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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| Italian town remembers man with no name | Italian town remembers man with no name |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| He had curly black hair and wore size 42 shoes. He was of medium build and was wearing a green checked jacket when a train slammed into him at about 2pm on a Sunday, ending his life on a rainy autumn day in 1997. | He had curly black hair and wore size 42 shoes. He was of medium build and was wearing a green checked jacket when a train slammed into him at about 2pm on a Sunday, ending his life on a rainy autumn day in 1997. |
| That much – and no more – is known for certain about a man who died near the town of Roseto degli Abruzzi on the line that runs from Ancona to Pescara down Italy's Adriatic coast. Yet, 15 years later – thanks to a local man's benevolent obsession – the man with no name is still being remembered. | That much – and no more – is known for certain about a man who died near the town of Roseto degli Abruzzi on the line that runs from Ancona to Pescara down Italy's Adriatic coast. Yet, 15 years later – thanks to a local man's benevolent obsession – the man with no name is still being remembered. |
| Last Friday, on the anniversary of his death, a mass was held with prayers for his soul in a church in Roseto. And in the days leading up to the service, posters – paid for by a local firm – were put up around the town inviting people to attend. | Last Friday, on the anniversary of his death, a mass was held with prayers for his soul in a church in Roseto. And in the days leading up to the service, posters – paid for by a local firm – were put up around the town inviting people to attend. |
| "It was our way of remembering him and of making him feel less alone," 68-year-old Ciro Fattore, a retired motorway catering worker, told the Guardian. | "It was our way of remembering him and of making him feel less alone," 68-year-old Ciro Fattore, a retired motorway catering worker, told the Guardian. |
| To this day, no one knows whether the dead man – police thought he was in his mid-30s – was killed by accident or committed suicide. The daily Corriere della Sera reported that all they found in his wallet was a comb and a medallion of Our Lady of Loreto. | To this day, no one knows whether the dead man – police thought he was in his mid-30s – was killed by accident or committed suicide. The daily Corriere della Sera reported that all they found in his wallet was a comb and a medallion of Our Lady of Loreto. |
| "They did everything possible to find out who he was – both the railway police and prosecutors' office," said Giuseppe Neri, the cemetery warden who was on duty when they brought in the body. | "They did everything possible to find out who he was – both the railway police and prosecutors' office," said Giuseppe Neri, the cemetery warden who was on duty when they brought in the body. |
| For a while it was thought he might be a man who had gone missing from his home in Pescara. But when relatives saw the body they knew it had to be that of someone else. | For a while it was thought he might be a man who had gone missing from his home in Pescara. But when relatives saw the body they knew it had to be that of someone else. |
| So eventually the man who died on the tracks was placed in a niche in a corner of the cemetery as anonymous as he was. Which is when he came to the attention of Fattore. | So eventually the man who died on the tracks was placed in a niche in a corner of the cemetery as anonymous as he was. Which is when he came to the attention of Fattore. |
| "I used to go to the cemetery with a neighbour who had been widowed," he said. Distressed by the thought that there was no one to look after the unknown man's tomb, Fattore and Neri set about changing matters. | "I used to go to the cemetery with a neighbour who had been widowed," he said. Distressed by the thought that there was no one to look after the unknown man's tomb, Fattore and Neri set about changing matters. |
| "Ciro had a plaque made," Neri said. "I found the marble. He supplied a vase. Then we put in a light and a cross." | "Ciro had a plaque made," Neri said. "I found the marble. He supplied a vase. Then we put in a light and a cross." |
| Ever since, Fattore has made it his business to see that the niche has a bunch of fresh flowers. | Ever since, Fattore has made it his business to see that the niche has a bunch of fresh flowers. |
| "I take them along myself, every week," he said. | "I take them along myself, every week," he said. |
| A theory did the rounds that the dead man was an immigrant and vagrant. But, Neri said, there was nothing to support it: his clothes were of good quality and they were not particularly worn. | A theory did the rounds that the dead man was an immigrant and vagrant. But, Neri said, there was nothing to support it: his clothes were of good quality and they were not particularly worn. |
| Who he was may never be known. But, though he may never get a name, he has unquestionably acquired an identity – as material evidence of what Fattore had inscribed on the plaque: "There is always a benefactor thinking of you". | Who he was may never be known. But, though he may never get a name, he has unquestionably acquired an identity – as material evidence of what Fattore had inscribed on the plaque: "There is always a benefactor thinking of you". |
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