The presentation of “Il Grande Scourge”, a book on Covid, was held in Brescia

On Tuesday 30 June 2020 - at 18,30 pm - in Brescia, at the "Viridarium" of the Santa Giulia Museum, the presentation of Massimo Tedeschi's volume will take place "The great scourge. Covid-19 in Bergamo and Brescia”, published by Scholé. The initiative, promoted by various cultural entities - Cooperativa Cattolica Democratica di Cultura, Fondazione Brescia Musei, Scholé - and by the Municipality of Brescia, will see the participation - together with the author - of the mayor of Bergamo Giorgio Gori and of Brescia Emilio Del Bono, of the president of the Brescia Medical Association Ottavio Di Stefano. In implementation of the rules on social distancing, to participate it is necessary to confirm the number 030.2977833/34. In case of bad weather the event will be held in the San Barnaba Auditorium (Corso Magenta 44). Bergamo and Brescia are the territories that, in Italy, have paid the highest price for Covid-19. Between the end of February and May 2020, two of the most economically dynamic and most advanced provinces in terms of hospital quality withstood the frightening impact of a virus which in this area and in just a few weeks saw more victims than the entire Second World War and unimaginable harrowing scenes. From the beginning Massimo Tedeschi, journalist and essayist, became a chronicler and interpreter of this dramatic period. Journalist and essayist, former editor-in-chief of the "Corriere della Sera" and responsible for the Brescia section of the newspaper, he collected his work in the pages of "The great scourge. Covd-19 in Bergamo and Brescia” ( Scholé, pp. 327, euro 19,90) reconstructing the events of the epidemic with direct testimonies, interviews, inspections, personal dialogues, but also drawing on the work of colleagues from the press, radio, TV, visiting sites, browsing social networks, etc. All this to offer a path, a key to understanding and a story that is already history. From the plurality of voices and the vast amount of data emerge initial underestimations, errors, chain underestimations, organizational gaps, strategic oversights that have expanded the effects of the epidemic. From the reconstruction offered by “The great scourge” At the same time, the technical-scientific capacity of the local hospitals, the dedication of the healthcare personnel, the widespread generosity and the capacity for social reorganization with which Bergamo and Brescia responded to the tragedy emerge. The largely underestimated initial alarm, the ineffectiveness of the regional epidemic plan, the diversity of the response models of Lombardy and Veneto, but also the "closure" of this second region to patients coming from others, the mobilization of the hospitals of Brescia and Bergamo and the debacle of local medicine, the underestimation of the victims and the "silent massacre" in the RSAs, the failure to create a "red zone" in Bassa Valseriana and the setting up of the field hospital at the Bergamo Fair, the choices of the local administrations and the gestures of the two bishops, are just some of the themes addressed by the book and brought together in a pressing story that pushes us to reflect, beyond the narrative. The book is constructed in three parts. The first, of an introductory nature, offers a summary history of the pandemic in eastern Lombardy and indicates the future topics of discussion today; the second consists of interviews that allow you to listen to the voices and analyzes of some of the protagonists: the two mayors Giorgio Gori and Emilio Del Bono; the director of the Critical Area Emergency Department of the Papa Giovanni hospital, Luca Lorini, and the director of the Infectious Diseases Operational Unit at the Spedali Civili, Francesco Castelli; the president of the Brescia Doctors' Association Ottavio Di Stefano and the president of the Nurses' Association Stefania Pace; the bishops at the helm of the two dioceses, Pierantonio Tremolada and Francesco Beschi; the third is in fact a logbook which with a drumming rhythm allows you to relive the overlapping of events, deaths, appeals, signs of hope in Bergamo and Brescia. The Great Scourge delivers to the collective memory the memory of an enormous tragedy, but also the interpretative keys to understand what happened and why. An example of how quality journalism can offer, live, pages of historical news and passion. civil.