On the occasion of Holocaust Remembrance Day, Milan Foundation invited Gariwo Foundation to Casa Milan for a meeting dedicated to the Shoah, individual responsibility, and to those men and women who, in the darkest moments of history, chose not to turn away: the Righteous.
It was a special, intense, and deeply engaging afternoon, involving the women’s Primavera team, the technical staff, and club executives. An open and meaningful dialogue that once again showed how sport can be not only a place of competition, but also a space for civic education, memory, and moral awareness.
In the Name of Ferdinando.
A particularly moving moment was the presence of Manuela Valletti, daughter of Ferdinando Valletti, recognized as a Righteous of Sport. A Milan player in the 1940s, Valletti was deported to the Mauthausen concentration camp in 1944. In that extreme environment, he chose to help and protect fellow prisoners, putting his own life at risk. For this courage, he was recognized as Righteous: because even in a concentration camp, he defended human dignity.
In the decades following the war, Ferdinando Valletti devoted himself to sharing his testimony, speaking to thousands of students and transforming memory into a living tool for education and responsibility.
His story is also honored through a special commemorative trading card, created by the Associazione Figurine Forever, which uses the popular language of sports collectibles to highlight the connection between sport, memory, and moral courage.
Gariwo warmly thanks AC Milan for its sensitivity, for its willingness to listen, and for its commitment to opening spaces for genuine reflection. Because when memory is shared with younger generations, it does not remain bound to the past, but becomes a foundation for the future.