by Anna Gandolfi
The former model and TV presenter, who has lived in Milan for 30 years: “I no longer take the subway or ride a bike.” I studied accounting, but my dream was to become a judge. I went to a disco for the first time when I was 17, luckily my daughter Swami doesn’t like it.”
Mayor Beppe Sala answered her, albeit indirectly.
“He said that the issue of security in Milan is not taken lightly (in this article, the mayor’s outburst towards journalists). That’s better. Mine was a citizen’s outburst.”
Elenoire Casalegno, born in 1976, former model and television face, born “accidentally” in Savona, from Ravenna in Romagna and a Milanese “for thirty years”, posted on social media on Sunday a very personal complaint that went viral: “This city is uninhabitable , there is something to be afraid of. Are we talking about suburbs? In Milan you have to be afraid to walk through the center in broad daylight.
But what exactly happened?
“It was 11 a.m., I was walking along Corso di Porta Nuova. I was wearing jeans and a trench coat, nothing that would attract attention. I chatted on the phone. Not far away was a man: he looked at me, ran towards me and shouted in a language I didn’t understand. I instinctively moved away and he spat at me. Five minutes of fear: I slipped into a store. I noticed a bar nearby where five or six people were sitting. Maybe one of them intervened because I heard by now: What are you doing? Leave her alone! He moved away. I was picked up in the car. When I got home I posted. The situation is depressing. What if it was evening and no shops were open? What if that gentleman who was in the way hadn’t had the courage to scream too?
His video follows that of two TikTokers in a few days.
“My voice is just like that of all citizens, I did not expect that I would be heard more.”
Have you also received criticism?
“Do you want to see my phone? It explodes. People who have had similar things write to me, a resident of Via Tadino sent a video of a man smashing cars on the street to pass the time.
Have you filed a complaint?
“No, because what would I have to report then? But it’s right to talk about it. We need more oversight, but I also put myself in the shoes of the police. They stay there and risk their lives for wages that are too low. There should be more supervision, but also certain penalties, otherwise we will always be back at square one. The situation in Milan has certainly worsened, and I have lived there for 30 years: I often walk through Piazzale Clotilde and it is now the norm to find drunk, screaming people using public spaces as toilets. I’m not talking about homeless people who lead this life for a thousand reasons, who create a place for themselves, who rightly need support and help. There are people who openly live according to their minds and their actions. Here: This is scary.”
There are people who film pickpockets on the subway.
“I don’t take the subway anymore. However, I wouldn’t film, I would be worried about protecting myself. You have to have courage, like the man who came to my aid.”
Where does she live?
“Between Porta Romana and the place where the event occurred.”
She is the mother of a 24-year-old girl.
«She lives with her partner and I’m very happy not to know that she’s home alone. I’m not a strict mother, but a little strict yes: freedom must be conquered. At 16 you don’t go out alone. Swami grew up hearing me say, “Let me walk you home, straight to the door.” Be careful when you walk alone in the evening. Avoid risky situations.”
Doesn’t this shift the problem by restricting freedom?
“There is freedom when the situation allows it.” However, that’s how I grew up, in Ravenna, and this influence comes from my parents: mother Giuliana and father Gianluigi had precise rules and these had to be respected.
Guy?
“I didn’t enter the disco until I was 17 and I have to say I loved it and couldn’t wait to go (my daughter, on the other hand, doesn’t love it even though her father is a DJ). and that’s one less thing to worry about): Mom and Dad took me and my friends and picked us up at odd times. That is, when the evening began … “
When did you move from Ravenna?
“When I was 17, I commuted by train for my first TV job (Jammin on Italia1). Two days here in Milan, in a hotel that was found by production and which was also something of a protective barrier because I was practically a little girl, the rest at home studying accounting.”
Casalegno accountant?
“I did everything wrong during my studies (laughs, editor’s note). My dream was to become a judge: I enrolled in political science in Bologna.
And how did she find herself in the world of entertainment?
«A classmate from accounting class said: You have to be a model. I didn’t really believe it, then we contacted the elite agency. They wanted to meet me, I went with Dad to the headquarters on Via San Vittore. You’re excited: try out the look of the year. I thought it was a fashion show, but when I got there I realized it was a competition: I was terrified and locked myself in a hotel room to cry.
Have you had bad experiences?
«Do you mean advances? With the character I find myself in, men immediately knew there was no way to try. There are gentlemen who have elegantly proposed themselves and I have elegantly rejected them.
With the fashion shows came television.
«Call Mediaset and suggest a music program. But first they wanted to see how I would perform in front of the camera and microphone: They took me to Parini High School to interview the students. After a while they said: Perfect, you start on Monday. It was 1994.
He has worked with many big names. A special memory?
“Definitely Raimondo Vianello, with whom I pressed. He had a special, irreverent, sometimes macabre sense of humor. Sandra came into the studio and they were exactly as we saw them in the sketches. She repeated: What patience you have to endure this. We had a wonderful relationship with Raimondo, almost a grandfather-grandson relationship, and I always addressed him as “Lei”.
Speaking of grandchildren. His partner is a Nerazzurri legend: Mariolino Corso. You are an Inter fan: has your relationship helped to increase your attractiveness?
“I am an Inter fan and therefore happy at this time: Marotta has achieved the impossible.” As for Alessandro (Spagnolo Corsican, ed.), relationships have nothing to do with it. It’s clear that Corso is a legend and I had read everything about him…”
How do you get around the city?
“I come from Ravenna, I was born with a bicycle. But now it’s dangerous, I don’t use my bike much anymore because the traffic on the road has increased. An appeal also to cyclists: Even if you are on two wheels, you must respect the stop sign. The rules apply to everyone.”
He started working when he was almost an adult. Nowadays, children complain that they cannot find apartments at reasonable prices.
“The Milan of that time is not comparable to the one of today, in a way there were more opportunities. “I had jobs on television and was able to make a living without much problem, now I see great difficulty.”
Will it be a place for the rich?
“I don’t really understand where we’re going. If they want a city for the rich, and that is a mistake, then they should guarantee services and security. And instead…”.
What do you say about the mayor choosing the Club Dogo video with Gotham City-style settings?
“Milan is not Gotham City.”
Then you are okay with it.
“It’s not Gotham City because we don’t have Batman.”
Elenoire Casalegno, the center-right candidate…
“Never. My job is different. Offelè fa el to mèste».
Go to all the news from Milan
If you want to stay up to date with the latest news from Milan and Lombardy, subscribe for free to the Corriere Milano newsletter. Arrives in your inbox at 7am every day. Just click here.
October 24, 2023 (modified October 24, 2023 | 12:39)
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED