Bologna, September 6, 2026 – Ceremony for the 27th edition of the European Day of Jewish culture in the presence of Minister Matteo Piantedosi, in the front row at the synagogue on via Finzi, in the heart of downtown Bologna.
It begins with a tribute to Francesco Guccini, ‘Shomer Ma Mi-Ilailah’ – which in Hebrew means ‘Sentinel, how much of the night remains? -, exactly one month after his passing.
The Maestro had a very intense relationship with the Jewish community, as seen from what was his 1983 album.
This 27th day is dedicated to love.
The greeting from Daniele De Paz, president of the Jewish Community of Bologna: “We wanted to open with a tribute to Guccini, deeply connected in a relationship of love with the city of Bologna. How much of the night remains? We move forward with this spirit, seeking the light even when shadows seem to prevail.”
Present were the mayor of Bologna Matteo Lepore, the FdI group leader in the Chamber Galeazzo Bignami, Senator Pierferdinando Casini, and all authorities and law enforcement. All wore the kippah, the religious head covering.
Piantedosi: “New forms of hatred in public language, no community can stand on distrust”
“Among the communities that contribute to the identity of the city, there is the Jewish one, through music, art, memory. In public language today, however, we hear new forms of hatred. We remember today that no community can stand only on distrust,” says Minister Piantedosi. A culture, the Jewish one, “that has been able to speak to the whole community. Protecting the Jewish community means protecting a part of ourselves. The history of Europe cannot be told without the history of the Jews in Europe. Today a concrete opportunity for meeting is created,” he continues.
Ensuring the security of Jewish communities and places of worship “has always been a priority for the government especially after October 7. Surveillance measures have been strengthened. No criticism of government decisions can turn into hostility towards citizens as such and can never be a justification for hatred and discrimination.”
For people to freely express their culture “it is essential that alongside institutions there are the community, schools, associations. Thanks to all of you and to those who have chosen to be here today,” concludes the minister.
Lepore: “Love must be a political commitment”
“For us it is important to be among the supporters of this day, because Emilia-Romagna is crossed by a very significant number of citizens in the territory, a territory made up of minorities and coexistences not always easy. The chosen theme, love, I believe is very fitting – says Mayor Lepore –. Not a consolatory choice, because love as De Paz told us is not a private feeling, but a responsibility, a principle with public consequences. These days are also an opportunity for dialogue between different religions. Many moments in our history have changed the way of redesigning the spaces of the city. ‘Whoever saves one life is as if they saved the whole world,’ whoever it may be. But this principle today is tested like never before. We ask ourselves if all lives are worth the same, or if one is worth less because it is on the other side of a border, in a uniform. Whoever chooses love, instead, chooses to stand unambiguously on the opposite side of this idea. And above all does so in words, with words. We celebrate this day while antisemitism in Italy has returned to grow, a language that begins again to describe a minority as less legitimate, less welcome. For this reason love must be a political commitment: a city that studies minorities in schools, that loves its minorities. The people of Bologna are invited to enter: knowing is already a first step towards love.”
Livia Ottolenghi: “Spaces for expression for Jews are shrinking”
“We live in a moment in which the spaces for expression for Jews and Judaism, for Israel and Israelis are shrinking, not always through explicit bans. There is a silent exclusion, a growing difficulty in finding institutions, academies, artists, to calmly welcome initiatives where Jewish voices are present for fear of protests,” says Livia Ottolenghi, president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities. “It is a suffering felt especially among young people, which we cannot ignore.” “A democracy – she added – also lives from the ability to protect spaces for dialogue even when it becomes difficult.”
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