Thousands of people gathered at Tezze sul Brenta sports park in the province of Vicenza for the funeral of Sammy Basso, the 28-year-old biologist suffering from progeria who died last Saturday after receiving an award in Asolo.
They are mostly young people but also all those who had the opportunity to know a man with an unusual personality, a young man of generous culture who wanted to get a degree in molecular biology at the University of Padua, to cure get over his illness. but above all to cure the people with progeria, one rare diseases that cause premature aging, from which 150 people in the world suffer.
The event was animated by the Beggars of Dreams, an association of which Basso was a member and in which he participated to collect money for research.
When it arrived in the external square that connects the church of Tezze sul Brenta (Vicenza) with the municipal stadium, packed with people, the coffin was welcomed with the long applause of thousands of people. Then the testimonies in memory of Sammy Basso, the first of the mayor Luigi Pellanda (he was an ‘honorary city councillor’) and his high school classmates.
This morning will be the President of the Fontana Society, Sammy remembered before he started the event “Rai: a great Italian story”.
“I address a special person who we left a few days ago, Sammy Basso. I rewarded him two years ago for his tireless dedication to research. Sammy was a scholar and someone who was able to create empathy” .
The body slowly crossed the entire town listed in mourning. In the following procession, in addition to the parents Amerigo and Laura, also the Venetian governor Luca Zaia, the license rector, the mayor Tezze with all the mayors of the area. Among the many present at the funeral, two boys from Italy were also suffering from progeria, the same very rare disease as Sammy Basso.
Citizens also mourn in Schio, in the province of Vicenza, where Sammy was born. “He will remain – states a note from the Municipality – an unforgettable example for our city, an extraordinary person who always inspired us to live a full life”.
There are many symbols to remember the young researcher on a day that is a celebration of Sammy’s life. A celebration of colors, as he had planned. Among others, the Minister for Parliamentary Relations was present at the funeral Luca Ciriani.
Parolin: ‘Sammy was a light in the world’
“I got to know Sammy, and I consider it a grace to meet him. He was a light in the world, attentive to current events and ready to devote himself to peace in the belief that even the individual can hope and change to ignite things”. These are the words written by the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Piero Parolin, in a message read during the funeral of biologist Sammy Basso.
Zaia: “We will continue the challenge he sent”
‘He had deep thoughts and I remember that, he hit me straight away the first time I met him at the airport, because he had traveled a lot. Sammy did a lot in his life and wanted to leave a mark even after he died, donating his organs for research. His testimony must be given to young people in schools. His challenge to raise awareness and one day cure progeria, knowing full well that he would never touch it, is a challenge that must be accepted to the end. Venetian governor Luca Zaia today in Tezze sul Brenta, on the edge of Sammy Basso’s funeral.
Farewell my friends: “You had a hard head and a big heart”
“Dear Sammy, you had a hard head, but a big heart. You were and will always be a reference for our group”. This is how his friends remembered Sammy Basso, during the funeral in front of around five thousand people. “You had faults too – said one of your friends – Although we always told you that you had to be careful, not to hurt yourself, you always wanted to dance with us, your poor hips… Then the way you slept, the blankets weren’t supposed to be touching your legs.
“We want – he said – we want to remember you by thinking that one day, thanks to your decision and your studies, a doctor will be able to diagnose a child’s progeria, and finally he will be able to tell parents that there is a cure, and that they will be able to grow healthy and strong.”
Sudden death
Sammy Basso died on the evening of Saturday 5 October after a sudden illness while dining with his family and some friends at Villa Razzolini Loredan in Asolo. There was nothing Suem 118 doctors could do, who tried in vain to revive him.
The team of the Italian Progeria Association (AIPro.Sa.B.) founded by the boy in 2005 to spread information about his disease and to promote research through social media broke up.
The funeral as Sammy had arranged
The 28-year-old biologist with progeria was, in some ways, the “director” of his funeral which is celebrated today in Tezze sul Brenta in the province of Vicenza.
From what his closest friends had to say, Sammy wrote what he wanted, what songs, what entertainment and, the funeral is an additional message of his life that lived every moment with enthusiasm. An animated ceremony by Beggars of Dreams, with music and songs and Sammy’s contribution to this entertainment, almost a show. A big surprise that the biologist from Vicenza wanted to leave as his last memory. Basso announced in 2020 the approval of a drug for progeria to help people suffering from this extremely rare pathology that leads to premature aging.
His last letter
At the public funeral, a writing was read from the same 28-year-old who he closed in an envelope in 2017, his last testimony: “I lived my life happily, without exceptions, and I lived as a simple. man, with happy moments and difficult ones”.
“Toast to me and your health, and be merry” wrote Basso again. “I don’t know why and how I will leave this world, many will surely say that I have lost my battle against the disease”, we read again, “no
listen! There was never a battle to fight, it was just life to be accepted as it was, with its difficulties, but still great, still great, neither reward nor criticism, simply a gift
which God gave me.”
“I didn’t want to die, I wasn’t ready to die, but I was prepared. The only thing that gives me melancholy is not being able to be there to change the world and move on face; remember me praying, remember me drinking a glass of wine, remember me partying.
A few days ago, Sammy won the Paolo Rizzi Journalism Award in Venice in the category “Environment and Society” for “the will power, the spirit of sacrifice, the courage that supports him: a great example to look at with respect and gratitude and try to imitate.”
When interviewed by Tgr Veneto he said: “The message I want to give is the importance of scientific research and to always believe in everything you do.”
The disease, studies and Society
Born on 1 December 1995 in Schio, he showed no signs of the disease at birth. When the little boy was just over two years old, doctors from the Pediatric Department of the University Hospital of Padua suggested Sammy’s parents undergo genetic counseling, which enabled them to diagnose progeria.
He was famous for the many television appearances and interviews he made regarding the activity of the association and his illness, he became famous in Italy after the broadcast of the National Geographic documentary film entitled ‘Sammy’s Journey’, which narrates his journey along Route 66, in United. States, from Chicago to Los Angeles, with his parents and one of his best friends, Riccardo.
Despite his illness, Sammy, after receiving his scientific high school diploma at the Liceo Scientifico St. “J. Da Ponte” in Bassano del Grappa, he graduated in Natural Sciences and Molecular Biology at the University of Padua.
His first novel Antenorea and his passion for Tolkien
Among his many passions, also writing. The fantasy book Antenorea, inspired by Tolkien, was first celebrated. As a guest on What Will It Be, just after his 28th birthday, Sammy described his passion for the writer in this way and invited people to support research: “The fact that I’m still here shows the importance of research “.