There has been no news of him since last Thursday. Mauro Mantega, 40 years old, from Cagliari, disappeared in the silence of a city he did not know, Parma, leaving behind only a phone that no longer rings and the indelible anguish of his family and friends.
Her last communication dates back to 8 am that day: a reply message to her mother Dorina Sanna and a short phone call . "She told me she was in a hostel, that she was fine, that she had slept and that she also wanted to visit Bologna," she says in a tired voice, while trying to keep lucidity and desperation together. Since then, emptiness.
Mauro left the day before from Cagliari-Elmas airport. His father, with whom he works, accompanied him to the airport. A normal gesture, almost routine. No alarm bells. "If he had even had a suspicion, the slightest sign that Mauro was in trouble, he would never have let him leave. He thought it was just a short break, a vacation for a change of scenery," explains his mother.
Yet something, in the previous days, seemed to crack. "In Cagliari he was a little uncomfortable - says Dorina - he didn't seem to be well, but nothing that made you think the worst. He lives alone, he's an adult, and I couldn't see him all the time. He had stayed out late the previous weekend, then he started to appear a little confused, in difficulty".
Since Thursday, however, Mauro has disappeared without a trace. No activity on social media, no calls, no clues. "I don't know if his phone was stolen or if he turned it off. But I just want him to call me. I don't want to know anything else, all I need is for him to say: I'm fine, Mom."
Together with her father, friends and the whole family, Dorina has activated a network of contacts, filed a complaint and alerted the programme “Chi l'ha visto?” and now she is asking for everyone's help.
"Many Sardinians live in Emilia. To anyone who comes across a face that resembles Mauro's, I ask only to stop for a moment, look carefully and immediately call us, the police or the program: even a detail can be useful."