Stefano Fresi is an honorary citizen of Luogosanto. The actor, born in Rome but deeply attached to his Gallura roots, received the award on Saturday, September 5th, during a well-attended special session of the City Council.
A few hours later, the celebration moved to Piazza Incoronazione, where "Luogosanto in festa" brought together the Gallura communities in a wide variety of talks, music, dance, costumes, and folklore. Two distinct moments on the same day, linked by a common thread: belonging to a land and the value of their roots. First, the institutional act, with which Luogosanto officially recognized one of the most famous faces of Italian cinema as its citizen; then, the public and choral dimension of the square, with Fresi as the guest of honor at a celebration that brought the whole of Gallura to Luogosanto.
"I am officially a citizen of Luogosanto, and this knowledge excites me deeply," declared new citizen Stefano Fresi during the honorary citizenship award ceremony. "It's no longer an idea, a story; it's reality. Luogosanto has always been 'home' to me, that place you want to return to when you're elsewhere. It's Ulysses' Ithaca, the place where you know you'll find warmth in the winter, coolness in the summer, your favorite food, the ideal climate, the best people you want to be around are there at home. And that's always been the case for me here in Luogosanto."
The City Council, convened with a single agenda item, formalized a sense of belonging that for Fresi has much deeper roots. His father was originally from Luogosanto, his grandparents lived here, and the actor spent much of his childhood here. A relationship that has never been broken, one that has remained present throughout his professional rise and the many accolades he has won in film.
"I've seen the enormous joy this place has always given me," said Stefano Fresi, in the City Council chamber. "I gave birth to a son and I said, 'Why not let my son have the same joy I had?'" My cousin and I thought about our grandfather's abandoned land and decided to work it. He's a specialized agronomist, so we revived his grandfather's vineyard. "This morning," Fresi explained, "I grafted the vines, and in the spring we'll see the new part of the vineyard sprout. We've embarked on an adventure that's an act of love to tell the story of a place. We make a wine that's typically Gallura: it was my grandfather's wine. This new adventure will lead me to come to Sardinia much more often, because between checking the tractor that's broken, grafting, and buying the vines, I'll be coming at least twenty times a year. And now, when I come, I'll do so as a citizen of Luogosanto."
