The courage of being free

“We want to leave a mark, as Marino did with us”. Exactly one year after Bergamaschi passed away, Mauro Colombo, current leader of the Crafts Association, presents an initiative to recall his predecessor.

Colombo continues: “Today’s date is important for all of us; it involves us personally because Marino was much more than a leader, he was a friend, and he was considerate towards people first of all. He would fight for his ideas, but also for carrying out concrete actions. We are remembering him the way he would have wanted, that is, we are discussing how to do business. With Stefano Zamagni, we will inaugurate a meeting- arranged also with Confartigianato Lombardia (Lombardy-based general confederation of Italian crafts) and Fondazione San Giuseppe (charitable institution)- that will become a reference point every year. For the occasion we have created a book with the participation of the professor  and with the contribution of Marco Carcano in memory of his good friend.”

Giorgio Merletti, leader of the association, recalls his friend with feeling. “Today, he would have said: ‘tiremm innànz’ (dialect for ‘let’s keep going’), let’s keep going looking to life. This is the energy he taught me with humbleness and respect. He had really understood the deep meaning of doing business, which does not aim at the profit, but at the social responsibility. He would get mad because we didn’t understand that, after the passing of the great entrepreneur, it’s the small enterprise that has to give value to the territory. The family and the enterprise are the main aspects. Our society is made too much of individualism and we are losing our civic spirit. Behind some fair criticism against the bureaucratic system, people simply hide the unwillingness of paying taxes, and this is a serious matter. Today, our research starts from the Pope’s words in the Caritas in veritate.”

Therefore, doing business will be the main theme in his memory. A theme so precious that Marino Bergamaschi has dedicated most of his professional life to.

Andrea Bianchi, his tight collaborator for five years, affirms: “he is the strongest example of what being a free man means. He used to tell us that ‘the nothingness doesn’t exist’, so if you don’t do things yourself, somebody else will do them. Basically, citing also Kant, he would push us to dare. Marino is alive and it’s difficult for me to speak about the past.” That feeling is shared.

The initiative with Professor Stefano Zamagni will take place on Monday, 14th March, at 17:15 at Palazzo dei Giureconsulti; 2, Piazza dei Mercanti, Milan.