Giorgio Dedegikas

in Léo Matarasso, Seminario del 6 dicembre 2008, Cedetim, Parigi

It was the autumn of 1986. Athens was celebrating the tenth anniversary of the founding of the International League for the Rights and Liberation of Peoples. It was an important celebration, but at the same time somewhat controversial, because it was organized by a state institution, the Greek Ministry of Public Education.
As part of the collateral activities of the Congress, I had the chance to accompany Léo Matarasso and Giancarla Codrignani to Cape Sunio; the car was driven by Gianna Kurtovik, a well-known Greek criminal lawyer. It was the first time I met Léo and I was immediately struck by his behaviour: simple and kind, sober and immediate. His calm way of conversing, his interest in the things he visited, his observations.
We followed the road to the sea, encountering small beaches and coves in an environment not yet polluted by wild construction. We drove through the bright colors of autumn and the calm and vastness of the distant horizon. We did not go directly to Cape Sunio; we followed a secondary road to the old silver mines. We passed through poor villages with low, scattered houses, while from time to time rusty machines from the last mining period appeared like modern sculptures. Arriving at Làvrio, we passed through the area of the houses of the miners who worked in the Serpieri company, which exploited the mineral deposits since the end of the 19th century. From there, along the old railway line that connected Làvrio to Athens, we saw the ancient theatre leaning against the foot of a high hill. The theatre – elliptical in plan – is carved out of the rock on the right side, while the rest is built of stone and turns its concavity towards the sea. But what is surprising is that, on the left, next to the theatre, is the entrance to one of the galleries! Also on the left, clearly visible, is one of the many mineral laundries, with an ingenious system of recovery and reuse of water. Another entrance is located a little to the right of the theatre, and it is not difficult to spot the artfully constructed ventilation shafts of the galleries as you climb the slope.
After a short visit, we returned to sit on the hard stones of the theatre and watch the sea in the distance, in the calm of the landscape. Then we headed back to Cape Sunio.
On the promontory is the temple of Poseidon/Neptune. All around is the sea and far to the west the mountains of the Peloponnese. On one of the front columns on the right is the name of Lord Byron, written in his own handwriting. In summer, it is wonderful to watch the sunset. But now it is autumn and there are low clouds over the mountains. Everyone is standing and talking in low voices. We stood for a long time watching the colors change from blue to purple, determined to decipher the eloquent silence of the ancient remains.
In a small trattoria, talking about the League’s Congress, commitments and challenges, and without suspecting the upheavals that would soon occur in the world, we ended this unforgettable trip.
Sometimes a strange coincidence occurs: we feel identified with the space and time we have experienced, as if they were a projection of our being. Thus, the memory of shared facts, thoughts and sensations are factors that are inseparable from the personality of those who lived them. This is the magic of some important moments in our lives.

Dedegikas, Giorgio

in:

<strong>Léo Matarasso,
Seminario del 6 dicembre 2008, Cedetim, Parigi
Milano, maggio 2009</strong>