Alessandro Gassmann and the anti-fascist defense of his father: “Remove Vittorio’s name from the neo-Nazi theater”. And Vannacci attacks him: “The usual radical chic hypocrisy”
GALLARATE (Varese) - Remove the dedication to his father, Vittorio Gassman , from the Condominio theater that on Saturday in Gallarate hosted the Remigration Summit, the conference of the European far right with clear and disturbing xenophobic and racist content. The request is from Alessandro Gassmann , who wrote via social media to the Northern League mayor of the town in the Lower Varesotto, Andrea Cassani : “Dear mayor, I read that the international meeting of the European far right parties (neo-fascists and Nazis) took place in the theater named after my father in your town. If your intention is to continue to host demonstrations with racist and illiberal slogans in a place of culture, I ask you to remove my father's name from the aforementioned theater .”
The actor and director, in asking that the theatre (owned by the municipality) no longer bear his father's name, also wanted to underline the wounds and pain caused to his family by Nazi-fascism: "My father had relatives deported and killed by the Nazi-fascists".
Cassani responded to Gassmann yesterday, invoking freedom of thought: “Vittorio Gassman , an eclectic man of culture, was never afraid to express his political affiliation . Like all people of value who have made the history of our country, he probably would not have fought the ideas of others with a priori censorship but with the strength of more convincing ideas”.
Not only that. “The fact that a cultural association of right-wing youth has organized a summit, paying for the hall, does not seem to me – added the Lega Nord mayor – an affront to the figure of the great Vittorio Gassman . Gallarate has always been a democratic city with great attention to culture. We can boast of having four theaters, two museums and we are among the few cities not capitals to have a music conservatory. We have invested a lot, for many years, in culture and one of the most beautiful cultural places in the city bears the name of his father. This is a tribute from Gallarate to a great man and a great artist” .
However, "this episode - Cassani wanted to grant - will certainly provide us with the opportunity to review what could be the rules for renting public halls, including those of the Teatro Condominio Vittorio Gassman". In his response, Cassani also cited the words of the Minister of the Interior Matteo Piantedosi: "In democracy, there is a need for all contributions and all components with respect to such complex phenomena. We must not be afraid of anything, even of ideas that may appear very strong, very controversial, very debatable even, not shared in some way". To conclude with "a warm hug and we await you in our Gallarate".
While waiting for Gassmann to respond to the invitation, for the parties, associations and citizens who on Saturday in Gallarate staged the demonstration against the far-right summit, what happened "is an outrage to the city and to the memory of a great actor".
This afternoon at 6:30 pm, in front of the theatre, the centre-left city councillors and the civic group Obiettivo Comune Gallarate will present the request for an urgent convocation of the city council , on the subject of a motion of censure of the concession of the hall for the neo-Nazi demonstration last Saturday.
But in the meantime, the deputy secretary and MEP of the League, General Roberto Vannacci , has branded Alessandro Gassmann's protests as "the usual radical chic hypocrisy" . The Teatro Condominio was named after Vittorio Gassman in 2006, and the actor's first-born daughter, Paola Gassman , attended the ceremony.
Il Giorno
