Lonato’s New Village Inaugurated, Continuing Father Ottorino Marcolini’s Legacy
The seed planted by Father Ottorino Marcolini continues to bear fruit. Yesterday late afternoon, at the outskirts of the town, in the Lonatino area, the new village built by the Cooperativa La Famiglia di Lonato was inaugurated. This project, which will provide affordable housing for 78 Lonatino families, is not the first for the town.
Many years ago, in the area between Borgo Corlo and the San Martino sanctuary, dedicated to the Madonna, another village had been built. Therefore, the inauguration of the houses by La Famiglia Cooperative continues this tradition. It is a testament to the intuitional insight that Father Ottorino had many decades ago, enabling thousands of Brescia families to build their homes.
Speeches and testimonials during the inauguration
In the invitation to the inauguration, the president of Cooperativa lonatese Guido Vitale recalls Father Marcolini as follows: “He made and built for the unemployed and the homeless, with ingenuity and tenacity, with joy and courage, with the wise ‘madness’ of the Gospel, offering himself, as a Christian priest and oratorian, in work without reserve, where faith and prayer were in him, and hope in his brothers.”
The new village development in Lonato is yet another confirmation of this. Let us now turn to the residences. The project was carried out on the outskirts, in via Colli storici, in the Lonatino neighborhood, where the road dividing towards the hills splits.
Description of the project and participants
The settlement inaugurated yesterday consists of 78 apartments of various sizes and types, along with a building intended for commercial activities, making it functional for the families settling there. The project was realized by the Cooperativa La Famiglia di Lonato, founded in 1966 upon the initiative of the Centro studi e coordinamento iniziative La Famiglia di Brescia.
The design and project management were handled by engineer Giambattista Bosco Montini; the housing was built by the companies Galli e Benedetti srl of Castenedolo and Pisciali Marco srl of Castegnato. The inaugural ceremony, held late in the afternoon, drew a large crowd.
Many authorities attended with the families slated to receive the 78 dwellings. It was the parish priest mons. Giuseppe Boaretto who celebrated the Mass at 6 p.m. After the blessing, speeches standard for the occasion were given by businessman Antonio Angelo Bertoni, president of the Centro studi La Famiglia di Brescia, and regional councilor Carlo Lio.
The ceremony was also attended by Mayor Morando Perini and Deputy Mayor Davide Baccinelli. The official greeting session concluded with remarks from Guido Vitale, president of the Lonato Cooperative, who underlined the significance of this initiative for many families. The event concluded with a lively reception at Pizzeria Silvano.
