Bologna, September 12, 2026 – “I am not interested in controversies: I consider the reasons for the award absolutely valid and I confirm them.” Mayor Valentina Cuppi goes straight ahead: Marzabotto will grant honorary citizenship to Francesca Albanese, United Nations special rapporteur in occupied Palestine. The official ceremony for the honor is scheduled for September 23 at the Teatro Comunale (at 8:30 PM), before the presentation of ‘The Light of Awakening’, Albanese’s latest book.
It hardly matters, in short, if the same former mayor of Marzabotto Andrea De Maria (now a Pd deputy) had asked the Municipality of Bologna to revoke the same recognition, although today he prefers not to comment on the parallel case in the Apennines. Or if the same Municipality led by Matteo Lepore has not yet scheduled the citizenship award, despite the act never having been revoked by the City Council, which in fact had rejected the request for annulment. Even under the Towers, center-left and Pd councilors had confessed to regretting having voted for the proposal, also speaking of “a stopped process” before the denial by the Council, but no one wanted to upset the balance.
In the Mountains, however, the ceremony will take place: going through the reasons, the City Council recognizes “the clarity and rigor of Albanese’s analyses,” who has documented “systematically the violations of international law by the State of Israel, particularly in the Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank.” And again: “The activity carried out as United Nations special rapporteur represents an example of high institutional and civil value, which deserves support and recognition from institutions at every level, as it is aimed at defending international law.”
Not only that, because according to the act “Marzabotto and Monte Sole have the responsibility to ensure that the daily work for memory translates into commitment to counter every violation of human rights and the recurrence of actions exterminating civilians.” Then some relevant publications are cited and the sanctions requested by Trump’s United States are condemned.
And Marzabotto ultimately anticipates Bologna. Particularly targeted were Albanese’s statements regarding the clashes and urban guerrilla in Turin, in November, immediately after the approval of the two honorary citizenships, which took place practically three days apart. After the assault on the Turin editorial office of La Stampa, Albanese spoke of “a warning to journalists,” raising quite a few controversies throughout the country.
The same recognition, for example, was canceled in December in Florence: despite a process already in an advanced phase, the Municipality led by Sara Funaro decided to revoke the citizenship. There are numerous statements by the UN rapporteur that have sparked controversies and reactions, such as when in Reggio Emilia Mayor Marco Massari was overwhelmed by boos for asking for the release of Israeli hostages as well as Palestinian ones, also receiving criticism from Albanese (who later apologized).
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