Ramadan is over, the story of the celebration in Rome

It was a few minutes before 8 in the morning when I heard the call of Muslim prayer from the window. Every time it reminds me of Syria, Damascus and the song of the muezzin that comes out of the speakers positioned on the minarets of the mosques to mark the times of the five daily prayers. Today it is not Syria but we are in Rome, in the neighborhood adjacent to Torpignattara, it is the April 10th and Muslims around the world celebrate the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting and prayer in the Islamic calendar which began last March 10th. In Italy there are more Muslims celebrating today 2.6 million.

From the window you cannot see the square where every year hundreds of Muslim men, women, children and children arrive early in the morning to pray and celebrate this day of celebration together. The end of Ramadan is celebrated with 'Id al-fitr (Eid al-fitr) it's at feast of the end of the fast, we have a special prayer and a meal all together. When I leave the house, a little girl dressed in pink and a princess dress runs in front of me on the sidewalk. Not far away is her brother who arrives hand in hand with their father. They are all dressed up, they have brightly colored clothes, they are smiling. They stop at the Bengali shopkeeper who sells fruit and vegetables outside my house and buy a few oranges. They wish each other «Eid Mubarak», happy holiday. I do it too. I stop to get a bottle of water and Aaryan tells me that I'm not paying today because it's a holiday and he's happy like that.

Some Muslims in TorpignattaraStefano Montesi – Corbis/Getty Images

My son tells me we're late for school, we get in the car and quickly drive around the square to take a look. It's an explosion of colours, everyone arrives with a small mat, places it on the ground and starts praying. The atmosphere is that of the celebration that is awaited throughout the year, like Christmas and Easter for Christians (for this reason the school in Pioltello, in the Milan area, has decided, amidst the controversy, to suspend lessons for today April 10). On one side there is a long row of shoes of all sizes. The square is bordered by a light green awning. Behind there are women and girls, this is the image that I would like not to see every year. I go back after taking my son to school, I stop to look and see elegantly made-up eyes on the women's faces, clothes that shine with the reflections of the sunlight that slowly comes out of the clouds. Some of them smile slightly, then kneel down for prayer. The girls color with chalk on the floor, one eats a sweet, another follows her mother's movements in prayer. Every minute the square fills up a little more. There is a strong wind, a few balloons fly towards the sky while the sheets are arranged on the ground for the big lunch that will welcome the entire community of the neighborhood and will continue for a good part of the day. On a nearby wall a heart is drawn in red paint and next to it the writing in Italian and Arabic: Gaza.