Palmira Barchetta Vice Mayor of Gubbio and Alderman for Culture

The encounter between the town of Gubbio and Lux Vide, for the filming of the TV series "Don Matteo", was characterized from the beginning by an emotional attachment, passionate and sincere: the town opened up to them, she gave and worked so everything could go smoothly for "Don Matteo".
A question of feeling one could say, as the song says. Almost by instinct, the real stories and those invented of a television crew were mixed together with those of the citizens of Gubbio. To what do we owe this intertwining of lives? To the hospitality that is a hallmark of our people? To the attraction of the stories told with simplicity and humanity? To actors and actresses rich with communicative skills and interested in good relations, listening to and being listened to by the town? A bit of all these things, I think, contributed to the deep bond between Gubbio and "Don Matteo", a bond that most likely communicated enthusiasm that contributed to the great success of the series. The town gave but also received much in many areas: human, cultural, promotional, and therefore social and economic development. Special thanks must go to Terence Hill, who with his generosity and accessibility has contributed his image to an information campaign for our town's recycling efforts, and with his own lifestyle and tastes has motivated our citizens. And there were other actors and actresses who got involved in social or cultural initiatives, improving relations. Even the show that today we are inaugurating, is the product from the professional and promotional perspective, of a desire to have the TV series become a part of the collective memories and human and cultural patrimony of our territory.
And the book by Alessandra Caneva that is being presented today is the natural response to a necessity. As Terence Hill says in the preface to the book, the published stories serve to create a pause in our daily lives so we can take some time to dedicate to ourselves.
Television doesn't give us that opportunity, entering in our homes but not letting us respond to it. But a book does, and especially this book in particular, allows the reader, via the adventures of Don Matteo, to use that time to reflect, as the author says, on the bigger themes concerning our human existence.
And this reflection is culturally and socially necessary.

Palmira Barchetta