“We believe in Italy and are tired of perceiving it as an 'underdog.' Turin itself is a little gem but many buildings, beautiful from two meters up, at the bottom are covered with writing. So we decided to do our part starting with the schools: the environment around us influences the way we are.”

And so, thanks to the generosity of Pietro Bonanno, a 44-year-old Italian American citizen, and his wife Serra Elizabeth Falk, who financed the cleanup, the Francesco d'Assisi School in Via Giulia di Barolo, Turin, Italy, has returned to its former glory.

The writing that defaced the brick walls has been erased, enhancing the painting job done by a group of parents months ago. For the Tommaseo Institute, of which the school is a part, community help and support are in fact not new, but usually come from families with enrolled children, unlike in this case.

“I have already written to Mr. Bonanno,” explains principal Lorenza Patriarca, who is also a city councilwoman and chair of the Culture Committee, ”applauding his selfless gesture. And so, thanks to the generosity of Pietro Bonanno, a 44-year-old Italian American citizen, and his wife Serra Elizabeth Falk, who financed the cleanup, the Francesco d'Assisi School in Via Giulia di Barolo, Turin, Italy, has returned to its former glory.

Bonanno and Patriarca share the same hope. The goal, in fact, is a domino effect: “I count that sooner or later others will do the same. We'd like to get other people involved and maybe politics to take action,” explains Bonanno, who commutes from San Francisco to Turin, where he and his wife moved during the pandemic to change their lives and where they will return in October for the birth of their second daughter.

In the meantime, they have started an investment fund to support Italian startups with female founders: “We believe a lot in Italian resources and talents, we need to enhance them. So does Turin: this city has been a good compromise for us compared to Rome and Milan, because you can live better and breathe,” Bonanno explains. Their life project was born as a temporary one “but now we have taken a house near the school with the desire to stay in Italy: when American guests arrive to visit us they are surprised by the beauty of the city but they also notice the signs. And Turin does not deserve them.”

Of course there have been, Bonanno admits, those who have told him “they're going to redo them anyway,” but that's not why he has changed his mind, he explains with conviction: “Statistics say that sooner or later they will give up, choosing buildings that are already defaced.” So he financed the work, more than a thousand euros, confirming a sensitivity he had already shown years ago when he wrote to the City of Turin on the same issue, “but I was answered that we had to take care of the private buildings and that an awareness policy was already underway. We decided to take action anyway.”