The 2021 ‘Festa della Toscana’ Against the Death Penalty Also Commemorates an American

Cinema La Compagnia is the venue for several events of the 2021 ‘Festa della Toscana’

The Festa della Toscana will be held to celebrate the values of freedom, rights and hospitality to humanity. Established in 2001, the latest iteration of this festival will take place on November 30, 2021. With a program of public initiatives, the event will focus on the subject of the death penalty, as Tuscany has a long history of rejecting capital punishment after its historic abolishment in 1786 by Grand Duke Leopold II.

The day opens with the visit of Regional Council president Antonio Mazzeo and mayor of Cascina Michelangelo Betti to the grave of Gregory Summers (1958 – 2006) at 9:30 am in Cascina (province of Pisa). An American citizen sentenced to death in Texas, Summers was accused of organizing the murder of his adoptive parents to collect insurance money. He took up painting to try and raise money for a lawyer, which proved difficult as pigments were rarely available. During the last few months of Summers’ life, he sent letters to newspapers across the world to spread support for his appeal to stay alive. This came to the attention of teachers and the principal of a middle school in Navacchio near Pisa. The students wrote to Summers and organized a petition with 700 signatures to stop his execution. This was not enough, however, and the death penalty was carried out. As his last wish, Gregory Summers asked to be buried in Tuscany, the region with the only people who came to his defense.

The program will shift to Florence for the convening, or, seduta solenne of the Tuscan Regional Council in the Cinema La Compagnia (via Cavour 50/r) at 11 am. The opening remarks will be given by senator-for-life and Holocaust survivor Liliana Segre, followed by a speech by Emanuele Russo, the president of Amnesty International Italia. Flag-bearers in historic attire will then march, accompanied by musicians, to Palazzo Vecchio, where Antonio Mazzeo will hand the region of Tuscany’s flag to the mayors in attendence.

A conference titled ‘A Tuscany that Does not Hate’ will also be hosted in Cinema La Compagnia at 3 pm. This will be attended by major advocates for human rights and individuals involved in the press, such as CEO of the Nelson Mandela Foundation Sello Hatang and journalists interested in social justice.

The Festa della Toscana will come to a close at 9 pm at Cinema Stensen (viale don Minzoni 25) with a screening of “There is No Evil” (in Farsi, or Persian, with Italian subtitles). This drama movie, directed by Mohammad Rasoulof, follows four stories focused on the death penalty in Iran and the consequences it has. The movie went on to win the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival and the Sydney Film Prize, which Mohammad could unfortunately not receive due his arrest ordered by the Iranian government because of the film.  (nelson matos)