Water polo in mourning: farewell to former Italian player Giustolisi

A baronet off the field, a fighter in the water. This was Luca Giustolisi, when he played. A tumor cruelly took him away from us at just 53 years of age (his health conditions had been worsening for some time) and we are left with the memory of his always polite ways as well as those of his many victories: bronze at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, gold a year earlier at the European Championships in Vienna. He evidently had a particular feeling with Europe, also considering the Len Cup and the Cup Winners’ Cup won with Roma in ’94 and ’96 and the Champions League with Posillipo and Pro Recco in ’98 and 2003 respectively. He was a lively and appreciated striker. In the capital he had been a companion of Sandro Campagna, coach of Settebello.

THE PROFILE

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From Trieste, son of an artist (father Giuseppe was an international referee and federal councilor), Luca, after retiring, was manager in his city, coach of Nervi, technical director in Turin, and finally in February this year he joined the Brescia staff as psychological consultant. It had become his beloved profession (he graduated with 110 cum laude), carried out with love and absolute dedication, participating in an infinite number of courses. He became an honorary judge of the Juvenile Court of Trieste. “I have always loved discovering hidden truths, revealing, accessing dimensions that are still unexplored, but full of meaning and opportunities, to try to make the encounter with ourselves and with others pure. The awareness of what we are brings us closer to the joy we seek.” Every discussion with him represented a special enrichment. Gillo was born from his union with the soprano Anna Caterina Antonacci. Giustolisi liked to write, he had a passion for journalism. And he had never hidden his political commitment (“But I don’t like fanaticism and excess”): he had many posters of Che Guevara, some historical pages of l’Unità. He had precise references, like Enrico Berlinguer. And proud Sicilian origins: his grandfather, from Enna, was sent into exile by the fascist repression.