There is a beautiful green nativity scene at the beginning of the right aisle of the small church of Sant’Andrea Apostolo in Tombolo, the atmosphere is already Christmas. But there are no decorations, only very few flowers for the farewell to Ennio Doris, the founder of Mediolanum who died at 81 on the night between Tuesday and Wednesday. A choice made by the family, which instead asked for donations to the bank’s foundation.
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The big names in finance
Despite the simplicity of its forms, it looked like a state funeral in a small village in the Veneto region. The small square S. Pio X armored and cordoned off, the military salute of policemen and financiers in the churchyard as the coffin passes, live TV on Rete4, in the mayor in the tricolor band, the flutist Andrea Graminelli on the altar, the message of Cardinal Camillo Ruini, many finance giants present such as Alessandro Benetton, Marco Tronchetti Provera, Matteo Marzotto, Alberto Nagel, Saverio Vinci, Renzo Rosso, Davide Serra, Arnoldo Mosca Mondadori. And of course – arrived with Doris’ wife, Lina Tombolato, children Massimo and Sara, the seven grandchildren – the lifelong friend and partner Silvio Berlusconi with his girlfriend Marta Fascina, his brother Paolo, his children Marina, Luigi and Eleonora .
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The crowded square
In front of the centenary trattoria “Ai mediatori” – being a livestock broker was the profession of Doris’ father, and Ennio thought he would follow the same path – one of the five giant screens was placed that allowed thousands of citizens to attend mass funeral officiated by the parish priest of the town, Bruno Caverzan. In front of the entrance to the church – restored in 2014 with the “significant contribution of the Doris” -, a tensile structure assembled in haste for 152 Mediolanum bankers.
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Poor origins
Although he became a multibillionaire, Doris had remained deeply rooted in his campaign, his territory and even his home, which he had repurchased. And when he had built the large villa outside the town – “five thousand square meters and more, it seemed they were going to build a shopping center”, recalls someone in the square – he had wanted to set up his parents’ old dining room in one room, so as never to forget where he had come. “You came from Rondiello, a poor neighborhood in a poor town, a six-room house with four bedrooms for fifteen people and no bathroom, they used the dunghill”, his son Massimo, who has long taken over the reins of the Bank. «Your commitment and your passion have given us a life made up of choices. And choosing is not a luxury for many, ”read the niece Aqua, daughter of Sara Doris and Oscar di Montigny.
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The memory of Ruini and Zaia
“Ennio Doris was a special banker, capable of looking after the interests of others as well as his own”, is the message of Cardinal Ruini. Extremely religious, first of all towards Tombolo he was generous: “When I was elected he told me” this is my number, if anyone needs me I’m here “” – recalled the mayor Christian Andretta – “he gave a hand to many people who could not pay for treatment, transport by helicopter, donations to those in difficulty ». A square or the municipal library will soon be dedicated to Doris. «He wanted to donate 5 million to the Region; he told me “make sure that the Venetians don’t get sick” », remembers the governor Luca Zaia.
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