Arci Caccia: the first “Gianni Pericoli” scholarship awarded to the students of Chianciano Terme, an exciting day.
The first scholarship established in memory of Gianni Pericoli, historian and authoritative manager of the Arci Caccia di Chianciano Terme and of the Provincial Federation of Siena, who tragically died a year ago due to a road accident returning from the capture of hares in the repopulation area, was awarded : six classes involved (the third and fourth of the “De Amicis” and “Mencarelli” complexes) for a total of about one hundred students; € 600 made available by the Circolo Arci Caccia di Chianciano for the scholarship, 24 hours of classroom lessons, an outing on the occasion of the catches in the ZRC of Chianciano.
The scholarship, which was to be destined for the most deserving pupils, was eventually assigned ex aequo to the classes given the commitment and overall quality of the works produced by the students who advised us to give collegial recognition. In the presence of Gianni's family, his wife and sisters, the event took place in the suggestive scenery of the thermal baths, packed with children from the school complexes of the spa town accompanied by teachers and many parents.
The importance of the initiative was certified, first and foremost, by the presence of the Mayor, Gabriella Ferranti, by the Headmaster, Dr. Maddalena Montemurro, as well as by the entire management team of the Association, represented by the President of the Circolo di Chianciano, Luca Meniconi, by the President of the Provincial Federation of Siena, Alessandro Ferretti and by the Regional President, Fabio Lupi.
The importance of an event that has a double value was underlined by all those present: the memory of a person who had a strong impact on the life of the Chianciano community, in its many areas of commitment, from hunting to politics. , from the institutional to the professional one and to demonstrate how hunting, understood as a passion inspired by ethics and the pursuit of general interests, is a commitment to be transmitted to future generations, from which they can learn love for nature, a greater awareness of the life of animal species and a sensitivity that frees itself from certain “Disney” stereotypes typical of the urban and consumerist culture of today's reality.
Obviously the choice to become hunters will be completely subjective and matured in full freedom; the spirit with which the Arci Caccia has instituted this award is certainly not to train new followers, but rather to offer school children a more complex and certainly less trivial vision of reality than the caricatures that often the mass media they propose hunting and hunters to the citizens.
The words of President Ferretti were very intense: “from a tragedy like that of Gianni's death, Arci Caccia has experienced one of the most important and significant days in its history”. “We didn't think of an initiative like this, said the Regional President Fabio Lupi, in a rhetorical and retrospective key, Gianni would not have allowed it. We have designed it to face the challenges of the future with more courage and determination ”.
The word finally passed to the real protagonists of the day, the children. Dr. Leonardo Bertocci, wildlife technician of the Tuscan Arci Caccia, as well as tireless and passionate "teacher", read some elaborate writings (the graphic productions were exhibited in the Terme room) in which the students meticulously described the lessons in class and the excursion, of which, in addition to the possibility of having seen many animals up close, the breakfast prepared by the volunteers of the Arci Caccia di Chianciano was much appreciated.
In some cases the pupils did their utmost in fantasy stories built on the notions learned during the project, giving life to really interesting stories, underlined by the consent of the participants in the day, such as the story of the wild boar Guglielmo and the Piccina Piccium flea. An exciting day that we will repeat for years to come.
22 February 2013
Arch Hunting