Bologna, June 6, 2026 – Solidarity unites. Often, even people geographically distant from each other. This is what the story of Stefan Winkler, a journalist at Kleine Zetung, an important Austrian daily newspaper, and his relationship with Bologna teaches.
It all began in 2021: after the surprising victory of the communists in the municipal elections of Graz, a city in southern Austria, Winkler went to Bologna, a city where his wife had studied for a year, with the intention of creating a reportage.
The journalist’s arrival under the Two Towers
“I was intrigued by the fact that this Italian city had been impeccably governed by communists for half a century – says Winkler –. I wanted to show that communists don’t eat children,” he jokes.
Once he arrived in Bologna, the journalist was struck by its atmosphere, which he defines as “unique, because here intellectual life, culture, politics, business acumen, and savoir-faire merge perfectly”.
“Le Cucine Popolari, a true example of solidarity”
During his stay, he got to know several city organizations, and was struck by Roberto Morgantini, founder of Le Cucine Popolari, with whom he formed a friendship. What impressed Winkler most about Morgantini’s association is “the humanity behind the reality of Le Cucine Popolari”, a true example of solidarity.
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Le Cucine Popolari is in fact a Bolognese volunteer association founded in 2014 with the aim of creating a place in every neighborhood of the city where the most needy can receive a hot meal.
The volunteering experience of his twenty-year-old son Kaspar
Once returned to Austria, Winkler shared this experience with his family and, a few years later, his son Kaspar, now 20 years old, expressed the desire, after finishing high school and completing his Civil Service at Caritas in Austria, to do a volunteering experience at Le Cucine Popolari, while waiting to continue his studies. Winkler then contacted Morgantini, and Kaspar began this three-month experience, which ended last Friday.
“I was warmly welcomed and discovered an extraordinary type of solidarity – the boy enthusiastically emphasizes –. As they say at Le Cucine: doing good, does you good”.
