Celebration for Olympic Medals at Castelletto di Brenzone
A grand celebration organized by friends for a friend. Here’s what the “Devoti Silver Star” was about, the joyful welcome ceremony that Castelletto di Brenzone reserved for Luca Devoti, silver medalist in the Finn class at the Sydney Olympics, and Chicca Salvà, seventh in the 470 class. A party that received strong support from the comune di Brenzone.
The words of the mayor and community involvement
“Even though he spends most of the year in England, where he runs his business,” explains Giovanni Zappalà, mayor of the small town on the Veronese shore, “Luca is one of us, a man of the lake, a friend to everyone. To illustrate how deep his love for Garda Lake runs, it’s worth recalling what happened years ago when there was a problem with a collector polluting the area. He immediately took charge of a committee that gained a lot of support and whose contribution was crucial to solving the issue. Also, upon learning of these results, the town’s youth mobilized to organize the welcoming.”
The municipality and province provided financial support, but I want to emphasize that this celebration was spontaneous. We, as institutions, will do something more organized in the future, with more calm.”
Castelletto’s record and the future of local sailing
Castelletto probably has a record: a town of 2,400 residents managed to send two athletes to the Olympics. This can only have positive repercussions, both for the town and for the entire lake area.
“Undoubtedly,” explains Zappalà, “Devoti and Salvà represent the pinnacles of a small army of champions who trained here, like Celon, for instance. But their achievements can only serve as new incentives for the new generation of sailors, many of whom are in our community.”
It’s important to remember that Irene Saderini, the recently crowned European champion in the Optimist class representing the Fraglia della Vela di Riva, although originally from Bolzano, lives here with us. Luca is a living example that perseverance and stubbornness are vital in sports: after a lifetime of races, with many victories, he crowned his career at 37 years old.”
