Gino Cecchettin and the Book on Giulia: A Father's Journey Through Grief and Memory

Gino Cecchettin is moved: "I hope this applause is for Giulia: I couldn't hold back the tears as I entered, because she was a student like you. She was a fantastic girl, I thought of writing a book so that a memory of Giulia would remain, she always captured the essence of love, altruistic towards anyone who had the slightest need, from the family to those who were struggling, she was devoted, she wanted to be useful. The book is so that Giulia remains." This was said by the father of the murdered girl, thus welcomed by a warm applause at the Obiettivo 5 initiative currently at Sapienza University in Rome. "I have often put myself in the shoes of Filippo's parents, also because I am very rational, they have all my understanding, I would give them a hug; I cannot judge them, they are living a drama bigger than mine. I will try to smile again, I have already managed to, I have fantastic friends and children; they will have a harder time, they will always be the parents of a murderer. They have all my understanding." A warm embrace to Cecchettin also came from Emma Bonino, connected to the initiative: "I embrace and greet him, I will continue this, which is a battle of civility." For the students, Gianluca, a representative, spoke: "We are the future, without us the world cannot move forward. Now it's up to us," said the boy, among other things. "An ordinary day - Gino Cecchettin recounted - became the last day with my daughter, lived like all the others: we engage autopilot, we all have so many things to do and we do not pay attention to the precious seconds we live next to our children. I remember nothing of that Saturday except when I started to wonder, where is my daughter? Why isn't she coming back? Life must be constantly lived paying attention to the smallest details, this I have learned. We should savor every second, every day, from when we get up." Gino Cecchettin: "The book on Giulia helped me process the grief. I never mention Turetta, but I felt the parents." Gino Cecchettin publishes the book on Giulia: "What I learned from my daughter, here's where we went wrong." "I have always defined Giulia as the perfect daughter. And so for me everything was allowed, in fact, it was she who acted as a guardian to the father, advising me what to do for the family management. I gave maximum trust, maximum freedom, even being afraid of invading her spaces. I had given her advice, told her to be more determined in ending the story but she was always playing the nurse. I wonder: was it right to do as I did or should a parent be a bit more intrusive? I think Giulia wanted to say something but was afraid of hurting the father and sister," continued Cino Cecchettin. "The messages that I listened to again hurt, I had to listen to them, I had to break this protection towards me that I had so many thoughts about. If I had known I would have acted, I would have gone to talk to Filippo, I could have done something. The professionals told us that it probably would have ended the same way anyway," he added. "I have thought many times about the fact that my wife, having died earlier, did not suffer from Giulia's death, I do not know to what extent to be grateful for all this; from a certain point of view one would want to be as much as possible with one's partner but not making her suffer this torment was better. Monica had already suffered for 7 years, being able to spare her this pain too... was perhaps better that way." "Dancing - he added - is a form of freedom and life. I must thank my wife, for years we tried to take a dance course, we managed until the closure for Covid, then we resumed and had to stop because of the illness. I must thank my dance teacher, who after the death of my wife asked me to come back to dance, I did not want to return. It was Giulia who told me: 'dad go, you have been impeccable with mom, you must try to be happy.' This also makes it clear what my daughter was; my judges are my children. There are shortcuts to happiness, dance is one of them," continued Cecchettin. "We process a grief when we think of our loved one with a smile but the absence of Giulia is so fresh.. every night I dream that I arrive at the industrial area, load her in the car and return home, I even enjoy this pain because in that moment I see her, maybe scared. It's a painful moment, it hurts," continued Cecchettin, who answered some questions from the students. "Opening all channels of communication, even just making it clear to your children that even painful news the parent is able to understand, then a solution is found together. Opening the channels of dialogue is the solution to everything," he said, responding to a student.