Crotone, honorary citizenship granted to the "Unknown Soldier", Patrick Zaki and prof. Alessio Figalli

Crotone, in the last meeting of the year the City Council resolved to grant three honorary citizenships pursuant to the Municipal Regulation for the Granting of Honorary Citizenship and Civic Merit.

The first was granted to “The Unknown Soldier". In 2021 occurs on centennial of the translation of the Unknown Soldier from Aquileia to the Altare della Patria in Rome. The president of the Anci – National Association of Italian Municipalities, on the proposal of the group of Gold Medals for Military Valour and with the support of all Arms Associations, invited all the municipalities in Italy to join the initiative to provide the honorary citizenship to the Unknown Soldier.

The initiative aims to achieve recognition of the paternity of the soldier who was deliberately unknown for a hundred years and who will become so "citizen of Italy”, falling within the symbolism that belongs to our national identity. The municipal administration repudiating every totalitarianism and each war consider the Unknown Soldier symbol of the victims of all armed conflicts and a warning to consciences not to repeat the mistakes of the past, also recalling the values of our Constitution andlove di Homeland and therefore the granting of honorary citizenship was decided.

The second is granted to Patrick Zaki. Last June the Town Council approved the motion to grant honorary citizenship to Patrick George Zaki researcher ofUniversity of Bologna, involved in important initiatives in favor of human rights, from February 7 inmate in Egypt, arrested in the absence of apparent reasons, only recently set free and in awaiting trial.

By perfecting, pursuant to the Municipal Regulation, the granting of honorary citizenship, the Council in addition to expressing nearness  to Patrick Zaki intends to send a signal of solidarity  towards all those who, in many nations with dictatorial and anti-democratic governments, they come unjustly detainees e condemned as they are even simply suspected of being part of associations and movements that fight for the civil and political rights.

The third honorary citizenship was granted to Prof. Alessio Figalli. In August 2018 after 44 years it was awarded to an Italian, prof. Alessio Figalli, the “Fields Medal", The"Nobel Prize in Mathematics”, the highest global recognition in the sector. The previous City Council had approved the proposal to the Council to grant honorary citizenship.

Il Town Council deemed it necessary to perfect the provision by deciding on the granting of honorary citizenship, considering that the Story of Crotone, through Pythagoras which was its precursor, is strongly linked to mathematical sciences and that the city where Pythagoras himself founded his school, where mathematics was born, welcomes as its "fellow citizen" a scholar who has given so much to this discipline.