Fiuminata (MC)
I'm Emanuele Carta, the partner of the mayor of Fiuminata, and despite my shy and reserved nature, I feel compelled to respond to the unkind words that the AN Circle addressed to Claudio in recent days.
Our story began ten years ago, when Claudio wasn't yet mayor but was actively involved in local politics as a minority councilor. To be honest, I've never been in favor of his potential political career, for purely personal reasons: I feared it would take away precious time with him. However, I left him free to make his own decisions, without limiting him in any way.
His homosexuality, like mine, has never been hidden in any way.We are both very straightforward and don't need the filter of hypocrisy to relate to those around us. Therefore, I don't think the country was as "shocked" as Mario Roscioni, president of the National Alliance, claims: everyone knew about him and me, and most people didn't consider the problem "remote and irrelevant," but rather assumed it didn't exist at all. I am very proud of what Claudio has accomplished over the years, both as mayor and as an example of a citizen free to express his own ideas and pursue them without being influenced by any social conformism.
Fiuminata is a wonderful town and, despite being an extreme peripheral area, it proves to be a lively and in some respects avant-garde centre.. Which doesn't surprise me, given that mountain people are notoriously capable of facing any difficulty, demonstrating a unity and solidarity unlike those found in cities. Diversity is certainly an opportunity for cultural enrichment and growth. Claudio knows this and His coming out as gay was therefore a political act, not a desire to "shock people"“. I hope many more people follow her example and aren't afraid to simply be themselves.
