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LA STAMPA

A Nation Mourns: He Was Italy's Coronavirus Victim No. 10,000

As the toll passes 10,000, Italians try to look past the unthinkable numbers to remember each life lost, including a 34-year-old father from a town near Milan.

Last week, a neighborhood on the outskirts of Milan is silent.
Last week, a neighborhood on the outskirts of Milan is silent.
Monica Serra

MILAN — In just over a month, the death toll in Italy from the coronavirus pandemic has surpassed 10,000, with the Civil Protection Authority putting the count Saturday at 10,023 by day's end.

The epicenter of the crisis has been the northern region of Lombardy, where nearly 6,000 people have died. Between Friday and Saturday, between the Lombard cities of Bergamo, Brescia and Milan, there were 542 new deaths. Most of those who have died in Italy have been elderly, many infected in hospitals and retirement homes. But there are also young victims of COVID-19, including a 34-year-old named Federico Castellin, whose death Friday turned out to be the 10,000th registered in Italy since the crisis began. Like those of all the other victims, his story should not be lost in the magnitude of the official numbers.

Federico succumb to the virus at Milan's Policlinico Hospital, after being transferred the night before from the city's Sacco hospital, where he'd been fighting for his life for nearly a week. A father of a one-year old and married to Anna, he had suffered some minor health problems that doctors said had left him more vulnerable to the disease. But in his native town of Cinisello, northeast of Milan, everyone knew him by his smile.

Today is like many other days over the past month.

A year and a half ago, he had opened Café Zen, in the town center, two years after the closure of his parents' café, and with the help of his father Paolo, behind the counter. The local tourism association is located next door to the coffee bar, and its president Paolo Tamborini, became fast friends with Federico. "He was always upbeat and generous with everybody," Tamborini said. "He was a serious person, someone you could trust. The last time I saw him was on March 9th when he had to close the café for the national lockdown. But Federico was fine, he had no symptoms."

Giacomo Ghilardi, the mayor of Cinisello, said this day was both similar and different than others in the town of 75,000 since the outbreak began. "This day has really left its mark," he said. "Today is like many other days over the past month, days where I find myself mourning our fellow citizens."

Mayor Ghilardi continued: We will remember everybody. All our loved ones, friends, family, acquaintances. Everyone we have lost and will lose because of the coronavirus. We will remember Federico, who was always kind, generous and selfless. Today is a difficult day. These are times of struggle, courage, suffering, work, pride. But soon, we will wipe away our tears, we will get up, we will smile again and we will remember. That I promise you."


For the coming weeks, Worldcrunch is delivering a concise, once-a-day global update on the coronavirus pandemic from the best international news sources, regardless of language or geography. To receive the daily brief in your inbox, sign up here.

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eyes on the U.S.

The Weight Of Trump's Indictment Will Test The Strength Of American Democracy

The U.S. legal system cannot simply run its course in a vacuum. Presidential politics, and democracy itself, are at stake in the coming weeks and months.

The Weight Of Trump's Indictment Will Test The Strength Of American Democracy

File photo of former U.S. President Donald Trump in Clyde, Ohio, in 2020.

Emma Shortis*

-Analysis-

Events often seem inevitable in hindsight. The indictment of former U.S. President Donald Trump on criminal charges has been a possibility since the start of his presidency – arguably, since close to the beginning of his career in New York real estate.

But until now, the potential consequences of such a cataclysmic development in American politics have been purely theoretical.

Today, after much build-up in the media, The New York Times reported that a Manhattan grand jury has voted to indict Trump and the Manhattan district attorney will now likely attempt to negotiate Trump’s surrender.

The indictment stems from a criminal investigation by the district attorney’s office into “hush money” payments made to the adult film star Stormy Daniels (through Trump’s attorney Michael Cohen), and whether they contravened electoral laws.

Trump also faces a swathe of other criminal investigations and civil suits, some of which may also result in state or federal charges. As he pursues another run for the presidency, Trump could simultaneously be dealing with multiple criminal cases and all the court appearances and frenzied media attention that will come with that.

These investigations and possible charges won’t prevent Trump from running or even serving as president again (though, as with everything in the U.S. legal system, it’s complicated).

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