A sad day

Today is a very sad day for Catania. It was about at 12,15 o’ clock when I decided to reach the church where it was being held the funeral in honour of Filippo Raciti, a police officer brutally killed on February 2nd during clashes between police and groups of thugs at the end of a soccer match. The smell in the air was strange; it seemed to me like there were two “Catanias” standing out there by the streets. Today is February 5th, the main day in the festival of St. Agata. Walking through the street standing beside the Cathedral I saw the colours of the festival: candies shops, sugar smell in the air, coloured ballons in the hands of children. But as soon as I turned right the last corner, the scene I saw was quite different. Piazza Duomo, the main square of Catania, was full of silent people honouring a man killed by the brutality and the violence of a few people. It seemed to me like there were two different societies, standing side by side. I wish my city could raise up its head.