Gerardo Bianco, the homage of Christian and popular democrats in Rome. Then the blessing in his Guard
Gerardo Bianco died in Rome on Thursday morning. Born in Guardia Lombardi on 12 September 1931, the Christian Democrat leader and several times popular deputy was 91 years old. After the burial chamber in Montecitorio on Friday, the funeral was celebrated in Rome yesterday at the parish of San Gaetano in via Tuscia number 12. Subsequently the coffin was transferred to Guardia Lombardi, where yesterday afternoon it received the blessing at the mother church of Santa Maria delle Grazie. The Head of State, Sergio Mattarella, was present at the funeral in Rome. “Loyal servant of the institutions, passionate politician, rich in culture and humanity”, defined the President of the Republic at the end of his visit to the funeral home set up in Montecitorio. Saying goodbye to Gerardo Bianco’s widow, he recalled having spent “many moments together” with the former secretary of the Popular Party and being “very close” to him. The funeral rite was officiated by Monsignor Guerino Di Tora, former auxiliary bishop of Rome, a personal friend of Bianco, concelebrant by Don Matteo Galloni, son of Giovanni. Party friends attended the funeral: Pier Ferdinando Casini, Vincenzo Scotti, Calogero Mannino, Ortensio Zecchino, Giuseppe Gargani, Mario Segni, Gianfranco Rotondi and Pierluigi Castagnetti. For the latter, his successor to the PPI secretariat, “Gerardo Bianco was a point of reference for those who followed his political line but also for the Christian Democrats who made other choices”.
THE CORDOLENCE. In recent days there have been numerous demonstrations of condolence throughout Italy for the disappearance of a protagonist in the country’s political history, in the Christian Democrats, in the People’s Party and in L’Ulivo, of which he was the co-founder. DC group leader in the Chamber, Minister of Education from 27 July 1990 to 13 April 1991 in the Andreotti VI government. He was elected deputy from 1968 to 2008 in 9 legislatures, seven of which (from 1968 to 94) with the DC, approving in the European Parliament in the mid-1990s. Gerardo Bianco was an Italian Latinist, an intellectual of profound culture, before being one of the most appreciated representatives in institutions during the 1900s. With Ciriaco De Mita, Nicola Mancino, Giuseppe Gargani, Biagio Agnes, Salverino De Vito, Antonio Aurigemma he was among the magnificent seven of Irpinia politics. His political commitment dates back to his university period when he was active in the Catholic university federation, the Fuci, of which Aldo Moro is one of the major exponents. Then militancy in the DC, initially with the ‘Base’ current led by Fiorentino Sullo first and Ciriaco De Mita later. Since 1978 he has approached the current of Carlo Donat-Cattin first and Franco Marini later. In 1993 he continually chose the centre-left as opposed to the centre-right project proposed by Pierferdinando Casini and Rocco Buttiglione. Thanks to Gerardo Bianco, the alignment that arose around L’Ulivo, welded on the convergence between liberal democrats, socialists and Catholic popular democrats, brought Professor Romano Prodi to Palazzo Chigi twice, in 1996 and in 2006. Gerardo Bianco continued to testify the values of popularism in politics and in the country until the end of its existence.
MATTARELLA: “GERARDO BIANCO, LOYAL SERVANT OF THE INSTITUTIONS, PASSIONATE POLITICIAN, RICH IN CULTURE AND HUMANITY”. The President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, learned with sadness the news of the death of Gerardo Bianco, a loyal servant of the institutions, a passionate politician, rich in culture and humanity.
ENZO DE LUCA: A GREAT AND DEAR FRIEND LEAVES, AN EXTRAORDINARY CATHOLIC POLITICIAN, AN AUTHENTIC DEMOCRISTIAN IN PRINCIPLES AND VALUES. «The disappearance of Gerardo Bianco represents a loss for republican and popular Italy, built on the democratic roots of the Constitution», writes Enzo De Luca, member of the National Direction of the Democratic Party and President of the Regional Waste Observatory. «He was the protagonist of this story with an absolute commitment to his entire life. The Hon. Gerardo Bianco was a great and dear friend to me, an extraordinary Catholic politician, an authentic Christian Democrat in principles and values. Because of his sense of institutions and the state, his example of life remains a lesson forever in political culture and the common good”.
PETRACCA: A NOBLE INTERPRETER OF THE ITALIAN POPULAR TRADITION LEAVES. A LIFE AT THE SERVICE OF THE INSTITUTIONS AND OF IRPINIA. «I learned with regret the news of the disappearance of Gerardo Bianco. A noble interpreter of the tradition of Italian democratic Catholicism is leaving with him», declared the regional councilor Maurizio Petracca. «Analytical ability, pleasant irony, institutional grace, these are some of the character and intellectual characteristics of Mr Bianco who, during his long political career, held first-rate political and institutional roles, being part of that unrepeatable class manager who made our territory central on the national scene». Petracca adds a personal memory. «I had the opportunity to hear him the last time on the occasion of the electoral campaign for Politics. Also on that occasion I shared his vision and reflection of him. With Gerardo Bianco, a protagonist of a policy whose lack is felt today is leaving. His example of a servant of the institutions and of political passion will remain intact. My deepest condolences go out to his family.”
THE IRPINO PD IN MOURNING: “HIS DISAPPEARANCE MAKES US SAD ORPHANS AND DEFINITELY POORER”. The Democratic Party of Irpinia expresses its condolences for the disappearance of the Honorable Gerardo Bianco. «Absolute protagonist of Italian political life. An example of how you can stick to your own ideas over time, to defend which he always sought a civil confrontation having a vision of politics that was never just mere opposition but always civil dialectic, made up of ideas, projects, perspectives. Gerardo Bianco was a purebred politician, a man of great culture but also and above all a decent person. His way of conceiving politics clashed strongly with the politics of our day and even more, therefore, his disappearance makes us sad orphans and certainly poorer ».
CIAMPI: “BIANCO DEFENDED THE SOUTHERN AND LOOKED AT COUNT WITH INTEREST”. “The disappearance of a protagonist of the Italian political scene like Gerardo Bianco leaves Italy and Irpinia poorer,” says Vincenzo Ciampi, regional councilor of the Five Star Movement Campania. «A man who contributed in culture and politics to the development of the country and to the defense of the South by siding, even in his party, against the potentates who tended to organize consensus rather than respond to needs. Proudly, from minority positions but of great authority, Bianco was, with equal authority, alongside great figures of democratic Catholicism, always helping to define and defend a political field that was opposed to the right. A lesson in political coherence and concreteness in representing citizens which is a shining example for anyone involved in institutions today. The figure of him, who also looked with interest at the Five Star Movement and Conte’s project, will be missed by Italy ».
GENNARO ROMEI: FROM TODAY THE CHRISTIAN DEMO-CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY FEELS MORE ALONE. “The UDC of the province of Avellino learns, with great sadness, the news of the death of the Honorable Gerardo Bianco, a leading actor in an era of great hopes and significant changes for Irpinia and for Italy”, writes Gennaro Romei ,
Provincial Commissioner Udc. «The remarkable cultural level, combined with traits of great humanity, translated into a political action under the banner of freedom and transparency. Gerardo Bianco knew how to combine the ancient and the modern, anchored to ancient values, always current, and, at the same time, open to the challenges of modernity. Irpinia loses another of its protagonists, a point of reference for several generations and for many political exponents for whom he was an absolute master, in terms of style and culture. From today the Christian Democrat community feels more alone”.
FRANCO DE LUCA: “GERARDO BIANCO’S DISAPPEARANCE DEEPLY PAINS FREE MEN”. “Who was Gerardo Bianco for me? What has he accomplished for my political growth? How much did I love him? But above all, how much has he achieved for the evolution of the country? To these questions, in this dramatic moment equal to the suffering experienced by the disappearance of my beloved parents, I am unable to answer.
Gerardo Bianco has silently created “an authoritative ruling class” in Italy, providing it with ethics and culture. He has always worked hard to make the best political intelligences germinate in the glorious Christian Democracy, where he has always expressed himself as an authentic Master, with incomparable style and authentic vocation. His disappearance deeply grieves free, honest and cultured men who, by complying with his enlightened teachings, must continue to spend themselves to improve the quality of life of all social classes. This is how the former Avellino parliamentarian Franco De Luca remembers him.
THE MEMORY OF ANGELO DI PIETRO. «Guardia Lombardi loses another illustrious personality who made the Irpinia reality known outside our region. Gerardo Bianco, a life spent in the institutions, deputy and Minister of Public Education, has maintained ties with his country of origin and has always stood out for his grace and his great culture “, writes Angelo Di Pietro in a note , board member of +Europa. «Every summer he used to go back to Guardia Lombardi where he never shied away from the confrontation with his fellow citizens and with the young people. His disappearance leaves a void in the community that cannot be filled.
THE MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATION OF SANT’ANGELO DEI LOMBARDI REMEMBERS GERARDO BIANCO WITH EMOTION. The Municipal Administration of Sant’Angelo dei Lombardi remembers the moved Gerardo Bianco. Person of rare intelligence, culture and lucidity. Protagonist of Italian and Provincial political history of the highest profile who brought prestige to the Italian and European Parliament, minister, founder and secretary of the Popular Party, President of Treccani. Faithful to the values of Democratic Catholicism, his life was a testimony of these values and a representation of general interests without ever falling into particulars. A clear example for the younger generations leaves an unfillable human, cultural and political void. Heartfelt condolences to his family, wife Tina and children.
ANGELO ANTONIO D’AGOSTINO: WE WILL REMEMBER HIM A FREE MAN. «With the disappearance of Gerardo Bianco, the country loses one of the politicians who more than others stood out for his cultural depth, honesty and concrete ability to represent the citizens’ requests in Parliament and in the Government. He has been at the service of the institutions, preserving that trait of humanity and goodness that has always distinguished him. We will remember him for having been a free man, capable of being in an authentic way a true protagonist of Italian political life ». So in a note the Hon. Angelo Antonio D’Agostino.
GAMBARDELLA: GERARDO BIANCO, POLITICIAN AND INTELLECTUAL WHO HONORED IRPINIA AND THE SOUTHERN ITALY. «Gerardo Bianco was a protagonist of Italian political life, always very attentive to the South and its Irpinia. With him disappears an intellectual of great value, faithful to that Christian humanism that characterized his activity in the institutions and his civil commitment. My personal condolences to his family and friends and that of the National Secretary of Più Europa, the Hon. Benedict Della Vedova. Bruno Gambardella writes it. National secretariat Plus Europe.