The last farewell to Marco Borradori

The funeral procession starts

The cortege started slowly from the Cornaredo parking lot, riverside, towards the stadium. Present were the relatives and the principal authorities. The coffin, once inside the stadium, will be led to the center of the field. Then the ceremony will begin. Inside the stadium, on the big screen, images of the short procession are shown. On the car, wreaths of flowers. Behind the family, the state councilors and municipalities. In front the drums.#

The casket makes its entrance in Cornaredo

Banners lined up on the athletic track, emotions and great sorrow for the entrance of the coffin at the stadium. Everybody stood in religious silence.

Cassis: «Life was all ahead of us».

First to speak is Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis: «Honorable Mr. Mayor, dear Marco. It is the moment of farewell. We could never have imagined this when we went to high school, only a few steps from here, in your city. Life was all ahead, all to be lived. We were bursting with zest from every pore. We were launched into an adventure that seemed endless. Moments of cheerful lightness. The effervescence of age. At the end of the seventies in Lugano you breathed the air of a sugar-coated 1968, almost suburban. Then politics, defined as «an infatuation» but also «a falling in love». A «surge of passion», like «you’ve had so many in your life». No sooner said than done «and you found yourself in Bern, in parliament». «You were always there, for anyone, with courtesy and availability,« Cassis recalls. «We here, today, open-mouthed, still in disbelief. The beauty of your person had well hidden the fragility of living. You left while you were doing what you loved, and while the people of Ticino loved what you were doing. If you were here, and I believe you are here with us, you would say that this is part of life. With a disarming smile. To the family, friends and all Ticinese I would like to express my sincere condolences also on behalf of the Federal Council. Dear Marco, we will miss you».

Gobbi: «He was a good cop».

Following Cassis comes Norman Gobbi, State Councilor: «I have shared all the years of my political career with Marco. For a young man who was entering politics, not only as a member of the League of Ticino, Marco represented a model and a uniqueness. There was no one like him. Thanks to his experience, my integration in the cantonal executive was easier. We were friends, we were colleagues. Even different, starting with our musical tastes: Marco varied from classical music to the music of Pooh. He was a 100% public man, yet capable of protecting his most intimate and private sphere. That of personal affection. In government, he played the good cop, I played the bad cop. And we worked well. And again: «Marco’s approach to the quality of human relations has carried him through his political career. And this way of being and doing things has translated into tangible results».

The «Swan» of the OSI

The Orchestra of Italian Switzerland, much loved by Marco Borradori, now presents a musical interlude. It is The Swan by Camille Saint-Saëns.

Foletti: «I wish it was a normal Tuesday»

«Our mayor has left us and we are still not over it, or maybe we do not wish to,« says Lugano’s deputy mayor Michele Foletti. «I wish it was a normal Tuesday, I wish I was deep, maybe even submerged, in the financial folders. One thing consoles me and gives me strength. The fact that so many of you have shown your affection to Marco, leaving a flower or a memory at Palazzo Civico, passing by the funeral home, sending hundreds and thousands of messages on the virtual notice board, from Ticino and abroad. I thank you wholeheartedly on behalf of the city of Lugano, which I have the honor to represent». Then, in tears, Foletti remembers the first years of the League: «Marco has been a companion of a crazy adventure that started many years ago. We explored new territories and climbed steep peaks and we got here together. Now my adventure continues without him, but I’m convinced that with the help of all of you Lugano will have a bright future because the strength of this city are its citizens. I ask you, in the next days and months, when the emotion will be softened, to stay close to us».

The speech of Andrea Leoni

Speaking on behalf of friends and family, journalist Andrea Leoni brings his message of condolence. «When I heard that there was nothing more to do I started to wander around the center of the City, foolishly I checked if there was the lake and there was, if there was Palazzo Civico and Piazza della Riforma, and there were. Also Ciani Park, Foce, LAC were all there in their place. But then you see that it’s not true, I said to myself, there can’t be Lugano and no more Marco,« Leoni said. «Marco has left in each of us a small personal memory.» Leoni also spoke of the «castle of love» built by Borradori. «Every man has a unit of measure to measure the love he is surrounded by, Marco’s unit of measure, we see it today, is the stadium.»

Cousin Luca’s memory

Luca Borradori, cousin of the mayor, carries the memory of the family: «Dear Marco, your sudden disappearance has left us in a state of disbelief, making us understand how our own lives hang by a thread and reminding us how the ways of fate are difficult to understand. To all these people, to all of you here, I would like to remember Marco by taking a cue from his Instagram profile. Because this Instagram profile is much more, a personal diary, a spiritual testament. In this diary of yours, Marco, you wrote: the important thing is to always look forward, with confidence and optimism. We know, the storm and the rain never disheartened you. On the contrary, you reminded us that rain transmits emotions to some people while others just get wet. And you added that a little wind is enough to change everything. In your diaries, during these months, you encouraged us to change. To be different».

Buses circulating in the city in the directions of the stadium also remember Marco Borradaori. The vehicles carry, in addition to the Ticino and Swiss flags, a black ribbon as a sign of mourning.