2024-07-29 12:16:33
In June, Luciano Fregonese won the mayoral elections in Valdobbiadene. He received a good two-thirds of the vote – a clear mandate for a third term as mayor of the city of around 10,000 inhabitants, located in the northern Italian region of Veneto. But after the victory, Fregonese now wants to lose: kilos.
Ten years ago, Fregonese was elected mayor of Valdobbiadene for the first time. In the vineyards on the banks of the Piave, the highly drinkable Prosecco grows that is renowned throughout Italy and the world. The Glera grape is developed into Prosecco di Conegliano Valdobbiadene, an internationally protected designation of origin. Since 2019, the hills of Conegliano Valdobbiadene have been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site as a unique cultural and agricultural landscape. Local people also appreciate good food and drink. When Fregonese first went to the town hall as “sindaco”, he was 37 years old and said he weighed 90 kilos. Ten years and two terms in office later, he weighs 140 kilos.
There is no time to do much
Fregonese spoke openly about his weight problem. Saving it will be almost impossible. They have been pressuring him, especially on social media and during the election campaign. In the campaign before the local elections on June 9th, he said that the return to “entry level size” as mayor is a personal decision for a third term in office. Whether this particular campaign strategy will make it more difficult for us to see. Fregonese admits that his poor physical condition is the result of personal laziness. But also the result of his “sitting job” as mayor and many public commitments from morning to night, especially in the evenings, which are often related to food tests. It’s the usual excuses: no time, too much to do.
The mayor does not want to accept this anymore. Every Wednesday since his election he has also gone for a walk, sometimes with his sash in the Italian tricolor, always with an increasing number of his countrymen. On the one hand, they want to help their governor fulfill his election promise, and on the other hand, they want to do what is good for themselves and their health. And thirdly, the five to six kilometer journey is something like a mobile public consultation. It usually starts in Piazza Guglielmo Marconi in the heart of the old town, then through the streets of Valdobbiadene and finally out into the vineyards. The speed is rather brisk, but not so fast if you can’t talk to the mayor about this or that problem in the city. The mayor and his citizens were on the streets for a good hour and a half. In the first trip there were about four dozen people, but now there are about 200. “Many people came to cheer me on. At best, one in ten people have something on their mind that they have to tell the governor,” said Fregonese.
The mayor is not alone with his problem, either in his city or in the whole country. As the national statistics agency ISTAT reports in its latest report, 47.6 percent of elderly Italians are overweight. 11.5 percent even fall into the obesity category – like Mayor Fregonese this time. However, many of those involved do not want to know anything about their weight problem: according to ISTAT studies, more than half of overweight and even obese people consider themselves to be of normal weight. In the middle of the election campaign, someone sprayed the word “panzone” (“fat belly”) on a wall in Valdobbiadene. It was not hard to guess who is meant. The insult didn’t hurt him, but it made him think, Fregonese said. No one should be ashamed of being overweight, but everyone should understand that it is unhealthy, said the mayor. He himself ignored warning signs such as back and knee pain, shortness of breath and difficulty walking for too long. Fregonese has not stepped on the scales since he started walking diet and public therapy. “But I feel better – physically and mentally – and that’s the most important thing. It’s good to meet people outside. “
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