Story #17 - Alfio (and Fiocco)
Alfio Scandurra, Magredi, Pordenone (Italy)
A sad and difficult story but dense with legacy. I met Alfio in June 2021 and waited before posting this story as I promised him I would have loved to dig more into his choices and life. Tree climber, educator and writer, his life changed when he started slowing down, literally.
I was intrigued by the story of a rugby team captain who decides to embrace a slow life in nature in the company of Fiocco, a donkey. He started travelling, mainly in the North East of Italy, to experience nature and raise awareness among children (but also adults) on the importance of all we have around us.
A few days ago, I learned of his passing, at the age, of 52, because of an incurable disease. I returned to our conversation on an evening in Magredi, "slime land", a dry and poor-of-water land in the West of the Friuli region, North East of Italy.
He was there with Fiocco, his donkey and, as he told me, his best friend and mentor.
Thanks to Fiocco, Alfio learned to slow down.
A donkey, by definition, forces you to slow down and take a different pace. Alfio learned to observe, relax, reflect, and be grateful for all the small things around him.
Alfio and Fiocco
He was convinced that beauty is typical of nature. Still, those who enjoy it the most are the only people who learn to look at it and contemplate its simplicity.
“Let us fill with gratitude and let the superfluous, material and mental, go. Look at a leaf, a drop of water, a breath of fresh air: everything is in nature. Even when you take a walk in the mountain, do not rush, but observe and think. It will help value your ordinary
(Alfio)
In an interview he gave to a local magazine Alfio mentioned he was used to camp in the Magredi area, by the fire, on cold winter evenings. He remembered how this land was part of the 'Balkans route', where many Syrian escaped from their country through Serbia and Montenegro with the hope to get a new life in estern Europe.
Thinking at those refugees, I reflect on how many people complain about useless things when many people, in many parts of the world, are still without a house. Some people don't even know what to eat, and we complain because maybe we didn't get a nice Christmas gift or found traffic to get home. You have to learn to be grateful for everything!"
He wanted to share his attitude with children. The story of the man and the donkey, Alfio and Fiocco, started spreading in the region. He was invited to schools, events, and conferences and started organising weekend ateliers for children.
For the future
“I want to teach children that we must learn to live in relation to the environment, hear the sound, observe and feel that we are part of nature.
When we get slower, everything gains a better taste.”
Alfio's legacy is not just a return to nature. It is an approach to life where we please ourselves, we focus on the essentials and stay grateful while rejecting anxiety for the future. Serendipity.
Rest in peace, Alfio. I hope that many of the children you told me about more than one year ago can now have a different approach to life. Keep on strolling, Fiocco will continue his journey with new friends.
STORIES of HOPE. Simple stories of ordinary people that carry a message of hope, a fragment of future. I have been meeting incredible people, that transmit energy, passion, engagement. I talk to them and try to find their message of hope.
