Federazione dei Comunisti Anarchici
Final send-off for Franco Salomone
A report of the funeral of FdCA member, Franco Salomone
On Thursday 27 March the funeral of our comrade Franco Salomone was held in Savona. Many workers and comrades were in attendance: colleagues and comrades in struggle from his union, old libertarian communist comrades from Liguria and Lombardy, comrades from the Irish Workers Solidarity Movement who are currently in Italy, the Circolo FAI from Savona, the Savona branch of the USI, comrades from Lotta Comunista and, of course, the flags and comrades of the FdCA. An emotional and compact funeral cortege of around 80 people, marched through the streets of Savona, with a pause outside the offices of the local trades council where we were greeted by the CGIL flag at half mast.
Eulogies were delivered by Pippo Giudice, secretary of the Savona CGIL in the 1970s, Beppe Oldani on behalf of the FdCA national Secretariat and the Cremona anarchist communist, Virgilio Caletti.
The image painted of Franco in words was of a “syndicalist and revolutionary, a pragmatic comrade who was uninterested in ideologized struggle, a promoter of well-defined, achievable objectives in all his battles; an “internationalist militant and an anti-fascist”, a “reference point in the political growth of so many comrades”. His battles in defence of workers’ rights, public healthcare and the development of organized class-struggle anarchism were also remembered.
Franco’s body was cremated at Savona cemetery and his ashes deposited in the family tomb.
Local newspapers (“Il Secolo XIX” and “La Stampa”) also remembered Franco Salomone, quoting the Savona CGIL and FdCA press releases in their reports.
The Federazione dei Comunisti Anarchici wishes to thank all those comrades who participated and above all the people who looked after Franco with great affection and dedication through the final years of his life (Pina, Marta, Fulmen and Christian).
We also send our thanks to those comrades who sent messages of condolence from Molfetta, Bisceglie, Bari, Lucca, Asti and Cremona.