Presentation of the book, “I am not a hero” by Roberto Ardizzone at the Anchovy Museum

Friday, Feb. 2 at 5:30 p.m.

It will be presented for the first time on Friday, February 2, at 5:30 p.m., at “The Anchovy Museum of Aspra,” Roberto Ardizzone‘s book entitled: “I am not a hero” memoirs of a firefighter. Bagherian by adoption, as he has lived in Bagheria for more than 27 years, Ardizzone has already published two books.
Synopsis. “I am not a hero:
When you arrive in a place where a misfortune has happened, an accident, where someone needs you, your help, you think only of throwing your heart over the obstacle; not because you are a hero, heroes do not exist, they are invented characters from literature, fictional characters; but rather because you are professionally prepared to do what you must and that is to help people in need, avoiding damage as much as possible, taking great care for your own and others’ safety.
The firefighter is just a man who has been fortunate enough to be able to do a job that has allowed and allows him to make himself useful to the civilized society of which he is a part. A maxim of the Chinese philosopher I. Ching states verbatim:
“To act without making a mistake, two attitudes must be avoided: acting too hastily, and hesitating out of too much fear!” It somewhat reflects what should be the behavior of a firefighter in the face of an event-no silly heroics, but a lot of coolness, lucidity, reasoning, a lot of professionalism, and maybe even a pinch of heart. “I’m Not a Hero” is a narrative of the life of one of many firefighters, a man with all his flaws, weaknesses, and fears; emotions he is forced to deal with every day of his life and from which he does not always manage to emerge unscathed. A hero is one who does his job with dedication and professionalism, and when he succeeds in a sometimes impossible task, then he becomes, in the eyes of others a hero.
Roberto Ardizzone
A former firefighter, currently retired, he has always cultivated a passion for writing and Sicilian dialect poetry, has published: – 2016 “Brevi racconti di uno scrivente,” a collection of short stories; – 2017 “Peppe e Margherita,” a book on the figure of Peppe Schiera, a street artist persecuted by the fascist regime. With a collection of poems in Sicilian dialect by the artist; – 2023, November, published “I am not a hero,” memoirs of a firefighter. He has attended creative writing workshops for many years, such as “Apertura a strappo,” “Parru cu tia” and others, in recent years in particular, the “New Book Club” with which he still often collaborates. His innate sense of irony leads him to say of himself:
<<I am not a writer, but a writer who enjoys writing and acting, which is why I also like to call myself “Almost an artist”>>.
Devoted to theater for several years, he is a member of the theater company “Herald of the Vespers” participating in:
– The Passion of the Christ;
– Santa Rosalia al Capo;
– Orlando and Rinaldo, from puppets to reality
– Our Lady of the Light
– Rita, Saint of the Impossibles
– The Blessed Pauls, which continues with successful repeats including the next one on April 13, 2024.