It is much more than just a fond memory. Among the families of Morgex, a town of about two thousand souls, crossed by the Dora Baltea on the north-western side of the Aosta Valley, Paolo Mannu was (and continues to be) a rare example of life and altruism. Otherwise it would not be possible to explain the great attachment that the whole Valdigne community still lives today eleven years after his death. Paolo Mannu, doctor of the health service of the Aosta Valley, capable of spending himself without hesitation to help others with extraordinary enthusiasm, was a citizen of Arborea. To him, on 9 October, in the presence of the regional councilor for Health of the Vallée, Roberto Barmasse, of the president of the Unité des Communes Valdôtaines Valdigne-Mont-Blanc, Riccardo Bieller and of the mayor of Morgex, Federico Barzagli, was named the new social welfare facility for the elderly in Morgex. A real event for the inauguration of an important health residence wanted and desired by Dr. Paolo, as they called him among those alpine valleys.
The homage
This is how the mayor of Morgex, Barzagli, remembers him: "Since July 1982, Paolo has been a doctor of the Health Unit Service in Valle d'Aosta and since then and until his death he has lent his service and profuse his skills human and professional uninterruptedly in the district of the Valdigne municipalities, becoming a constant and precious reference for the entire local community ». The mayor in the report that accompanied the request for the title of the structure underlines "the constant attention and care of their borrowers", and "the rare availability and sensitivity, shown to anyone who needs his support, well beyond the medical aspect".
The mourning
"The doctor of the poor" a few days after re-election to the municipal council of Morgex, on June 1, 2010, was struck down by a stroke, leaving his family and fellow citizens dismayed but also the many friends and acquaintances of Arborea. «The local community suffered the tragic event of his untimely death, a mourning that left the entire population of Valdigne incredulous and more alone. His contagious cheerfulness, moreover, his love for verse and the theater also saw him as the undisputed protagonist in a regional circle of poets and in the Morgex theatrical company ».
The work
The structure that began its activity last May, when the 18 users housed at the time in the structures of Pré-Saint-Didier and La Thuile were transferred, has 45 beds spread over three hospital floors. Other features include an oxygen distribution system on the first two floors for the expected 30 guests. Among the technological aspects, the cabling of the entire structure and the high-speed fiber connection for the use of telemedicine technologies.
The memory
Paolo Mannu had left Arborea in the late seventies and returned to the island for a short time, when he worked as a gastroenterologist at the Cagliari hospital.
He was the doctor of the needy, a good professional with a strong sense of duty, an ethical commitment especially towards those who suffer.
Roberto Ripa