Sergio Mattarella, President of the Republic, paid an official visit to Pantelleria to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the founding of Sicily's first National Park. The Head of State was greeted with affection from inhabitants as well as the top local and national officials, including the Minister of the Environment, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, and Mayor Fabrizio D'Ancona. He stressed the island's significant importance to the Republic's stability.
In his speech at the Airport Detachment Hangar, Mattarella recounted his personal relationship to the island, which he first visited nearly seventy years ago, quoting Gabriel García Márquez with an ironic tone. The President underscored that protected natural areas must not merely preserve the past as a snapshot, but also function as educational, cultural, and scientific laboratories for future generations.
After visiting the Punta Spadillo Geonaturalistic Museum and the Elephant Arch, the Head of State met with the people in Piazza Cavour, paying special attention to the children present. The Park's tenth anniversary renews the institutions' commitment to safeguarding a heritage that combines history and nature in a unique way, symbolizing the Mediterranean's tremendous importance.