Speaking on the 41st anniversary of the death of 71-year-old rough sleeper Modesta Valenti at Termini station, Marco Impagliazzo said, “in our city there are still too many deaths”.
“And how many people live in the streets when there are thousands of empty houses or unused properties!”
A day and a rail track have been named after Valenti, a Trieste-born woman with psychiatric issues who froze to death after ambulance crews refused to take her due to her dirty and smelly condition, on January 31, 1983.
An Italian neopunk band, the Gang, has dedicated a song to her, Via Modesta Valenti, after the ‘pretend’ Roman street where the homeless can register their address for social services.
Most of Rome’s rough sleepers still gather at Termini, with the majority now being migrants with mental issues.
ANSA
