Franco Di Mare is with him during his illness. His “women”: his daughter Stella, whom he adopted in Kosovo, his sisters, and his partner, Julia. “I was running alone”

“I have a beautiful life, you know? I am with the people I love.” Despite everything, Franco Di Mare He considers himself a lucky man. Because he did the job he dreamed of. And because, in the good times and now, in the toughest times, His loved ones, family members and true friends were always by his sideTo whom the 68-year-old former correspondent and presenter of Al-Rai TV dedicated the last chapter of his book “Le parole per dirlo” (Sem-Feltrinelli), a small existential dictionary (“My will”), which he defined in the interview with courier Which he revealed he had A very aggressive tumor, mesothelioma).

In the beautiful Roman house off Via Cassia, surrounded by greenery, I am with him The two younger sisters (Franco is the eldest son of a close-knit Neapolitan family.)

Eco LuciaAnd he saw: “The wise, the first square, always generous with good advice (never followed).”
H Sarah“The sophisticated and cultured reader, who takes a Zen look at the world. “If it weren't for his stubborn stubbornness in teaching me the sleeping spell, 'Nam Myoho Renge Kyu.'”

And then there Luigi, known as Gino“She comforted me and protected me, even though I was older (and in Naples, these things are important).”

For them (and for those lucky enough to be invited to dinner), Franco prepares a perfect eggplant parmigianaAs did Mother Maria. “You don't have to eat it right away, it has to rest, so it gets better.”

There is a special place in his heart To his daughter Stella, who is now thirty years old: “The person who gave meaning and purpose to my entire life.” De Marie adopted her in Kosovo when she was very young, took her from an orphanage and took her on a Red Cross flight to Italy. In 2015, Rayono's drama “The Angel of Sarajevo” was filmed about their touching story with Beppe Fiorello, loosely inspired by the journalist's novel “Don't Ask Why”. “There is a Stella behind every line I wrote. She is the one who paved and saved the path of my life. Now, every time I watch her walk freely through the world, I am moved.”

For eight years, he also entered Franco Di Mare's life Giulia Berdini, 33, his partner, is beautiful and kind. “My love, the woman who had the strength to carry me even when I couldn’t carry myself.” They met at the RAI headquarters in Saxa Rubra, between chatting and having coffee. Julia was the catering manager for the indoor bar. Franco, who was previously married to Alessandra, had already been divorced for a few years. Julia brightens his days. “He struck me with his cheerful outlook on life that I feared had been lost. Being bored next to her was absolutely not possible.”

One day, Julia lied to him: “I found this abandoned dog in the street, and it was in the trash, and I couldn’t leave it there.” That wasn't true, I went to get it from the trash. A cute male Chihuahua named Lily (“yeah, I know, he has a girl's name, but we don't care”) is partying in hopes of getting some biscuits and a scratch on his head. A lie that will soon be forgiven: «Today and night are the sugar with which we spice our days». Last summer, when Franco's health conditions allowed thisThey all went to Puglia, to their brother Gino's house.

He does not lack dear friends. There are certainly some in the smaller circle Pietro Raciella and Paola Milic, De Mare's Historical Authors, a thirty-year partnership. “Animators of great cooking evenings where you can bite each other while discussing politics and current affairs.”

Rosa Anna Pastore «My right arm“And sometimes evil, when I was director of Rai3.”

H Jean-Pierre Al-Quza – who is also his agent – “for which I have difficulty finding a comprehensive definition: available people do not share what our friendship was and is, A human and professional partnership is difficult to find».

They were all having dinner together, at De Marie's house, on Sunday as well After the television interview conducted by Fabio Fazio. Because, as he writes almost at the end of the book, “I, who had always run alone, now walked with othersFor doctors, for patients, for friends, for my family. Honestly, I can't say if I'll get far, but it doesn't matter. I learned that the most important part of the journey is #2It is not the finish line but the path».

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