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Italians begin long march for solidarity
Xie Fang
Shanghai_Star
page04 2006-8-10
The summer heat wave may be suffocating Shanghai right now, but 70- year-old Italian Battistel Lueciano,along with 47 other Italians, were anxious to start their long march "Along the Silk Road" in the city August 9.
The International "Life for Life Solidarity March, founded in 1975, takes place once a year.This is the first time the march has been held in China, a 1,004-kilometre trek.
The Cultural Office of the Consulate General of Italy Shanghai (CGIS) held a breakfast Wednesday morning entitled "The Cup of Stirrup" to welcome the marchers,according to tradition.
In 19th-century Italy, those who set out for a long journey would be saluted, the moment they put the foot in the stirrup,with a small cup of "cordial".
The 48 Italian participants will head for Hangzhou from Shanghai and trace the Silk Road, following the footsteps of Marco Polo, Odorico of Pordenone, Padre Matteo Ricci of Macerata and Pompeo Mazzocchi to explore the country in the following 10 days.
They will stop at Nanjing, Zhengzhou,Xi'an, Taiyuan, Beijing, Jinan, Xuzhou and Suzhou, and return to Shanghai on August 20.The Italian participants will march in each city, but the distance depends on the local weather conditions.
All the members (half whom are women) are volunteers, who are paying their own expenses, do various jobs in Italy, such as massagist, doctor and governmental official.
Except for one person, all of them have come to China for the first time.
The average age of the marchers is about 40 years old, the oldest is 74.
"We have been in a number of cities in Europe, Russia and North America, but coming to China is the longest march we have ever had," said team leader Lovo Lino.
"This is a march of solidarity. We want to share with Chinese people our message of friendship and solidarity between China and Italy," he added.
He said they had no way of knowing what exactly awaits them in the long journey, but one thing they know for sure is that the march will be an intense and fascinating experience, enabling all the participants to visit places where their four intrepid countrymen explored unknown cultures and new worlds.
Anna Machina is the youngest marcher.The 18-year-old student said besides delivering their message of friendship, solidarity and the culture of love, they also want to mobilize local people to donate blood and organs after their death.
Lueciano has participated in the international march 23 times. He said the summer heat doesn't pose any difficulties for them to carry on in China, as Italy is also rather hot right now. When asked about his impression of the country, he gave a thumbs up for "beautiful" China.
"I am very proud to have them coming to Shanghai," said Silvia Costantini, consul of the CGIS.
"2006 is the year of Italy in China,resulting in many events. However, this is the first international march we have had this year." |
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