Gasparo Award 2001 Honors Salò Educators and Community Leaders
The «Gasparo» award will be presented on Sunday, November 4th, at 5:00 PM, in the city council chamber of the Palazzo comunale di Salò. For 2001, the awardees are Francesco Dolfo (father of Nino, a respected film critic for Bresciaoggi), Tullio Foffa, and his wife Maria Teresa Cruciani.
Motivations and Context
«In an effort to continue a tradition started several years ago, and to add more solemnity to the event, we have chosen the feast day of Salò’s patron saint, San Carlo Borromeo, as the significant date,» remarks Giampiero Cipani, the mayor.
The name Dolfo, of Friulian origins, is connected to the Istituto Sant’Orsola. After working as an assistant instructor in Cremona, he had the opportunity to move to Salò, at the civic college. However, after the war, he returned home to Fiume Veneto, a few kilometers from Pordenone. There, he was elected mayor.
Dolfo’s Career and Activities
In January 1946, the Opera Pia Carità Laicale called him back, entrusting him with managing the civico on via Brunati. The retired man was housing more than a hundred boys. He transformed the dormitories into several small rooms, improving their conditions.
In 1955, he acquired S. Orsola from the nuns, who had arrived at the beginning of the 1500s (and only taught girls), continuing with Middle and High School courses. During the 1960s-70s, the boom years. The study center hosted as many as 600 students, including those attending remedial courses.
Almost two hundred boarders attended. They came from various regions, even from Emilia Romagna, Tuscany, and Le Marche. «Many,» the commendatore likes to recall, «still write to me today. And, if possible, they come to visit. They remember with a smile the slapings I used to give. All in good measure, of course.»
Decline and Contributions
Over time, the Scientific High School, Linguistic, and Programs were added. In the 1990s, the trend reversed, and enrollment gradually declined, reaching about a hundred students by 1996, when the institute closed.
The commendatore donated the legal recognition of the Accounting and High School courses, all equipment (computer lab with personal computers, chemistry, physics, and language laboratories, blackboards, chairs, desks, lecterns) to the Cooperativa cattolica, led by the parish priest, with its headquarters in via S. Jago, along with a €50,000 contribution.
Having turned 90, he retired to the hillside above S. Jago. The building of S. Orsola will be transformed into a residence. The Foffa couple, instead, are involved with the meteorological observatory and the seismic station.
Family Ties and Current Activities
His wife, Maria Teresa, who took over in 1951 from Professor Carmine Vacatello (who assumed direction in 1938 after Pio Bettoni’s death, the founder), taught for many years at the Istituto tecnico «Battisti». She meticulously collected climate data, which her husband Tullio displays every morning on the notice board below the municipality: temperature, lake water level, humidity, sunshine hours, millimeters of rain, etc.
Their daughters have inherited their parents’ passion. The Sistema bibliotecario and the Comunità montana parco Alto Garda published their data until 1990. After that, nothing more.
Gasparo Award
The prize consists of a statuette depicting the bust of Gasparo, the inventor of the violin. The last recipient was a doctor, Angelo Gasparotti. «In the hospital,» he said amidst applause, «I experienced physical suffering and spiritual suffering. Later, at the nursing home, efforts were made to give dignity and comfort to the aging. I consider myself a lifelong advocate for the elderly, especially those who lose their societal roles and sometimes their family bonds.»