The funeral of Valeria Sollai, the 62-year-old cook who died after being hospitalized for serious botulism poisoning, will be held today, Wednesday 27 August, at 4 pm, in the parish of the Santissimo Redentore in Monserrato.

The woman had consumed some guacamole-based dishes during the Fiesta Latina held in Monserrato at the end of July. Sollai is the second victim of the bacteria : last August 8th , Roberta Pitzalis, 38, originally from Guasila and resident in Monserrato, who also attended the same event , died.

The Municipality's decision was made "considering that the funeral of Mrs. Roberta Pitzalis, a resident of Monserrato, took place in her home town, while that of Mrs. Sollai will be held on Wednesday the 27th in the Church of the Santissimo Redentore." This decision was also dictated by the desire "to express the city's shared condolences to the families of the two victims."

Flags on public buildings will be flown at half-mast throughout the day, and a minute's silence will be observed at 12:00 PM in municipal offices. All scheduled public events will be suspended, and the Administration will participate in the funeral service with the city banner. Mayor Tomaso Locci has also invited business owners and entrepreneurs to symbolically close their businesses at 4:00 PM, coinciding with the start of the funeral, and to suspend all events and initiatives until 6:00 PM, as a sign of respect and sympathy for the families' grief.

(Unioneonline/vf)