As the parish priest of a
multi-ethnic corner of the city of Turin, Don Gallo has been involved in
trying to dispel prejudices and close the gaps between the communities. In
fact, he has worked tirelessly since 1992 to build bridges in the suburb of San
Salvario.
Many immigrants live in San
Salvario, and this has made the area ‘infamous’ in the eyes of the Italian
community - especially during the 1990’s when immigration towards Italy from
Africa and the Balkans transformed the dynamics of the city. The front pages of
the newspapers were often taken up with tales of drugs, violence and
prostitution on the streets of San Salvario. Turin’s residents became alarmed.
This was the situation Don Gallo was plunged into when he was proclaimed the
parish priest.
By September 1995, the
tension among the various communities had reached an all time high. The word
‘immigrant’ came to be associated with criminality and prostitution. The
corruption of the word led to a corruption of relations between the
communities. At this point, all the Catholic priests came together to discuss
how to improve the situation and Don Gallo was invited to write a report about
his parish. To make sure his analysis was as close as possible to the truth he
spoke to the Imam and the Rabbi to have their input too. That was the beginning
of a very fruitful collaboration which has continued in various forms to this
day.
Don Gallo also helped to
get a closed down theatre and cinema reopened - the Teatro Baretti. This space
has been used for many of those encounters mentioned above, as well as being
used as a multi-cultural center for meetings, debates and theatre groups.
He has endeavored to
rebuild the reputation of the area, and is a familiar figure on the streets,
but also on television and radio talk shows, speaking out about the problems
and advocating integration and inclusion. Don Gallo spent 12 years in Kenya
founding a mission there and is the author of a book entitled “San Salvario –
un pezzo d’Africa” – S. Salvario – a piece of Africa.
LB 17/08/2004