Teenagers use social media to communicate with the outside world but if they are ready to take a stand behind the keyboard, in real life they often remain one step behind. We therefore decided to work with young students from the Cesena area on the theme of courage. But what is courage? Courage has its roots in the heart, so having courage means having something or someone at heart.

Being courageous means taking a position that is perhaps uncomfortable or against the tide but which is considered right and fighting for it. You don’t need to be a hero; a courageous act is something real, felt, civic, everyday. Muro del Coraggio is a five-month project, which started in January 2019, involving three classes and two high schools in Cesena: the “Ilaria Alpi” Liceo Linguistico and the “Anita Garibaldi” Agricultural Technical Institute. The project developed in two phases.

In the first phase, each class involved had the opportunity to meet an Association that works “with courage” in the Romagna area and which presented food for thought on the chosen topic:
-Avis (courage to donate). He told about his business and the story of its founder Vito Formentano.
-The Historical Institute of the Resistance and the Contemporary Age (Courage to rebel). He told about his activity and the story of partisan women in Romagna.
-DIG (Courage of ideas). He talked about the Investigative Journalism Festival and the life of Ilaria Alpi.

From the meetings the students were prompted to reflect and through writing exercises they tell their stories of daily injustices, stories in which they were able to overcome their limits and their fears, stories in which they had courage. Their stories of courage were then reworked by Michele Di Giacomo, becoming different artistic proposals: 10 theatrical scripts; 2 illustrated tables, created in collaboration with the Bluebeard Association by the two designers from Cesena Raffaele Magnani and Andrea Maraldi; 1 short film made with the collaboration of the Albedo Association by Martina Dall’Ara and Valerio Montemurro and acted by the boys themselves.

MURO ​​DEL CORAGGIO has become a traveling performance that was presented on May 4 and 5, 2019, with three performances in the evening lasting one hour for a group of about 30 spectators per show. The public traveled in small groups inside the rooms of the Corelli Institute (Palazzo Nadiani, via Dandini 5) to listen, see, read stories of enemies, heroes, change, challenges. A performance in which it was possible to witness theatrical scenes in an intimate way, see a short film, watch comics and listen to the contribution of the associations involved. A great civic and contemporary fresco to reflect on the theme of courage in a world lacking in heroes.