and brings us to the 45 years spent in the exercise of jurisdiction. «I have dealt with all sectors, changing them periodically because I have always liked to “reconvert” myself and face new challenges. At the base, there are also environmental reasons: exercising the same type of jurisdiction inevitably personalizes the Office too much”, says Maria Grazia Arena who we meet at Palazzo San Giorgio. And the choice of life and field returns: to always be a magistrate where you were born. «I could have gone elsewhere but here I have my roots and these are the places of my heart. I have always considered it a privilege – he admits – to be able to carry out functions in my land, choosing to build my family’s future here and becoming a participant in the territory. Because with the right balance it can be done.” His activity was full of stimuli. From the first semi-managerial role with the presidency of the district investigating judge-gup section from 2006 to 2009 (first woman to hold this role), and then always at the Court of Reggio as head of the Second Civil Section and then presiding over the Court of Palmi until 2016 and subsequently that of Reggio where she concluded a career heralding recognition. «The greatest satisfaction was that of a non-top-down but fully shared management of the office», he underlines, relaunching: «This long period in the judiciary has allowed me to achieve greater self-awareness; the strength in facing the different trials that life and profession present to you. I have always thought that there are no difficult or easy things but that the obstacle is where we stop on the road; where we do not “dare” to put an idea or project into practice; where we raise the white flag. Everything, in practice, depends on the way we express ourselves and how we relate to the events of life.”
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