BOLZANO. «He enthusiastically participated in all the initiatives promoted by the school and chaired the jury of the Award named after his wife Laura Portesi: it seems incredible to me that it ended like this». Sabine Giunta, director of the Bolzano 1 multi-comprehensive institute, is moved when she remembers Roberto Quaini, the hematologist, well known in Bolzano also for his many interests, who died suddenly the other night at the age of 76, in his home in Sant’Osvaldo. He leaves behind his daughter Orsetta, a biologist in Trento. The funeral will take place privately.
The connection with the Dante
He remained very attached to the Dante school, because his wife Laura had directed it until 2013, when he lost the battle against the disease. «The loss of Laura – recalls his friend Piero Cavallaro – was a tragedy for Roberto that left its mark».
This is also why she willingly returned to that school to which principal Portesi had given so much and was remembered by a plaque at the entrance to a music room. «In 2019 – says the executive council – we established the Portesi Prize initially reserved for Dante students; then extended to all primary schools and then to secondary schools who participate in the musical-artistic workshops and at the end of the school year present their works, spanning the different fields. Roberto Quaini was the president of the jury and also supported the initiative financially. The latest edition – the sixth – in June this year. And the president was once again on stage to reward the kids.”
Between Hematology and Politics
Also remembering him are all the colleagues with whom, for years, he had worked in the Hematology department of the San Maurizio hospital as assistant and head of the Day hospital. He was also the founder and president of Ail, the Italian Association against leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. «Very competent – this is what the former head doctor and founder of Hematology Paolo Coser says of him – but also very “human” and attentive to patients. He took the time to listen to them and this, in an era when we are all in a hurry, is always greatly appreciated.” Quaini combined his professional commitment with a great political and civil passion: in the mid-1990s he was elected to the city council with the List for Bolzano which saw the Greens and left-wing Democrats together. And he has always intervened in the public debate, even in our newspaper, taking a position on the most uncomfortable and topical issues. A direct man, who was not afraid to say what he thought.
The taste for good food
Then there were the friends, united by a taste for good food, with whom he had founded the “Forchette tricolori” group. «Together – remembers Cavallaro, a member of the group – we made many culinary trips to Trentino and Veneto too. Always looking for particular dishes. But above all it was an opportunity to be together and Roberto was someone who understood friendship in the broadest sense: he was there for the big and small things.” As the years passed, the bonds remained, but the culinary encounters had transformed into something less caloric: a coffee, an aperitif and a chat. «But it was always a pleasure to meet up with Roberto. We had only seen each other in town about ten days ago. I couldn’t imagine it would be the last.” AM