Mattarella in Pantelleria: “At my age, you don’t make plans, but I wouldn’t rule out coming back to relax.”

Standing before the residents of Pantelleria, where he had arrived to celebrate the National Park’s tenth anniversary, Sergio Mattarella made a (rare) personal joke. From the stage, the President of the Republic addressed the mayor, who had invited him for a few days’ vacation on the island: “At my age, you don’t make plans—except for the very near future. But I wouldn’t rule out coming back for a rest.” Applause. Mattarella speaks off the cuff and quotes the title of a book by García Márquez: “I didn’t come here to give speeches, but with a specific purpose: to reaffirm the affection Italians have for Pantelleria, known for the many people it welcomes and for the importance it holds for our Republic.” The heritage of the smaller islands is one to be preserved and promoted—not as a snapshot of the past but “for the future” and for the next generations.

For the people of Pantelleria, Sergio Mattarella is the “father of the National Park established ten years ago.” In 2016, a year after his election to the Quirinale, the president signed the founding charter of the protected area and is the first head of state to set foot on the island. In Pantelleria, whose coasts are closer to Africa than to Italy, it’s a big celebration. The event begins at 11 a.m. in the airport detachment’s hangar, with the Corazzieri in full dress uniform, historical photos, Italian tricolor flags on the walls of the immense pavilion, and the president accompanied by his daughter Laura. Attending the ceremony are Mayor Fabrizio D’Ancona, Environment Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, civil and military authorities, and dozens of children wearing white caps, whom the president of the Park Authority, Italo Cucci, has appointed as “little rangers.”