Massimo Bottura: “Being the father of my son Charlie made me a better, more aware man”

On 11 July 2025, in the Aula Magna dell ‘University of Modena and Reggio EmiliaThe 25 year old Charlie Botturasuffering from one rare genetic syndrome And son of the starred chef Massimo Botturadiscussed the thesis Disability and work: the importance of work to say adultscrowning a path that began five years ago thanks to inclusion project University 21 APS.

There Charlie degree filled the father with immense prideat the head of the Michelin 3 -star restaurant Franciscan Osteria. As Massimo Bottura himself told in oneinterview released to ** Corriere della Sera**, growing up a child with disabilities is everything less than easy. In fact it means «Learn to look at the world from another perspective. Stop running and start walking at the rhythm of those who love ». In the interview Massimo Bottura recalled “All the climbs faced together” and “the gentle obstinacy of Charlie”, capable of transforming “Each goal in a partyevery obstacle on an opportunity to grow “. That perspective, underlines the chef, made it «A better man. More aware, more grateful, more attentive to the beauty that is hidden in simple things “.

On Instagram, Massimo Bottura dedicated a post to his son, reiterating a key concept: «This is more than a degree, it’s a triumph. You are our hero! “.

Alongside Bottura, his companion of a lifetime, Lara Gilmore silent and unshakable pillar of this path: it is she who “He has been able to transform fear into sweetness, fatigue in daily care, fragility in courage”reads the interview.

As for his son, for the starred chef the true joy consists in «Seeing him happy. When he smiles with the whole body, when he feels part of something ». And its role as parent, Bottura adds a reflection: «I understood that the real gesture of love is to look at him for who he is, not for what is missing. Charlie is not an eternal child, and it is not a patient: He is a boy, with his identityhis desires, his passions ».

And if as a father, the instinct would be to spend the road in all respects, thanks to Charlie he understood that “Love is not control, it is accompaniment” and that respect for “his unique way of being in the world” requires “take a step back to leave him space ».

Charlie is already filling that step with concrete gestures: al Toiletthe laboratory born in Modena where grandmothers and boys with disabilities They prepare tortellini, “he feels part of a project that combines tradition and inclusion”. And al City refectory serves meals to the most fragile, convinced that “beauty is not only in receiving, but also and above all in giving».