Garda Council Names Chamber After Andrea Ragnolini in Tribute
The council chamber of the new Garda municipality will be named after Andrea Ragnolini, who served as a councilor for four terms and was in office at the time of his sudden passing in November ’96. The proposal originates from Mayor Davide Bendinelli and is on the first item of the agenda for tomorrow evening’s council meeting at 9 p.m.
This is the first time Garda’s City Council convenes again after the tumultuous meeting at the end of September. On that occasion, Bendinelli ordered the former mayor Giorgio Comencini, who is now an opposition councilor, to leave the chamber when he attempted to speak again on a topic already addressed with voting statements by both the opposition group leader Beniamino Zermini and Mayor Bendinelli himself.
During the chaos that ensued, both the former mayor and a municipal police officer fell to the ground. Both received medical attention for cuts and dislocations. In the days that followed, accusations of arrogance were exchanged between the majority and the opposition.
Recognition and Commemoration of Andrea Ragnolini
The council will now return to debate, with about a dozen items on the agenda, including approval of the final Christmas schedule among the olive trees, adoption of the building regulation for telecommunications infrastructure, and recognition of Pro loco.
But, as mentioned, the meeting will open with the proposal to dedicate the civic hall to Andrea Ragnolini, a “historic” figure in Garda’s political life, four-time city councilor, always on the opposition benches, first representing the Psi group and later the civic list Con Garda, which he was among the founders of.
“The decision,” says Bendinelli, “is motivated by the desire to pay a proper tribute to a person who distinguished himself in our community’s political and social life, a man who gave a lot to his country.”
Ragnolini’s political experience was generous and passionate: some of his council battles remain memorable. In his speeches, he used spontaneous and colorful language. An example is the phrase “fra dieci lune vedremo che sarà sul podio,” in which, during one of his final council meetings, he announced the start of the long electoral campaign leading to the 1997 administrative renewal.
Even the night before his heart suddenly stopped, he participated in a council session. In honor of his memory, during the meeting following his passing, his seat was decorated with a bouquet of red carnations, reflecting his socialist activism.
He was also honored informally on Ferragosto of ’97, on the day of the contrade palio. Because Ragnolini had been a protagonist in the palio for years, first as a rower and later as the capo contrada of Porto, a district he led to victory multiple times. So, it wasn’t only politics that ignited this man’s civic passion.
