Marina di Ragusa Development (Sept 2006)

 

Dreams have come true in Marina di Ragusa. In 2009, a modern tourist port was inaugurated with room for 900 boats. In 2010, a new boardwalk linked the port to the piazza.

Sally Veillette and Bozena Nowak, two ex-patriots living in Marina di Ragusa, Sicily, teamed up with local college student Dinella Giardina. They set up a stand in the piazza during the Addio dell’Estate summer-end celebration to ask people’s opinions of how they’d like to see the beach town grow. Over 300 surveys were collected, the results given to City Hall. The new (young, handsome, ambitious, talented and visionary) mayor, Nello Dipasquale, pleased by the gesture, invited the trio to present the results to the town at the park dedicated to Padre Pio.

Sally’s daughter Chiara and best friend Alessia are in the front row

Hands-On Sicily was thrilled, immediately bringing art supplies to the local school to invite the children to draw pictures of their hearts’ desires. When the media arrived that crisp autumn day, they were met by 300 smiling elementary and middle school students donning “Marina di Ragusa-Stay Here Forever!” hats, carrying hand-made posters of their big dreams for the small beach community. “Let’s do this every year,” one of the little boys said, to which Veillette responded brightly, “I hope we don’t have to! I hope that we can achieve each of these dreams for you, starting today.”

The children of Marina di Ragusa speak up

Hands-On Sicily in the piazza of Marina di Ragusa, asking residents and tourists to engage with local development efforts

The media begins following our movements closely

Paul Veillette

In 2011, Paul Veillette (Sally’s father) stands in the piazza of Marina di Ragusa, under the shade trees that, rumor has it, are destined to be cut down in the next phase of city development. Veillette has been enjoying those trees on his vacations for over forty years, and wrote a moving appeal to Mayor Nello Dipasquale.