And finally, a statement was made by the patron Paolo Fresu, organizer of Time in Jazz, the festival that stopped at Agnata, Fabrizio De André's Sardinian home, with Diodato's concert preceded by protests against Matteo Salvini.
Yesterday, Fresu announced that he had written the words "tolerance, sharing, equality, and acceptance" in the margin of the notes he took on that occasion. Some interpreted his statement as a response to Alice De André, the singer-songwriter's niece and author of a tirade against the League leader. Fresu disagrees.
"It wasn't a response to Alice De André or a criticism of those who demonstrated, nor (and above all) a defense of Salvini, who for us is the antithesis of those values," explains the jazz musician from Berchidda. "Knowing that the Minister would be coming to L'Agnata, we wrote down those words so they could reach him. I believe it was the only way we had to express our dissent towards a person whose thoughts and actions we respect neither."
Then the clarifications: "We didn't invite Salvini. We would never have invited Salvini. We don't have the right to kick anyone out, especially from other people's homes." Dori Ghezzi, De André's wife, was also present. "We," Fresu continued, "have the right to demonstrate and express dissent, and let anyone else do so. We defend the work ethic of everyone who organized this and the other events taking place at our festival until August 16th. We make music to navigate, not to sink."