Tribute to a Leader

Αt the ITALIA 2026 awards dinner on 17 October, Bruno Crevato Selvaggi announced that after 26 years as Vice-President and six more as President of the Italian Federation, he would stand down as President, and that the Vice-President, Luca Lavagnino, would succeed him.

In a moving tribute, Bruno’s wife, Luisa Consolini, took the floor to speak about her husband.

She recalled their first meeting in Libya, where his erudition and passionate account of a decaying former Italian post office in Tripoli first caught her attention. Their shared professional lives allowed them to learn from and support each other. Over the years, she came to recognise in Bruno a distinctive intellectual courage: the ability to imagine ambitious undertakings, patiently shape them and pursue them with unwavering perseverance. Drawing on his knowledge, expertise, relationships and ability to engage others, he has repeatedly transformed seemingly impossible ideas into tangible achievements, from federation initiatives and exhibitions to publications, databases and the recognition of postal history as a scientific discipline. This exceptional courage of the mind, she concluded, deserved recognition. The Italia 2026 Medal honoured his extraordinary organisational contribution, steadfast leadership and enduring achievements in Italian philately.

What a wonderful way to close a remarkable international exhibition!

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