Palermo says goodbye to Carmelo Fucarino, the Garibaldi high school professor who loved poetry
Professor Carmelo Fucarino has passed away in Palermo. He was a teacher of Latin and Greek language and literature at the Garibaldi high school from 1980 to 1997. A great scholar, he loved poetry and published lyrics and contributed to Italian literary magazines, carrying out an extensive and continuous essay activity in the field of classical studies. He expanded his research field with ethnology and Sicilian popular traditions, never stopping his work of research.
Today, the world of Palermo culture loses an important point of reference: many remember him as an intellectual with whom it was a privilege to confront, a man of deep culture, curious, full of resources. He was born in Prizzi, where the community defines him as “an enormous example of a man of culture.” In these hours, the messages shared on social media, dedicated to Fucarino, are numerous. In Palermo he was well known and respected: “I casually learned of the passing of dear professor Carmelo Fucarino,” writes Fabio Cannizzaro, who was, in the first half of the 1980s, my beloved and respected teacher at the Garibaldi classical high school. With Professor Fucarino’s passing, a part of me, my memory, and even my youth disappear, according to the incessant flow of life. I remember not only his unquestionable, immense preparation, but also the important life lessons that he, generously, offered to me and many other classmates. I believe I am not saying something unknown if I affirm that my becoming a teacher also depends in part on his example. In saying goodbye, Professor Fucarino, I remain with the fideistic conviction that you are now in the Underworld alongside your loved ones but also with many heroes and poets, arm in arm who knows with Odysseus, Achilles, or Prometheus, and that you will have amiable discussions with Hesiod now and then with Pindar or again with Euripides or Aristophanes. Have a good journey professor, and know that I will miss you.” Girolamo Randisi writes: “He was a great man, one of the best teachers I have known.”
And another memory from Prizzi: “Today, a prominent figure in Prizzi’s culture, Professor Carmelo Fucarino, has left us. I do not add anything else, just a huge thank you on behalf of the entire Prizzi citizenship of which I humbly speak for. Rest in peace Professor.” Gino Pantaleone adds: “Have a good journey professor. Your poems, your essays, your articles on La Voce di New York and on the magazine Lions Palermo dei Vespri, have kept me company. You chose one of my poems to include in a CD of poems recited by Laura Efrikian, I will not forget. You presented my essays to me several times with great wisdom and competence, I will not forget anything about you, just as I will not forget your lessons spoken with an elegant and faint but incisive voice, your kind, educated demeanor without ever giving yourself airs. I hug you tightly and have a good journey.”
Palermo: addio a Carmelo Fucarino, il professore del liceo Garibaldi che amava la poesia
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