For the title of his latest book he borrowed a verse from Caparezza. Rosario Esposito La Rossa, born in 1988, is known for being the first bookseller of Scampia in Naples with The Scugnizzeria, a cultural hub for the children of the area. This is how it was born We are all capable – Falcone and Borsellino 30 years later (Einaudi Ragazzi, 112 pp., 11.90 euros).
The book traces, in a simple but powerful way, the journey to Sicily of a professor (already appeared in Absent – Without justification) which tries to show rather than explain. He returns to the places of the massacres of the two judges, symbol of the fight against the mafia to honor his memory, 30 years after his death, on 23 May. The author experienced impotence and injustice firsthand when in 2004 his cousin Antonio Landieri was an innocent victim of the Camorra during the first feud in the area where he now lives with his wife and 4-year-old daughter Morena.
His story is so vivid that it deserves an adaptation. Have you ever thought about it?
“Maybe! I have already touched once, with a previous book, a transposition of Netflix, but what I would have in mind would be an animated series ».
Sicilian places come to life from the pages. Do you know them?
«I visited them with the association Free and I wanted to tell them through the eyes of a teacher who is inspired by my Italian and history teacher, Daniela Lucarelli, who changed my life in middle school, with a name that pays homage to Massimo Troisi in The postman. I wrote the book in a week, but after a lot of research, so as not to run into rhetoric ».
Did you meet the family members of the two judges?
«I would have liked it but times were tight. On the other hand, I had taken notes on their various speeches and interviews. If I met them I would just say a ‘thank you’ for the humanity they transmit, without ever bragging about having superheroes for relatives ».
The professor conveys the values ​​of justice to his students by showing two concrete examples. Who has teachers for you?
«My parents had to teach me immediately how to behave in Scampia. In the building where I lived at the age of 7-8, drugs were sold and there were no intercoms. To enter the house I had to ask for permission by knocking on the door of those who managed the place and the traffic, the same comrades from middle school at the time were pusher. And after each raid by the police I had to wait for the firefighters to leave to return ».
What kind of teachings?
“For example, my parents forbade me to wear some clothes to avoid being mistaken for a clan member. So no hood, leather jacket or a certain haircut and if I wore the hat it had to be put on a certain way. And I couldn’t go home after eight in the evening. I knew when to escape and when to stay: the police in Scampia until 2004 were never seen. I learned the art of survival. We were all always in danger, even when we didn’t realize it as children, now addicted: mum lived in this same building and dad nearby, they had antibodies “.
How did he survive and how does he teach his daughter to survive?
«I was saved from football, despite playing with the children of the greatest criminals in the area, but for this very reason I learned not to judge. She, on the other hand, has always frequented the bookstore and is unaware of what was around. Her childhood is different from mine and from that of her mother, who comes from Vele, more dangerous than Scampia. Morena starts reading, plays theater and does not feel our fear precisely because we are committed to changing things. Now Scampia is no longer Gomorrah nor a neighborhood-jungle, has changed in these ten years. Before there was not even a bookshop nearby, today they have installed photovoltaic panels ».
Have you ever thought about leaving?
“Several times, but the pain of losing Antonio was a turning point in the decision to stay. And now the projects are multiplying: on June 3 I will open a fair bar in the bookshop and we are about to buy a place for the social pizzeria with disabled staff and in 2023 a hospital for books will arrive ».
And now he’s written another book. Why did you choose a verse from Caparezza for the title?
“Because it shows how we can all make a difference. Unfortunately, the mafia still exists, indeed it gets worse because it has entered the economic fabric and it is less easy to find it. Lombardy is the second region of Italy for the number of confiscated assets. The mafia is everywhere, much more than politics ».
What would you like the generation of children who pass by your Scugnizzeria, including your daughter, to remain?
«I would like them to take a leap forward, to find a better neighborhood, but if Morena wanted to get away from here I would leave her free, without conditioning her. In my house they are all metalworkers except me, so I know what I’m talking about. At about 8-9 years of age, I will start making a serious speech ».
Other stories of Vanity Fair that may interest you:
The Scugnizzeriaa beautiful success story
Palermo, the shocking photo of Falcone and Borsellino
Rosario Livatino, the “boy judge” becomes Blessed
Source: Vanity Fair
